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THIS ISSUE'S SPONSOR
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Taking Care of Business
By Joel Makower
For all the talk about the federal stimulus money coming out of the U.S. Treasury for things like renewable energy, smart grid and green jobs, much of the action is taking place at the local level. That's nothing new. For years, U.S. governors and mayors -- and their counterparts in Europe, South America and Asia -- have been ahead of their national-level brethren in setting the green agenda.
Example: More than 500 U.S. mayors have signed the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement committing themselves to meet or beat the Kyoto Protocol targets in their own communities, through actions ranging from anti-sprawl land-use policies to urban forest restoration projects to public information campaigns, as well as pressing their state and federal leaders to do likewise. Its global counterpart is the Clinton Climate Initiative's C40 Cities program, a group of the world's largest cities committed to tackling climate change.
Local climate commitments are heating up. This week, we report that five in six of the 40 largest cities in the U.S. say sustainability is one of their top five problems, according to a new report. Three in four cities studied say they've either already put detailed sustainability plans in place or are in the midst of developing methods for reducing overall greenhouse gases, typically by 10 to 20 percent in the next five to 10 years. In London, Mayor Boris Johnson pledged £3 million (about U.S.$4.5 million) to develop ten flagship low-carbon zones aimed at creating jobs and cutting carbon emissions.
It's not just climate change. Last week, Washington state Governor Chris Gregoire signed into law a new paper recycling and conservation act that requires all state agencies and state colleges to purchase paper containing 100 percent post-consumer recycled content by the end of this year. Meanwhile, a plastic bag ban in the state of South Australia goes into effect this month as the retailer Target Australia plans to eliminate plastic bags from all of its stores countrywide.
Some of the action stems from cities' determination to leverage the growing green economy to create jobs and economic development, as the newly released report from Living Cities found. That's a theme that we'll be hearing about for some time to come, as politicians at all levels compete to become a green-tech hub. It's a healthy competition that stands to have many winners.
Making Your Impact at Work: This Wednesday, May 13, a new report will debut from Net Impact and eBay that profiles emerging leaders working as green change agents inside their companies. The report, Making Your Impact at Work: A Practical Guide to Changing the World From Inside Any Company, will launch with a free webinar hosted by our own John Davies, Vice President of GreenBiz Intelligence, and featuring several of the individuals profiled in the report. To register for the call (May 13, noon Eastern Daylight Time), or to learn more, visit NetImpact.org.
Last Call for Greener By Design! Our flagship green product design conference begins next week. To fill up the last few remaining seats, we're offering a few bargain-priced tickets. We recently added two new keynotes to the line-up. (See here for the full agenda) Send a note -- quickly! -- to Erin Brody if you're interested.
Attention D.C. Readers: Also on May 13, I'll be speaking at a public event in Washington, D.C., hosted by the National Capital Region Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council. Would love to see you there.
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Featured News
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How to Build a Green Team: The First Step to Sustainability
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By Joel Makower
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Long-term sustainable growth is important to building a successful company. In the final installment of her four-part series "Growing a Green Corporation: Meeting the Next Great Disruptive Challenge of the 21st Century," Brandi McManus provides a blueprint for building a green team.... Read More
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GreenBiz Radio
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The Secrets Behind 'Design for Environment'
By Brandi McManus
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(Episode 84): Joseph Fiksel spoke to GreenBiz Radio about the design principles behind his new book, the companies already putting them to work, and advice for those new to the game.... Listen
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