| Vol. 1, Issue 9 |
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Your Official Source for All Things Green in the First State |
DOVER BEAT
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GREEN DELAWAREANS ●
BUSINESS
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GREEN HOME ●
FINANCE ●
TRANSPORTATION
REAL ESTATE ●
LIFESTYLE ●
TECHNOLOGY ●
NATIONAL ●
EDUCATION ●
SOCIAL COMMUNITY
Brandywine Design:
A Tale of a Woman for All Seasons
A Tale of a Woman for All Seasons
As you enter the converted loft
that is the office of Terri Wasdyke, owner of Brandywine Design, you get an
inkling of what the company is all about. The atmosphere is at once
welcoming, cheerful and relaxing. A true reflection of the designers'
personalities, the space is extremely organized yet aesthetically pleasing,
with whimsical touches of an eclectic mix of objets de art and tools of the
trade. The “office” is spacious and infused by natural light pouring in from
windows looking out onto a pastoral view. Terri, an innate naturalist, has
been fascinated by art and composition for as long as she can remember. She
explained that her goal is to optimize the living experience for people by
creating surroundings that will enhance their homes, offices or places of
business, based on their needs and reflecting their personalities.
The initial consultation, which usually takes about an hour, is just the
beginning of what Terri refers to as “an ongoing dialogue.” Terri and her
staff maintain a constant flow of communication with their clients
throughout the process. Terri has always been concerned with environmental
issues. An avid outdoor swimmer all of her life, she has been deeply
impacted by the polluting of the lakes, rivers and streams that she swam in
as a child. Founded in 1997, Brandywine Design has evolved greatly as a
company, and Terri's quest to enrich the lives of her clients
...continued
Green
Teams: Engaging Employees in Sustainabi
The latest in our series of
GreenBiz Reports, researched and written by Deborah Fleischer, the president
of Green Impact, explores and outlines the 10 best practices for bringing
all your employees on board with your company's sustainability projects.
From the executive summary of the report:
Green teams are self-organized, grassroots and cross-functional groups of employees who voluntarily come together to educate, inspire and empower employees around sustainability. They identify and implement specific solutions to help their organization operate in a more environmentally sustainable fashion. Most green teams initially focus on greening ...continued
U.S. Solar Demand Prompts Domestic Production
The U.S. solar industry has a bright 2010 ahead of it, with demand on the rise and old factories being converted to solar production.
For instance, an idled silicon plant in New York has come online to produce materials for solar cells.
Partly driving the uptick in the solar industry is the U.S. federal government’s fast-tracking of more than 2.4 gigawatts of renewable energy projects in California to help them qualify for stimulus funding, together with more interest for new projects due to lower panel pricing, reports Reuters.
This is after a year marked by a nearly a 50 percent decline in solar module prices that impacted profits for leading solar companies like First Solar Inc. and Q-Cells, reports Reuters.
However, some Gartner analysts cautioned that a full recovery will take time with 2010 revenue up 9 percent, according to the article.
Another piece of good news for the solar industry is ...continued
Outraged Cyclists Re-Paint Removed Bike Lane,
Guerilla Style (Video)
UD's John Byrne to Speak at Global Climate Change Summit
“Setting targets is not
enough, we must act by applying the practical solutions we know will
work,” says UD’s Byrne.
Director of the University of Delaware’s Center for
Energy & Environmental Policy (CEEP) and co-chair of the Sustainable
Energy Utility (SEU), Dr. John Byrne, will present a ‘how to’ in
reducing CO2 emissions at the December 7-18 international Climate Change
Summit in Copenhagen. Byrne’s presentations are based on examples of
CEEP’s research into communities empowered to take collective action
that not only have led to cuts in energy waste, but have fostered job
and economic growth.
The University of Delaware’s CEEP is a U.N.-designated observer
organization for the international climate treaty negotiations in
Copenhagen. CEEP recently released groundbreaking research into
...continued
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Modular is not a dirty word (anymore)
Modular home building is one of the fastest-growing segments of the home construction industry. It provides a higher quality home at less cost and in less time than building the same home on site.
Recently caught in the middle of a
lagging housing market, some manufacturers of factory-built homes have
realized that efficiency and sustainability are a very smart business
strategy. Today modern modular building has become an appealing
alternative to stick built housing for many reasons:
The modular housing industry has more than a few characteristics that
today might be considered eco-friendly — from reduced waste to recycling
and a smaller construction footprint. The basic principle of prefab
construction is that sections of a home, or modules, are built in a
controlled factory environment, transported to a project site upon
completion, and then connected and placed onto a foundation. Depending
on the complexity of the home, designers can employ anywhere from two to
50 structurally connected pieces.
A modular home is built in sections in a controlled factory environment. About 90 percent of the home's construction is ...continued
The Eight Biggest Myths about Sustainability in Business
In our research, and in engagements with dozens of
Fortune 1000 companies, we are sometimes surprised at the reluctance to
pursue environmental sustainability initiatives, because of
misconceptions about their cost or benefits. But we have also seen how
some companies have embraced sustainability whole-heartedly, and are
profiting from it.
As a way of helping to get every company on the journey to
sustainability, here are some of the most common myths we have heard
from otherwise successful companies. As surprising as some of these
might sound -- like the idea that there is no money to be had from
sustainability efforts -- these ideas persist in companies large and
small and in any industry.
1. It's a cost and we can't afford it right now
Sustainability should be considered not just because it is the right
thing to do, but also because it makes business sense. If an initiative
cannot be justified from a strategic, financial, operational, marketing,
or employee recruitment/retention perspective, don't do it. But we have
found that in almost every corner of an organization there is a
fundamental business reason for being more sustainable.
As Richard Goode, Director of Sustainability at
...continued