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While coal goes kicking and screaming into a dark and pollution-filled goodnight, it is becoming more evident and economically plausible that biomass energy, or bioenergy —energy derived from organic matter —can replace it.

McKinsey & Co., a global management consulting firm, makes this point in a recent article -- “Can bioenergy replace coal?” -- that examines the situation in Europe.

The article notes that like all renewable energy options in the European Union, “bioenergy has struggled against low-priced coal imports, low carbon dioxide prices in the emissions-trading system, and an economic and regulatory backlash against renewable-energy policies, including substantial cuts in government support.” But McKinsey writers Marco Albani, Nicolas Denis and Anna Granskog assert that biomass-based energy should not be counted out just yet. “Although today it fails to compete on cost with other renewables such as wind and solar, we believe bioenergy not only has the potential to significantly improve but could even become cost competitive with coal.”

It is an important assertion because the EU has a goal to have 27 percent of its energy come from renewable sources by 2030. That’s not all that far away — vast portions of coastlines might still be above water by then. Bioenergy, along with wind and solar, has the potential to help Europe reach that goal.

The article was extracted from another recent article -- “Bioenergy in Europe: A new beginning—or the end of the road?” -- that appeared in the latest issue of McKinsey on Sustainability & Resource Productivity. McKinsey found that bioenergy “still offers one of the most capital-efficient transitions from coal to renewables, as well as a scalable opportunity for European utilities to take part in the second wave of renewable-energy-source growth.” That’s because with carbon capture and storage “still far from happening,” bioenergy is a way for big utilities “to comply with renewable targets while using their existing assets.”

How so? “We believe the levelized cost of bioenergy—its cost per kilowatt-hour—has the potential to be reduced by almost half by 2025, making bio-based electricity close to competitive with coal depending on the type of plant,” McKinsey says. There’s no denying this would require significant effort,” the article continues, but “it doesn’t require technological breakthroughs, but rather simply making better use of the opportunities already at hand.”

For example, boiler efficiency in biomass plants today is often as low as 30 percent. Increasing steam parameters such as pressure, temperature and energy efficiency would reduce the volume of feedstock required and lower costs. “Further gains could be made by standardizing plant designs, adopting boiler and plant modularization, and applying design to value. And fuel costs could be lowered by driving greater efficiency in the biomass supply chain, whether by applying lean techniques to remove stumbling blocks, moving to long-term contracts, or improving fuel-treatment technology.”

This is an emerging win-win-win opportunity for Europe’s coal plant owners and operators: a revival of the continent’s bioenergy industry, efficient use of existing plant assets, and a way for the bioenergy sector to step forward as a “fast and capital-efficient replacement for coal.”

But as McKinsey concludes, it requires a “renewed sense of urgency among industry participants to deliver improvements in both cost and performance, as well as government action to create EU-wide sustainability criteria.”

If that doesn’t happen, the opportunity could go by the wayside; there might be no place for bioenergy as a precedent-setting example in Europe’s future energy mix.

Image credit: Illustration from “Can bioenergy replace coal?” via McKinsey

By Leah B. Thibault

Adam Cyr’s story began in a fashion typical of his generation in rural America. Before leaving for college, Adam planned to join the family business in northern Maine after graduation. Following college, however, he landed a management position at a nationally branded hotel downstate, in the city of Portland. That opportunity for reliable employment led Adam to leave his rural roots and pursue a promising career in hospitality, an option not available back home. He joined the ranks of thousands of young Americans who are leaving their rural homes in pursuit of job security and diverse opportunities in cities, in a movement referred to as 'outmigration.'

Adam grew up near Presque Isle, a town of less than 9,700 in northern Aroostook County, where agriculture and forestry are the primary industries. The region lacks the economic diversity to weather a mill closing or bad crop – when jobs go, there is no other industry or enterprise to pick up the slack in its shallow economy. For this reason, Presque Isle has experienced a high outmigration rate for years. In fact, Aroostook County has lost more than 10 percent of its population over the last two decades. Maine’s northern region is not alone: The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that, nationwide, rural counties as a whole lost population between 2010 and 2012.

Yet rural communities, which are home to only 20 percent of our country’s population but comprise 75 percent of the country’s land mass, support a wealth of extremely valuable resources. Rural America provides nearly all of the clean water to urban centers, provides the majority of domestic energy production and is the primary source of food production.

Investing in rural economies is vital to sustaining these resources, but finding the means to do so can prove challenging, as there are low levels of available and affordable bank and investment capital to support business growth in these often remote areas. The New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program, enacted by Congress in 2000, is designed to help business in low-income communities break through these obstacles. Knowing that these funds are just as important in rural communities, the NMTC program has required since 2006 that a proportional amount of this funding be invested in non-metropolitan counties.

Through careful community development planning and public/private investment partnerships, NMTCs stimulate economic growth in low-income communities to support and grow businesses, create jobs, and sustain healthy economies. In fact, since its inception, the NMTC program has delivered more than $60 billion in capital to business and revitalization projects, and it has created more than 550,000 jobs in some of the poorest communities in America. The success of just one project can have a ripple effect that makes waves throughout an entire region.

Back to Adam. His role with the hotel company grew, and he was dispatched to help distressed properties regain their footing across the country. At the same time, local business leaders and private investors were collaborating on a plan to help revitalize Presque Isle, in part by leveraging capital from New Markets Tax Credits. The project entailed demolishing an abandoned armory in the center of town and building the areas’ first nationally branded hotel on the site. The next nearest flagged hotel is more than two hours away, limiting the area’s ability to attract visitors.

This is where Adam’s story takes a turn from the typical: He was invited to become general manager when the 93-room Hampton Inn Presque Isle -- built to meet the industry’s top sustainability standards -- opened in 2009. Adam was excited for the opportunity to return home and put his professional skills to work. Furthermore, he was excited to offer 35 new full-time employment positions to his fellow community members as well -- jobs with pay and benefits above the going rate in the area.

Today, the Hampton Inn Presque Isle is a significant economic driver that accommodates a steady pace of business visitors and recreational travelers alike. It was also a deciding factor in helping the local Nordic Heritage Ski Center and the Maine Winter Sports Center secure hosting rights to the 2014 IBU World Youth/Junior Biathlon Championships and the U.S. Biathlon Association’s World Cup twice. The availability and quality of accommodations were vital in securing these world-class sporting events, since organizing committees must ensure there are sufficient housing and dining facilities for the athletes, coaches and support staff. The events, which bring hundreds of athletes and supporters to town, generate a significant ripple effect of revenue for other local businesses as well.

Rural America bears the majority of our nation’s vital resources – food, water, energy – yet employment opportunities there are scarce. With the careful planning and capital that New Markets Tax Credits deliver, areas like Aroostook County are enjoying greater economic diversity and are stemming outmigration. The effect that such projects deliver lifts entire communities so they can once again flourish – helping preserve the populations that live there and the vital resources they hold.

[embed]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoccBGyT3hA[/embed]

Image courtesy of the author

Leah B. Thibaul is director of Operations at CEI Capital Management LLC. 

By Lise Cloutier

There are few experiences in life that take you out of your comfort zone, force you to think differently about the world and actually have the potential to impact the work you do every day. Recently, I had one of those experiences.

I have been with Keurig Green Mountain, Inc. (Keurig) for nine years. I am responsible for quality control in the company’s hometown of Waterbury, Vermont, where I ensure that our brewers and beverage packs are ready to be distributed to our foodservice customers. I also capture data about the lifecycle of our coffee, such as when it was roasted, where it’s headed and what time it left our facility. I know what it takes to get our products into our customers’ hands and deliver a high-quality product. Turns out – for the past nine years, I’ve only known the half of it.

Earlier this year, Keurig sent me and eight of my colleagues on a week-long trip with stops in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, where we visited our co-manufacturers – meeting supply chain partners and touring their facilities. The purpose of this trip was to give us a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into building our brewers, from design and assembly to the finished product that ends up on kitchen counters. Few companies invest in truly hands-on, experiential learning opportunities for their employees, and in addition, it is very rare to get a window into manufacturing operations – especially in Asia.

Keurig knows a thing or two about source trips: The company has been sponsoring employee trips to coffee farms since the early 1990s – giving employees a chance to learn about coffee production while meeting our coffee suppliers and their families. This year, the company decided to expand its employee experience, sending nearly 70 employees to coffee farms in Nicaragua, Mexico, Peru and other coffee-growing countries, as well as the trip I took to Asia-Pacific – a very first for the company.

This journey started for me back in December, when my supervisor let me know that I had been selected out of hundreds of employees to trek across the globe. After only a few months of preparatory meetings, we were on our way. The trip was led by Richard Sweeney, co-founder of Keurig, Inc. (which was acquired by Keurig in 2006) and lead of Special Projects in our Product Supply Group, who, over the course of nearly 10 days, guided our group to four production sites as well as one design center.

We began our adventure in Hong Kong, where we were introduced to a welcoming group of managers at the global headquarters for Simatelex, a leading original equipment manufacturer specializing in electrical household appliances for worldwide brand names, including Keurig. Later that afternoon, we arrived in Shenzhen, China to tour another Simatelex production site, where several types of Keurig brewers are manufactured. We saw the full scope of production of our brewing systems – from the plastic injection process to the tooling department. We found out that employees at this first plant are engaged by their employer to volunteer in their communities the way we do through Keurig back home, a perk I assumed was uncommon for a plant job in Asia.

These sites seemed to do everything from start to finish – from creating the molds, to making their own tools and then assembling those pieces. They even conduct their own product testing. During our last few days, we also visited a design center in Singapore as well as another plant in Malaysia.

At the Malaysia plant, I witnessed something that demonstrated this newfound respect for manufacturing in Asia. When our group arrived, employees at the plant were in the middle of production and something was not functioning properly. I was very impressed by how they quickly brought all production to a halt to be sure to thoroughly correct the issue. Everyone waited while a supervisor, floor manager and quality control team came in to assess and fix the issue.

No matter the facility or location, I was struck by the dedication and drive of the management and employees we met. Everyone gives 110 percent. It was clear that everyone cares about the quality of the product that they are creating – just like I do. I also discovered that Keurig only works with Asian manufacturers that share the same values, which include things like benefits, a living wage, fair treatment of workers, trust, responsibility and a commitment to a quality product.

When I thought of manufacturing in China prior to this trip, what came to mind were things like unsafe working conditions, lower production quality and little supply chain visibility. What I witnessed was the exact opposite, and this experience really brought new meaning to the “Made in China” label I see every day. The fact that Keurig was willing to draw back the curtains and teach us about our Chinese operations shows a level of forward thinking that is uncommon among U.S. companies with manufacturing facilities abroad.

I try to approach my job each day with pride and integrity. My motto has always been, “If you are going to do a job, do it well.” I now have an even greater appreciation for the work I do because this trip allowed me to see how my job fits into the bigger picture – how I as an individual contribute to the company’s larger vision.

Instead of taking everyday items for granted, I now see an appliance for the sum of all its parts. I think about how products don’t just assemble themselves – how everything was made by somebody. So much time and energy went into designing, building, assembling and shipping an appliance so that it could end up here for my use. I won’t ever look at my home brewer the same way again.

Lise Cloutier is Machine Operator, Quality Control at Keurig Green Mountain’s Waterbury, Vermont facility. Lise is responsible for coffee processing and sensory, tracking coffee lifecycle data and operating various beverage packaging machines. She has been a proud employee of Keurig Green Mountain for nine years.

After spending some time in Eastern Europe, I was pleasantly surprised by the social acceptance and visionary advocacy of the bicycle in Budapest, Hungary. It is common to see businessmen, tourists and trendy 20-somethings zooming around the city on two wheels. Budapest is a leading emerging bicycle city, and it seems to have found the winning formula.

Bicycle infrastructure

With 5,072 bike routes around the city, including some dedicated lanes across intersections, the city is impressive. Considering most of the city streets were designed without even the automobile in mind, much less the bicycle, this seems like a feat.

Trains have bike racks, encouraging bike travel, and numerous bikers can be seen traversing the train station. Bike maps are available at some metro stations and to make biking and skateboarding super fun, there are park ramps set-up around the city.

Bike sharing

BuBi is a bike sharing network with 1,100 bicycles at 75 docking stations throughout the city. Riders can borrow and return bikes at these solar-powered terminals, and the first 30-minutes are free. Bikers either pay a registration fee, or pay a deposit that is returned with the bike.

Most of the docking stations are located on the flatter Pest side of town. To discourage vandalism and theft, the bikes are made of irremovable parts that are not compatible with other bikes. A rack on the front of the bike makes them fit for hauling stuff.

Corporate support and events

Several companies sponsor events that directly promote the bicycle, including BringaMania sponsored by McDonald's. My daughter participated, and she got to ride in an obstacle course, learn the rules of the road for bikers and watch people perform stunts. The event seems successful in making biking fun, responsible and even trendy.

Car-Free Weekend is a big festival in Budapest, where a large street becomes car-free and coincides with other nearby events, and a variety of musical, theatrical and bike-friendly activities encourages car-free fun.

Several companies offer biking tours for tourists, making the bike-friendly aspect of the city easily attainable for visitors. Yellow Zebra seemed especially family friendly, by having child bike seats and tag-alongs available for rent or use during tours.

Critical Mass, a cycling event that occurs in cities around the world, is alive and well in Budapest. The Earth Day 2013 event was estimated to have 100,000 participants, which speaks volumes for the popularity of this green, healthy and fun form of transportation.

Budapest emerging as a biking city is a smart economic strategy for the city, not just in promoting bike-friendly tourism and a livable city, but also for keeping transportation dollars (or in this case Forint) in the local economy.

Owning, maintaining, and driving cars is very expensive and most of that money leaves the local economy with the purchase of fuel and insurance, as well the purchase of the car and replacement parts.

As the bicycle emerges in Budapest, so will a new bicycle economy that creates less traffic congestion, bike shops and bike tours -- and saves money from pedal power.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image credits: Sarah Lozanova Sarah Lozanova is a regular contributor to environmental and energy publications and websites, including Mother Earth Living, Green Building & Design, Triple Pundit, Urban Farm, and Solar Today. Her experience includes work with small-scale solar energy installations and utility-scale wind farms. She earned an MBA in sustainable management from the Presidio Graduate School and she resides in Belfast Cohousing & Ecovillage in Mid-coast Maine with her husband and two children.

Mars, Inc. launched a new palm oil policy six months ago and recently released an update on its progress. The food manufacturer best known for its chocolate committed to developing a palm oil supply chain that is both sustainable and traceable by the end of this year. The company requires palm oil to be traced back to known mills and for its suppliers to confirm they will comply with its sourcing charter by the end of 2015. It is currently on track to meet its commitment to achieve 100 percent traceability of its palm oil supplies by the end of this year.

Mars is a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) . By the end of 2013, it purchased all of its palm oil from RSPO-certified sources through the “mass balance” program. Mass balance requires processors to purchase palm oil from certified sources, but allows them to mix it with conventional palm oil. As a result, some of the palm oil in its supply chain is from non-certified sources. Tracing palm oil back to known mills allows the company to assess the environmental and social practices of the plantations and farms the mills source from and see that improvements are made.

In March 2014, Mars started partnering with the Forest Trust (TFT), an international nonprofit that works with companies and communities to help them deliver their products responsibly. Since then, representatives from Mars and TFT have met with all of the company’s palm oil suppliers to make sure they are both aware of the palm oil sourcing policy and fully understand it. Mars is working with all of its suppliers to get their written commitment to its sourcing policy by the end of the year. Experts from TFT are working with Mars to trace its palm oil supplies back to known mills. As of August 31, 2014, 57 percent of its palm oil can be traced back to a known mill. Its suppliers have agree to provide a Traceability Declaration Document on the mills and any bulk refineries they use to source palm oil from.

More and more companies are committing to sustainable palm oil sourcing

During the past year many companies have pledged to source sustainably produced palm oil. The share of palm oil production under zero deforestation commitments has increased to about 60 percent. At last week’s United Nations Climate Summit in New York, over 20 global food companies pledged to only source palm oil from companies with deforestation-free sourcing policies. Three of the world’s largest palm oil companies (Wilmar, Golden Agri-Resources and Cargill) committed to working together to implement their new palm oil sourcing policies. Those three companies joined the Indonesian Business Council in urging incoming Indonesian President Joko Widodo to support their efforts by enacting legislation and policies. Indonesia is the world's largest palm oil producer.

Palm oil production in the world’s three largest palm oil producing countries (Indonesia, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea) has caused deforestation. From 1990 to 2010, over a third of large-scale palm oil expansion in those three countries caused 3.5 million hectares of tropical forest to be lost. Deforestation threatens certain animals such as orangutans, elephants and tigers, and contributes to climate change by causing carbon emissions to be released into the atmosphere.

Image credit: Mars

Measuring financial success is straightforward enough, but how do you measure a business’s overall positive impact? The B Corporation movement is defining a new type of company that uses the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. With over 1,000 companies now registered as B Corporations, the Philadelphia-based nonprofit is leading a global shift in redefining success in business.

Today, 3p, along with representatives from B Lab and 3 Philadelphia area B Corps enjoyed a casual conversation at The Hub Cira Center. TriplePundit’s founder, Nick Aster, led the discussion.

PLEASE ENJOY THE VIDEO BELOW

About our guests

Katie Oberwager, Standards Analyst, B Lab

Katie Oberwager graduated from The University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelors and Master of Environmental Studies before finding her way to B Lab as a Standards Analyst. After a short stint at B Lab she moved to Oaxaca, Mexico as a Fulbright Research Fellow studying water conservation projects in Southern Mexico. Katie is now back at B Lab as a member of the Standards team working with companies and business networks that are using business as a force for good.

Dave Stangis, Campbell’s

Dave Stangis was named Vice President-Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability in September 2008. In 2011, his role was expanded to include oversight of Community Affairs and the Campbell Soup Foundation. Dave designs and leads Campbell’s overarching CSR, sustainability and community affairs strategy, including its efforts to drive environmental sustainability and make a measureable impact on the health of young people in Campbell communities. Dave works in collaboration with Campbell business units and functions to deliver long term business value across broad Corporate Responsibility platforms including the Marketplace, Community, Environmental Sustainability and the Workplace.

Robert Cheetham, Azavea

Robert Cheetham is the founder and president of Azavea, a B Corporation that creates geospatial software and data analytics for civic and social impact. Prior to founding Azavea, he served as a software developer and GIS analyst for the University of Pennsylvania, the City of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Police Department and as a civil servant in Japan.  He serves on the advisory board of the Penn State University Masters in GIS and GeoDesign programs and as an occasional lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Design.  He has an MLA in Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning from the University of Pennsylvania and a BA in Japanese Studies from the University of Michigan.

Mike Cangi, United by Blue

Mike is the marketer and wannabe barista. He is an alum of Temple University’s Fox School of Business where he majored in Entrepreneurship. If Mike isn’t in the office working on a new product launch, you can probably find him on a beach or riverbank with a trash bag over his shoulder at a UBB’s cleanup. He loves spending time on the snow or water with his boards and around the city with his husky, Hank.

…

Steve Hackman, One Village Coffee

Steve hustles every day to bring individuals the joy of One Village.  From Pittsburgh to Philadelphia to Washington DC, Steve is in charge of our demo program.  When he’s not on the road, he is leading the way to partner with additional retail markets.  Steve’s passion for One Village, our coffee, and the people he encounters is evident.  We hope you get a chance to meet him!  He enjoys the Smart Blend prepared with a French press.

Editor’s Note: This article is part of a short series on creating resilient cities, sponsored by Siemens. Please join us for a live Google Hangout with Siemens and Arup on October 1, where we’ll talk about this issue live! RSVP here.

When Superstorm Sandy swept through New York City on Oct. 29, 2012, the storm completely upended one of the busiest transportation networks in the country -- flooding and cutting off power to streets, tunnels, subway stations and airports. Even after the flood waters receded, it took city workers up to two weeks after the storm hit to get almost all of the Big Apple’s transit network up and running again – although some services, including portions of the subway system, are still out of commission to this day.

According to the city’s estimates, Superstorm Sandy resulted in a whopping $8 million of physical damage to the region’s transportation infrastructure and affected nearly 8.5 million public transit riders, 4.2 million drivers and 1 million air travelers.

But nearly two years after Sandy, New York City has not only worked to repair and restore its transportation infrastructure from the storm’s damage, but is also taking steps to improve the resiliency of its transit network. The city outlined its plan to better prepare for future natural disasters – including the effects of climate change – in its report, A Stronger, More Resilient New York, released in June 2013.

The Big Apple is initially focusing on protecting transit infrastructure that is especially vulnerable to extreme weather events, city officials said in a progress report on sustainability and resiliency initiatives that was published on Earth Day this year. Toward this end, city workers have elevated traffic signals in particularly at-risk locations; loss of power to traffic signals, or damage from flooding, can disrupt traffic and imperil drivers, cyclists and walkers after a natural catastrophe occurs.

City officials are also preparing a transit backup system – in the event of major subway outages during an extreme weather event, according to the progress report. The city had already established select bus service routes to relieve overcrowded subways and improve and expedite bus transit – by giving these select buses an extended green light at traffic signals and their own bus lanes, for example. But these select buses, which often cover the same areas as the subway system, can also serve as an alternative transit option if a natural disaster closes down the subway. This year, the city launched select bus service on two more streets and is planning to add three more streets in the near future.

New York City is also making preparations to quickly restore service to its transportation system after a severe weather event, the report said: Its Department of Transportation and Office of Emergency Management have collaborated on a transportation “playbook” that officials can refer to during a crisis. The emergency guide includes strategies to set up temporary transit services and better manage traffic.

As for next steps, the city plans to concentrate its efforts on its network of urban commuter ferries, including making physical improvements to floating infrastructure, piers and gangways, as well as expanding capacity of the ferry systems with deployable landings and barges.

Beyond New York City: How other cities can plan for resiliency

How can other cities make their transportation networks more resilient and better prepare for the impacts of climate change, including sea level rise and extreme droughts and floods? One new resource for local governments is the Toolkit for Resilient Cities, prepared by engineering company Siemens, New York's Regional Plan Association and consulting firm Arup: This study offers recommendations to make cities’ infrastructure, including transportation networks, more resilient.

Cities must have robust transportation infrastructure that can withstand extreme weather events like droughts and floods, as well as the gradual effects of climate change including sea level rise, according to the toolkit. In New York City, this meant resurfacing the roads damaged by Superstorm Sandy and elevating traffic signals to prevent damage from future storms.

Cities must continuously monitor the condition of their infrastructure, the toolkit’s authors advised, and they should investigate technologies to assist them. The authors pointed to a two-mile suspension bridge between Istanbul and Izmir, Turkey, as an excellent example of government agencies using technology to assess their infrastructure. The cities are planning to install state-of-the-art monitoring technology and communication and camera equipment, so that any damage to the bridge will be detected and reported to them immediately.

The toolkit’s authors found that cities with decentralized resource supplies and distribution systems tend to fare better during natural disasters. For example, the London Underground is usually powered with electricity from the grid, but the system also has a backup power system – a separate power supply at the Greenwich Power Station – in case a catastrophe shut downs the grid.

Investing in resilience can bring many benefits to cities, the toolkit’s authors said – enabling them not only to better respond to and recover from natural disasters, but also to reap savings from energy and operational efficiencies, reduce environmental impacts and create safer, more secure communities.

Making improvements to transportation infrastructure now to prepare for future calamities may seem like a challenge for cash-strapped governments. But, with the toolkit’s authors estimating that natural disasters caused $1.7 trillion in damages around the world between 2000 and 2012, how can cities afford not to become more resilient?

Image credit: Flickr/Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York

Passionate about both writing and sustainability, Alexis Petru is freelance journalist based in the San Francisco Bay Area whose work has appeared on Earth911, Huffington Post and Patch.com. Prior to working as a writer, she coordinated environmental programs for Bay Area cities and counties. Connect with Alexis on Twitter at @alexispetru

According to the 2014 Greendex Study, 61 percent of consumers say they are 'very concerned' about environmental problems. Unfortunately, this concern isn't translating into concrete actions and behaviors, according to the study that spans six years, 18 countries and 18,000 respondents. One of the million dollar questions raised at the New Metrics 2014 conference last week in Boston is how to bridge the gap between environmental concerns and action. Numerous speakers touched on this topic and some of the themes that emerged were:

1. Make progress effortless for consumers

Jenny Rushmore, director for responsible travel at TripAdvisor, spoke about implementing a green rating system for GreenLeaders. Hotels that meet certain criteria qualify for a gold, silver or bronze rating, and consumers are asked to rate hotels based on their green impressions. Predictably, green initiatives that are most interactive are more noticed by consumers. For example, recycling bins in guest bedrooms got more feedback than a hotel restaurant composting behind the scenes.

One of the reasons Rushmore believes that new green measurement tools have been so successful in getting attention for consumers and hoteliers alike is that it is integrated into the website and not a side initiative on a separate website. If this tool was on a separate website, Rushmore believes it would get much less attention, thus being less effective in influencing sustainable action.

2. Create necessary flows of information between consumers and businesses

Although there may be data indicating that many consumers are willing to pay a premium for greener products and services, hoteliers weren't largely convinced of the importance of communicating sustainability initiatives to consumers before the GreenLeaders program launched, Rushmore said. Uninformed consumers will not make empowered purchasing decisions around sustainability.

As an unbiased third-party organization, TripAdvisor was able to introduce a mechanism for this -- demonstrating the many consumers care about sustainability and allowing them to know which hotels excel. Greater information is now available on the site, provided by both hoteliers and consumers.

"What we can do is set up market mechanisms that encourages hotels to change," explains Rushmore. "By naming and not shaming, we highlight certain hotels. Hoteliers care about their ratings. As a result, we've have hotel chains change their policies around the world."

3. Put the onus on companies to provide value

The 2010 Greendex Study discovered the lack of trust by consumers for companies' environmental claims and lack of leadership by companies and governments. Although consumers are ultimately free to make their own decisions, companies need to effectively and accurately provide information.

"The risk for the company is that [consumers] will choose brands that they know do good, and they will not choose brands that they know do harm," says Amy Fenton, global leader in public development and sustainability for Nielsen. "Brands that are doing this right, are building this into their brand strategies."

Fenton also explained that research has shown that brands with clear messages around sustainability have a 5 percent increase in sales compared to global brands that aren't communicating about green achievements. Given the sales volumes of major global brands, 5 percent results in a significant difference in sales volume.

Image credit: Sustainable Brands

Sarah Lozanova is a regular contributor to environmental and energy publications and websites, including Mother Earth Living, Green Building & Design, Triple Pundit, Urban Farm, and Solar Today. Her experience includes work with small-scale solar energy installations and utility-scale wind farms. She earned an MBA in sustainable management from the Presidio Graduate School and she resides in Belfast Cohousing & Ecovillage in Mid-coast Maine with her husband and two children.

It's barely 18 months old, but President Barack Obama's Power Africa initiative is already in position to help propel African nations into a renewable energy future. In the latest development, Power Africa has announced 22 renewable energy innovators who have received grants of up to $100,000 each under the Power Africa Off-Grid Energy Challenge. The grants are partly funded by General Electric.

If you take a peek behind the curtain, though, you'll see that natural gas also plays a featured role in the broader Power Africa initiative. That doevetails with GE's involvement, since aside from funding renewable energy projects the company has also begun to market a fossil-powered, transportable generating unit in Africa under its Ecomagination energy innovation program.

So, does this mean GE is competing with itself, or are there other factors at play in the Africa off-grid energy market?

Power Africa

President Obama announced Power Africa in Cape Town, South Africa in June 2013, with the ambitious goal of doubling the number of people with access to electricity in the sub-Sahara region.

The U.S. and other financial partners have committed a total of $20 billion in loans and other financial support for the first five-year phase, which ends in 2018. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Energy and other U.S. government agencies are involved in providing technical support.

By the numbers, Power Africa aims to add more than 30,000 megawatts of "cleaner" energy generation in the region, connecting more than 60 million homes and businesses to a source of electricity.

Although a strong focus on local and off-grid capacity is key to the initiative, the Power Africa vision also includes building larger generating stations as well as transmission and distribution infrastructure.

The initiative is aimed at leveraging the region's rich energy resources, specifically wind, solar, hydropower, natural gas and geothermal.

The inclusion of natural gas is no accident, and it's also worth noting that at least some petroleum development is included in Power Africa's broader mission:

Power Africa also is partnering with Uganda and Mozambique on responsible oil and gas resource management.

It's also worth noting that the inclusion of natural gas as a "cleaner" fuel is itself problematic. Greenhouse gases and other pollutants are demonstrably lower for natural gas at the burn point compared to coal or petroleum, but evidence is increasing that the burn-point benefits are cancelled out by fugitive emissions all along the natural gas supply chain.

In addition, given that South Africa has one of the world's largest untapped shale gas potentials, the environmental impacts and risks of shale gas fracking could also come into play under the Power Africa umbrella.

The Power Africa Off-Grid Energy Challenge

While Power Africa is not exclusively a renewable energy initiative, the Power Africa Off-Grid Energy Challenge does offer a glimpse of Africa's future if clean energy technology can beat out natural gas and other fossil fuels in the marketplace.

The Power Africa Off-Grid Energy Challenge focused on agriculture and other commercial uses in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria and Tanzania.

The winning projects include 14 solar, six biogas, one wind turbine system and one small hydro.

In Ghana, for example, funding went to the Solar Light Co. to enable local production of its Sunana solar-powered mobile device charger for street vendors. An off-grid town will get a biomass gassifier to provide electricity for locally-made palm oil products, and a new solar installation will power water purification and drip irrigation systems for another village.

GE and the Power Africa Off-Grid Energy Challenge

In all, the 22 projects are expected to add 3.4 megawatts of new electricity for rural communities.

Clearly 3.4 megawatts is a drop in the bucket compared to Power Africa's 30,000 megawatt goal, especially in the context of the need for rapid deployment to meet rapidly increasing demand.

That's why we don't think GE is exactly punching itself in the face by funding renewable energy projects while marketing a gas-fired transportable generator in the same region.

By fostering general economic growth, off-grid renewable energy projects will have a positive impact on growth in energy demand overall, and until renewables push fossil fuels out of the market that demand gap will be filled by rapidly deployable generators.

GE introduced its gas-fired generator in 2012 as part of its innovative Ecomagination portfolio, with lower emissions (at least at the burn point) making it an attractive alternative to diesel generators.

The generator is just part of GE's PowerXpand "power in a pinch" gas-fired portfolio designed specifically for Africa and other emerging markets. The product line also includes aeroderivative gas turbines as well as the company's Jenbacher and Waukesha gas engines.

Image credit (screen shot): courtesy of US African Development Foundation.

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By Cindy Mehallow

What makes the efforts of Clinton Global Initiative (GCI) members so successful? CGI members include foundations, corporations and NGOs that have made tangible progress in tackling some of the world’s most pressing problems. From 2005 through 2013, CGI community members have made 2,872 Commitments to Action that have affected the lives of 430 million people across 180 countries. Their efforts have helped rebuild Haiti, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, fight food insecurity, and promote education and economic opportunity for women and girls -- to name a few of their initiatives.

So, how do they achieve these results? Listening to presenters during the recent CGI annual meeting in New York, I paid more attention to how they drove change than to what they accomplished.

As the meeting progressed, several themes began to emerge. Many of the ideas and principles described by presenters echoed success factors I’ve observed firsthand through my work with sustainability reporting clients and my pro-bono work on the municipal level. Even though I’d heard much of this advice before, it was a valuable reminder of some essential principles.

Here is a distillation of their wisdom for assessing your own corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability efforts.

1. Be optimistic

Believe that you can truly affect meaningful change. "Optimism is a moral choice,” Clinton Foundation Vice Chair Chelsea Clinton said. Every speaker shared this upbeat outlook, as one speaker after another recounted goals achieved, people served and solutions implemented. A tangible atmosphere of determined optimism permeated the event.

2. Collaborate

CGI commitments that involve partnerships have been more successful in reaching goals, according to an analysis of commitments from 2005 to 2013. And, compared to earlier commitments, more commitment-makers now rely on inter-sector partnerships.

“Great things are achieved when empowered people collaborate bring dignity to other peoples’ lives,” declared Peyman Al Awadhi, co-host of the Peeta Planet, a social travel TV show popular in the Arab world.

“Collaboration is required to overcome adversity,” added Al Awadi, who led the 'Cities as Labs of Innovation' panel along with his brother and TV show co-host Mohamed.

When Chelsea Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton jointly announced several new commitments dedicated to saving the endangered field and forest elephants of Africa, they were joined on stage by the presidents or first ladies of more than 10 African nations. These leaders are teaming with dozens of disparate partners such as the Frankfurt Zoological Society, the Alibaba Group, the Nature Conservancy, Patagonia Works and the Elephant Action League, among many others. With a broad base of support, they’re gathering an array of allies and assembling a team with complementary skill sets.

3. Set goals

Establish specific, quantifiable goals – preferably ones that measure outcomes, not just outputs. For example, Minister of State for the United Arab Emirates Reem Al Hashimy observed that just getting children into schools is not enough.

“Some students in school are not learning,” she admitted. “We must measure if students are actually learning. We need to go beyond metrics such as the number of students in classrooms to measure what learning occurs.”

Moderator Nicholas Kristof, columnist for the New York Times and author of "A Path Appears," concurred, noting: “Quality makes a huge difference. We need different analytic tools which focus less on inputs and place more emphasis on outputs and outcomes.”

4. Set deadlines

When setting goals for their Commitments to Action, members of the Clinton Global Initiative know that they are expected to report on their progress at the end of one year. If they fail to report at the end of their second year, they’ll be dropped. That kind of defined timeframe inspires action and eliminates foot-dragging.

5. Be accountable

The elements of accountability and public commitment appear to help follow-through, as more than 80 percent of Commitments to Action have been completed or are ongoing. Of these, 1,202 have been completed; 1,145 are still working toward meeting their initial goals; 46 commitments are stalled; and only 139 of all commitments made have been unsuccessful, according to the CGI.

6. Fight on

Be prepared to work hard and persevere in the face of setbacks. “With every hardship is an opportunity,” said Cesare Chife, executive director of the Dr. Aloy and Cesare Chife Foundation in Nigeria. Their foundation works to counter the negative effects of that country’s rapid urbanization by attracting young people to remain in rural areas through sustainable development projects that balance ecology with economic growth. Its work in the Anam region of Nigeria was stalled in 2012 when that region was submerged by floodwaters for five months. When the flood waters receded, leaders used the crisis as a catalyst for the construction of the region’s first health clinic and housing development, using green building techniques.

7. Analyze the outcome.

While the CGI has been compiling commitment results since 2005, it just started analyzing this data in 2013.

“We wanted to dig into why to inform what and how to go forward,” Chelsea explained. CGI is learning from both its successes and its failures, aided by data visualization and analytics provided by CGI member Palantir.

“Our job is to lift up people who are doing right thing,” said President Obama, who addressed the CGI gathering during a break from his appearance at the U.N. General Assembly proceedings. And that is exactly what he did, as he singled out meeting participants from Somalia, Honduras, Cambodia, the U.S. and elsewhere -- and praised their contributions.

8. Take stock

How many of these principles are embedded in your initiatives? Take stock and then shore up any areas that could be more on target. Your efforts are sure to benefit.

Image credit: Clinton Global Initiative 

Cindy Mehallow is principal of Mehallow Communications, a woman-owned sustainability communications consulting practice specializing in corporate social responsibility reporting and stakeholder communications. A GRI organizational stakeholder, Cindy has produced award-winning sustainability reports for Fortune 500 companies in a variety of industries.