Business

A North Carolina McDonald’s goes McGreen

LED lighting at Cary McDonalds

When Ric Richards recently acquired an aging McDonalds in Cary, N.C., he knew the place needed an overhaul.  The 25-year-old store was fraying at the edges.

Richards decided to give these particular golden arches a green touch.

Once he’d decided that the building needed replacing, the decision to go eco-friendly was not difficult. Richards knew it made sense from a business standpoint – it would cut energy costs dramatically – and he figured it would resonate with the educated customers living in the Research Triangle region, especially those interested in lower-carbon living.

“I felt it was the right thing to do,’’ said the owner-operator whose green restaurant celebrated its grand opening this winter. “We all need to be more geared for sustainability as we move into the future. We need to build buildings or live at home using fewer resources.”

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Walmart plans to lower carbon emissions across its vendor network

Walmart CEO Mike Duke annoucing carbon reduction goals

By Barbara Kessler

Walmart announced a plan to reduce carbon emissions across its global supply chain today, saying it intends to shave 20 million metric tons off its greenhouse gas emissions   through 2015.

The reductions will come from Walmart’s own operations and  from “the life cycle of the products we sell,” said Walmart CEO Mike Duke, adding that the savings would be the equivalent of taking 3.8 million greenhouse gas-emitting cars off the road for a year.

“It’s a very sizable goal, as we often do here at Walmart,” he said.

Calculated another way, the reductions represent 150 percent of Walmart’s anticipated carbon growth over the next five years.

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Darden will roll out sustainable restaurant designs

From Green Right Now Reports

Darden Restaurants today announced that it has begun a system-wide sustainable restaurant design initiative involving the use of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards in its restaurant design process for all new restaurants and, where feasible, restaurant remodels.

The company, which operates 1,800 restaurants, said the initiative is part of its broader sustainability efforts aimed at limiting business impact on the environment while also enhancing the operational efficiency of its restaurants.

Darden’s three largest brands – Red Lobster, Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse – are designing eight restaurants to achieve LEED certification from the United States Green Building Council. The company said it plans to apply learnings from those eight restaurants to new restaurants and remodels in the future.

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South Carolina publisher first to use 100 percent certified paper

Image: Forest Stewardship Council

From Green Right Now Reports

A South Carolina publisher has become the nation’s first to use 100 percent Forest Stewardship Council certified paper throughout its operation.

Arcadia Publishing, which produces thousands of local and regional histories, uses about 400 tons of paper each year. The company, known for its Images of America pictorial history books, has more than 6,000 titles in print and expects to add another 700 this year.

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MIT program will help companies develop sustainable supply chains

From Green Right Now Reports

MIT’s Center for Transportation & Logistics will launch the Global LEAP (Leaders in Environmental Assessment and Performance) research consortium at its annual Crossroads Conference on March 25, in Cambridge, Mass.

Chiquita Brands and Lockheed Martin are the first commercial organizations to sign up for this new project to design supply chains that meet the sustainability goals that are redefining the way companies operate. Inaugural members have pledged comprehensive support for the new consortium including a financial commitment, in-kind resources, thought leadership, and active participation.

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TD Bank investing in green

TD Bank is going carbon neutral and building LEED-qualified banking centers

From Green Right Now Reports

TD Bank, which touts itself as America’s Most Convenient Bank, has decided to build its next branches to green building standards, the corporation announced today at its first green branch in Farmingdale, N.Y..

The bank, with more than 1,000 stores from Maine to Florida, will be opening another green store, a prototype for more to come, at 214-32 Jamaica Ave., Queens Village, N.Y., this spring.

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New federal climate service would help businesses adapt to change

From Green Right Now Reports

Photo: NOAA.gov

Who says the federal government isn’t moving in response to climate change? A proposed new service is designed to help businesses adapt to global warming and to encourage development of new technologies to cope with it.

“Even with our best efforts, we know that some degree of climate change is inevitable and American citizens and businesses, and American governments … must be able to rise to environmental and economic challenges that lie ahead,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke says.

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In the office: The green bottom line

Fifty percent of employed adults in the U.S. don’t typically shut down their computers at the end of the work day.

By Mark Mathson

“Turn out the lights when you leave the room.”

“Consider the environment and don’t print a document unless you really need to.”

“If you must print, be sure to use both sides of the paper.”

We’ve all heard these types of environmentally friendly statements before, and by now I think we all see how adhering to these tips can make an impact – on the environment, our company’s expenses and our own personal expenses. While it seems fairly obvious that turning off the lights when leaving a room for more than 15 minutes will save on energy costs and duplex printing will save on paper costs, there are a number of other steps you can take – which might not be quite so obvious – that can add up to some big savings to the bottom line.

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Tool helps investors assess corporations’ climate risk

From Green Right Now Reports

Recently the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission decided that climate-related risks are material information that publicly traded companies must disclose to investors. Publicly traded companies now must share information about their exposure to risks associated with greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. But it will likely be several months before companies catch up with the SEC rule and begin those disclosures.

In the meantime, there is a helpful tool available from the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, a coalition of approximately 300 faith-based institutional investors that represents more than $100 billion in invested capital. The ICCR and Trucost, an independent environmental data company, have for the last year made available Climate Risk Profiles on more than 150 major companies, with a particular focus on companies facing proxy resolutions from religious shareholders.

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Green Business Bureau helps small businesses show their green side

From Green Right Now Reports

Plenty of small to mid-size businesses are environmentally friendly, but organizing those efforts and conveying that commitment to a skeptical public can be another matter. One possible solution: Green Business Certification from the Green Business Bureau.

The Web site provides tools for management to evaluate, plan, implement and track green initiatives in almost every aspect of a business. The site also offers suggestions for better efficiencies and cost saving – all from a green perspective.

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