Like clichés, resolutions tend to be all aspiration and no perspiration, so most people think that resolutions are a waste of time. I, on the other hand, aspire to live a cliché, simply because when actually acted upon, there is a great deal of wisdom embodied in clichés.
So, in the hope that people aren't just blowing smoke, GreenerBuildings.com is bringing you some of the green building resolutions and accomplishments some of our readers were generous enough to share with us.
Robert Pojasek brings us his resolution wishlist for business leaders. For example, he hopes that environmental health, safety and sustainability managers will broaden their focus to include the other legs of the sustainability tripod -- social and economic sustainability -- to complement their environmental focus.
Facility managers are urged to be more active in aligning their sustainability management system with their company's business strategy.
Pojasek also suggests that supply chain managers work with suppliers to bring make sustainability part of their value chain, thereby enhancing their own products' value.
Greener World Media also asked people to share with us some of their proudest accomplishments in 2009 and many companies rightfully claimed bragging rights for their year.
Brandi McManus from Schneider Electric reports that they helped their customers save nearly $500 million and reduce their carbon footprints by 7 million tons. No coal in Brandi's stocking this year! Grainger's Jeff Rehm helped his company triple the number of LEED Certified facilities it owns, making it unique among industrial distributors.
Of course, no retrospective would be complete without a forward look, so in 2010 Daniel Daggett is looking forward to implementing JohnsonDiversey's ambitious commitment to triple its carbon emissions reduction target. Michelle Mann of Adobe Systems Inc. anticipates turning some heads by installing 20 1.2 KW Windspire vertical axis wind turbines at its San Jose headquarters, each of which can generate around 2,000 kWh a year.
Greener World Media Grand Poobah Joel Makower talks about some of the key sustainability milestones that have and haven't been hit the past decade.
For example, while green buildings were fairly exotic creatures a decade ago, they are now regularly aspired for, if not achieved.
Notwithstanding the mainstreaming of green, we have less to show for it than we need as we indicated in the Green Building Market and Impact Report and as will be shown in the upcoming State of Green Business Report due out on February 4th (think of it as an early Valentine for Mother Earth).
Final Newsflush: Water is beginning to be noticed by the venture capital community with about $130 million in investments, according to a new report by GTM Research.
High-profile projects such as the Falcon Waterless urinal retrofit of Land Shark Stadium, which is home to this year's Super Bowl and the tardy, but nonetheless welcome, entry of some style into the dual-flush toilet market thanks to Geberit, will undoubtedly help additional funds to wash into this field.
This year's first Look-Grandpa-I-picked-up-the-$20-bill-you-said-was-fake-but-it's-real! award goes to Ceres for its report Energy Efficiency in Real Estate Portfolios: Opportunities for Investors that documents millions of dollars in energy savings that are being reaped by institutional investors, such as TIAA-CREF & CalPERS, who hold their real estate managers' feet to the fire to deliver portfolio-wide carbon reductions.
Rob Watson is the executive editor of GreenerBuildings.com. You can reach Rob at rob.watson@greenerworldmedia.com or follow him on Twitter @KilrWat.
Image by timobalk.