News from Walmart's Recent Invitation-Only Sustainability Meeting in Bentonville, Arkansas
 | | Experimental Walmart Superstore Designed for Sustainability |
Ellen Sinreich, Green Edge Founder and President, attended Walmart's Sustainable Buildings Network meeting in Bentonville, AK at the end of April.
At the meeting, Walmart, a recognized leader in testing and implementing green building strategies, shared the results of its efforts over the past year, including its recently completed, highly rigorous audit of energy consumption at its high efficiency (HE) test stores. According to Walmart Director of Engineering Prototype and New Format Development, James McClendon, the first generation, so-called HE1 stores, achieved a 27% reduction in energy consumption as compared to otherwise similar prototypical stores. The next generation HE2 stores did not perform quite as well, but with a few corrections, are projected to achieve a 25% savings in energy consumption. Various energy savings measures that were tested in the HE1 and HE2 stores are being incorporated into Walmart's prototype for new stores, as well as remodels of existing stores.
Walmart estimates that a 30% reduction in energy consumption corresponds to a 45% reduction in CO2 emissions.
Some of the green technologies that Walmart has been testing in its HE stores include LED lighting for refrigerated cases and parking lots, various types of renewable energy including solar, wind and fuel cells, green vegetated roofs, smart irrigation systems and xeroscaping, improved refrigerant systems, recycling and reuse programs for construction and operational debris, as well as food and organic waste, storm water re-use and pervious paving.
For more information about Walmart's sustainability efforts, follow this link. |
Available Now: $100 Million of Energy Efficiency Incentives for Commercial and Industrial Buildings
 $100 million is now available through four new programs for Con Edison customers who perform energy efficiency improvements on their commercial and industrial buildings, including multi-family properties with over 50 units.
Currently scheduled to run through December 2011, these programs are funded by the "System Benefit Charge" that Con Edison customers pay as part of their monthly energy bills.
The programs cover electricity and gas savings measures and fall into two categories: 1) Prescriptive and 2) Custom.
Through the Prescriptive Program, Con Edison is offering rebates for energy efficient lighting and mechanical systems that will cover up to 70% of the incremental cost for improvements that reduce energy consumption below code mandated levels.
The Custom Program will provide cash incentives to building owners for energy savings measures not covered under the Prescriptive Program, and will cover up to 50% of the cost for ASHRAE Level II energy audits.
According to David Pospisil of Con Edison, the first commitments for incentives under these programs were issued last week for properties as diverse as an enclosed shopping center and a sign in Times Square. Con Edison is putting the finishing touches on a new, easy-to-use application and funding process.
For more information, please visit the Con Ed website or reach out to us at Green Edge.
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We Look Forward to Hearing from You
If you have questions about anything you've read in this newsletter or if you are wondering how to meet your own green challenges, contact me and I will be happy to respond via email.
Warmly,
greenedgeworkshops.com
ellen@greenedgellc.com
212 828 3840
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 Ellen Sinreich is President of Green Edge, LLC, which helps organizations leverage the power of green through Green Edge Workshops and Green Edge Consulting.
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Useful Carbon Footprint Reduction Tools: Find an Energy Star Building Near You
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Department of Energy have created an online interactive map of Energy Star certified buildings throughout the United States, with information on more than 96,000 buildings. http://tiny.cc/ukrok
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Take Advantage of Green Tax Credits
On a personal note, the Federal Tax Incentive De-Coder helps home owners take advantage of green incentives in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, as well as return on investment (ROI) guides for a variety of green initiatives, from no- and low-cost measures to those that are capital intensive.
Contact us for more information. |
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New This Year: Green Edge Summer Intern Program
Underway
Green Edge's new summer
internship program is off to a strong start with two students from Brown
University. Our projects will cover green
certifications ranging from buildings to consumer
products and green company rankings looking
at how organizations are being rated by different groups.
Stay tuned
for the results of these two projects.
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New York University Taps Sinreich for Sustainability Course Ellen Sinreich is on the faculty of NYU, where she teaches Green Building Practices for the Real Estate Industry. Ellen covers the business case for greening real estate assets as well as strategies for greening real estate companies. This popular course will be offered again in the fall of 2010.
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The Green Edge Newsletter
Our newsletter is another way we reach out to you (our clients, colleagues and friends) to encourage, motivate and facilitate the greening of organizations.
The focus of this, our inaugural issue, is greening the built environment. Future issues will highlight greening supply chains, transportation, distribution and general organizational activities which defy categorization. We will also cover strategies for branding, communicating and marketing green initiatives.
If you'd like your company to be featured in one of the next issues of the Green Edge Newsletter, we'd love to hear from you. We are always looking for great green stories to share with our community of clients, colleagues and friends.
Contact us for more information and to join our mailing list.
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The Green Edge Newsletter is published monthy by Green Edge, LLC.
EDITOR: Ellen Sinreich
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Sara Mears
Copyright © 2010 Green Edge, LLC
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