Technology

GM Ventures L.L.C., the venture capital arm of General Motors Corporation is investing $7.5 million in Sunlogics P.L.C. a maker of electric vehicle charging stations. As part of the Chevrolet Green Zone program, Sunlogics will construct solar charging stations for GM. These “solar canopies” charge electric cars with low weight photovoltaic panels. The solar charging stations are rated at 20 kilowatts and can take up to 24 electric vehicle spaces. Sunlogics will also install solar canopies at GM’s Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid electric car dealerships as well as large-scale solar arrays to be installed on GM’s facilities. Sunlogics plans to...

These exclusive ISO 50001 podcasts feature expert panelists Ed Pinero, the Chairman of the ISO 50001 Technical Committee and Carolyn Campbell, LRQA Energy Management Expert. The Forgotten Fuel Source The Importance of ISO 50001 For more information on ISO 50001 Certification to gain greater visibility and control of your energy resources click here (pdf). © 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved. Related Posts ISO 50001 Energy Management Standard Benefits of The ISO 50001 Energy Management The Implications of ISO 50001 for Your Business The Importance of ISO 50001 On Demand Webinar ISO Principles for Environmental Labels ISO 14020 Series ISO...

In this webinar, international energy management experts discuss how ISO 50001 provides organizations with a harmonized and consistent methodology for identifying and implementing improvements to: Increase energy efficiency Reduce cost Improve energy performance The webinar features expert panelists Ed Pinero, the Chairman of the ISO 50001 Technical Committee and Carolyn Campbell, LRQA Energy Management Expert. The webinar covers the following: Why and how ISO 50001 was developed Benefits and advantages of ISO 50001 Organizational drivers of energy management Link between ISO 14001 and ISO 50001 Steps to integration with other standards Approach to certification To gain access to the webinar...

Sustainable and environmentally friendly buildings are the leading edge in building design today. To achieve a high level of building sustainability in an efficient and effective manner requires the integration of the best management system standards available. Integrated management systems will ensure that we have the capacity to produce more sustainable buildings and ISO 26000 provides a useful set of guidelines. The initial standards and models that addressed elements of social responsibility (SR) include OHSAS 18001 for Health and Safety and most important ISO 14001, the environmental management standard. The systematic ISO 14001:2004 approach requires that organizations take a hard...

The ISO 50001 Energy Management Standard defines how executives can establish an energy management plan for their organization. A recent article in CSEMag.com outlines the three factors that make the ISO 50001 Energy Management Standard so appealing to organizations. They are as follows: 1. ISO 50001 is applicable to any size and type of organization in any country and to every type of building using any type of energy from any source. And, it’s designed to be integrated with organizational policies and practices already in place—so organizations do not have to reinvent themselves around energy management. 2. ISO 50001 adopters...

ISO 14001 is the Environment Management Standard (EMS) and sets requirements for implementing, maintaining and improving an environmental management system, and ensuring compliance with environmental laws and regulations. In today’s global marketplace it is essential to maintain a consistent standard of quality in manufacturing, management, environmental safety, and employee safety in order for a business to be and stay successful. ISO 14000 certification courses cover the “environmental” aspects of the ISO standard and will educate and prepare your organization to implement and maintain this internationally-recognized standard. ISO 14000 certification courses can assist your business in preparing for certification while bringing...

There are currently almost 7 billion people in the world and by 2050 the world's population is expected to be around billion. With one billion people currently going hungry, it raises the question of how we can feed everyone. With slowing annual increases in agricultural yields food security is recognized as a major issue by the U.N. and the G20. Current methods of cultivating crops continue to degrade land, water, biodiversity, and climate. Scientists have figured out how we can feed the world without destroying the planet. But we will have to drastically change the way we produce food. According...

More frequent extreme weather events caused by climate change are expected to increase food price volatility. If we want to feed the world we need to pursue a course that includes environmental sustainability. Both mitigation and adaptation are required to address the impacts of climate change.Climate change is already having a major impact on agricultural yields. According to a paper published in journal Science and quoted in ENN, global wheat and corn output was reduced by more than 3 percent over the past three decades and these impacts translated into up to 20 percent higher average commodity prices. Higher prices...

Food crises are jeopardizing efforts to achieve the United Nations' millennium development goal of halving the proportion of people who suffer from hunger by 2015. According to an annual report on world hunger, food price volatility is likely to continue and perhaps even increase, making poor farmers, consumers and countries more vulnerable to poverty and food insecurity. Population growth, increasing demand from rapidly growing economies and biofuels will place additional demands on the food system, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (Ifad) and the World Food Programme (WFP) said in their joint report....

Green school construction offers many benefits including thousands of new jobs. Green schools use an average of 33% less energy and 32% less water than conventional schools. A 2006 study sponsored by the American Federation of Teachers, the American Institute of Architects, the American Lung Association, the Federation of American Scientists and USGBC found that building green would save an average school $100,000 each year in energy costs along – enough to hire two new additional full-time teachers, purchase 5,000 new textbooks, or buy 500 new computers. Green schools have a superior indoor environment, with clean, fresh air, free of...