2Sustain

Even though US housing starts have dropped dramatically since 2008, green construction is significantly increasing as a share of activity, according to new research from McGraw-Hill Construction, in conjunction with the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and Waste Management.

For example, in 2011, green homes comprised 17 percent of the overall residential construction market. The new study revealed that builders now predict this share of activity will grow to between 29 percent and 38 percent by 2016 — equating to a five-fold increase in five years (from $17 billion in 2011 to $87-$114 billion in 2016).

In addition, construction industry professionals reported an even steeper increase in green home remodeling. About one-third of remodelers (34 percent) said they expect to be doing mostly green work by 2016 –that’s a whopping 150 percent increase over 2011 activity levels.

The main driver of the transition to green building appears to be the current economic climate:

• Many home builders have shifted to the remodeling market due to the drastic drop in new home construction. Well more than half (62 percent) of the builders who do both new and remodeling work verified that the economy has increased their renovation work.
• 46 percent of builders and remodelers and 71 percent of firms dedicated to green home building said they find “building green” makes it easier to market themselves in a down economy.
• A 7 percent drop in green construction costs has encouraged more home owners to seriously consider green building.

Three regions in particular are seeing higher than average growth in green building: the West Coast, the Midwest’s northern region and New England. But, the trend nationwide shows no signs of subsiding. In fact, the report projects that by 2016: (more…)

Colgate-Palmolive has released its latest sustainability report, “Giving the World Reasons to Smile.” The new online report details Colgate’s long-standing commitment, achievements, accomplishments and challenges to sustainability and social responsibility.

Specifically with regard to environmental stewardship, Colgate has:

• Reduced per-ton manufacturing-related greenhouse gas emissions by 21 percent,
• Decreased water use by 44 percent, and
• Lowered wastewater loading by 31 percent

(between 2002 and 2010).

In addition, the company requests that all key suppliers measure and disclose climate change information and overall transparency. Colgate’s Supplier Code of Conduct sets the company’s expectations for suppliers in a number of critical areas, including: (more…)

Ford of Europe is slashing the amount of waste it sends to landfills.

Ford announced a few weeks ago that by increasing the proportion of waste recycled and reused across European production lines, the company can cut landfill waste by a whopping 70 percent. That means a reduction in the average landfill waste generated per vehicle to 1.5kg by 2016 from 5kg in 2011.

In addition, Ford said it wants to reduce water use by 30 percent.

Based on annual production of 1.2 million vehicles, that translates to reducing water use by approximately 1.3 billion liters per year –or 1,100 less liters of water for each car or van produced.  Ford says this plan will also save €2.3 million (about $3 million) over the same time period. (more…)

The Coca-Cola Company has released its eighth annual system-wide Sustainability Report, Reasons to Believe, and in an effort to improve transparency across the company’s broad sustainability platform, this new report includes several different “firsts” for the beverage giant.

For example, this year’s report was created using stakeholder feedback and, for the first time, The Coca-Cola Company followed the disclosure and reporting requirements of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), earning the company a self-declared grade level “B+.”

In addition, company decided to publish its report exclusively online, using a unique digital format that offers easier access from smart phones, tablets and other mobile devices.

With regard to environmental stewardship, Reasons to Believe reveals that The Coca-Cola Company has: (more…)

Most corporate sustainability reports are full of environmental goals. But, do companies actually reach these ambitions? How many end up meeting the targets they set for themselves?

Among British retailers, the track record so far appears to be quite good. In fact, a new report from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) report concluded that retailers in the UK are living up to the environmental ambitions they committed themselves to in 2008 –plus,  they’re demonstrating increasing recognition that reducing waste, energy and water usage not only benefits the environment, but makes good business sense, as well.

The BRC-led project, A Better Retailing Climate, was launched in 2008, and it committed businesses representing the majority of the UK retail market to sector-wide environmental ambitions. The report released last month, A Better Retailing Climate: Towards Sustainable Retail, is the BRC’s third review of progress against these original commitments.

Here’s a breakdown of the report’s key findings: (more…)