States, cities and the business community moved to fill the void created by a perceived lack at federal leadership in battling climate change in 2008. We saw big promises and goals as companies sought to make their operations leaner, take advantage of the opportunities created by climate change, and begin moving to reduce associated risks. Meanwhile, nongovernmental organizations stepped up to help businesses find their footing while reminding us how far we have to go.

A California airplane hangar is the first of its kind to gain LEED certification.

A new light bulb company raises $5 million.

McDonald's vice president for corporate responsibility went to the Virtual Energy Forum this week to offer up his company's take on energy management, green building and sustainability.
 

Wal-Mart Brazil will debut its eco-efficient hypermarket tomorrow in Brazil as part of the company's growing environmental effort. According to representatives, the Campinho store has the largest number of sustainability initiatives of any Wal-Mart building.
 

Environmentalists celebrated on Wednesday as the Bush administration, in its waning days, dropped plans to ease restrictions on coal plants.

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Bentonville, Ark., Dec. 2, 2008 -- Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) has established a partnership with many of its leading sustainability suppliers to facilitate the creation of green jobs in the United States. The Wal-Mart Green Jobs Council is comprised of representatives from throughout the retailer's divisions, including store operations, real estate, logistics and sustainability, and representatives from suppliers across a variety of industries.

"We believe that creating green jobs is essential to keeping the United States competitive in the global marketplace," said Leslie Dach, executive vice president of corporate affairs and government relations for Wal-Mart. "At Wal-Mart we believe that by bringing these companies together and working collaboratively we can help develop a larger green job workforce in this country."

As part of its company-wide sustainability goals, Wal-Mart is committed to being supplied 100 percent by renewable energy, creating zero waste and selling environmentally-friendly products. The company is moving toward these goals by using sustainable sourcing practices including energy efficiency, waste reduction, renewable energy and lifecycle management. These initiatives are making Wal-Mart a more sustainable company and helping create a favorable environment for green job creation.

For example, Wal-Mart recently announced its first substantial purchase of wind energy in the U.S. which will lead to the creation of green jobs in Texas. The wind power will supply up to 15 percent of the retailers' total energy load in approximately 360 Texas stores and other facilities. This is one example of the dozens of projects Wal-Mart is implementing across its operations with green job creation potential.

At an inaugural meeting of the Wal-Mart Green Jobs Council, participants identified their top catalysts for creating green jobs, including government policies, executive leadership for sustainability programs, and market drivers such as increased customer demand. Top barriers identified by the group include a lack of a trained workforce and lack of access to capital, especially in the current economic environment.

Participants are also working to more clearly define standards for green jobs and to work collaboratively towards facilitating green job development. More than 30 suppliers participated in the inaugural meeting, including large and small companies such as BP Solar, Dematic, General Electric, HydroPoint Data Systems, Lennox, ReCold, Schneider Electric, SwissLog, Systecon, Thermastor, and Zurn.

"Wal-Mart's Green Jobs Council is driving collaboration among a variety of companies that are focused on America's most valuable resource; the American worker," said Christopher Spain, chairman and chief strategy officer for HydroPoint, Data Systems in Petaluma, Calif. "To overcome both rising unemployment and dwindling natural resources, we must invest in our nation's workforce through the development of jobs that preserve the environment for generations to come. I believe the goals of the Green Jobs Council are highly achievable. "

Wal-Mart plans to convene its next Green Jobs Council meeting in Washington, D.C., in early 2009.

About Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT)
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. operates Wal-Mart discount stores, Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets and Sam's Club locations in the United States. The Company operates in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom and, through a joint venture, in India. The Company's securities are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol WMT. More information about Wal-Mart can be found by visiting www.walmartstores.com. Online merchandise sales are available at www.walmart.com and www.samsclub.com.

By Brad N. Mondschein  - GreenEnergyandLaw.com

Hawaii's Governor and the Hawaii electric utilities have reached an agreement on transforming Hawaii into one of the most progressive renewable energy states in the country.  The agreement includes the construction of undersea cables that will connect Maui, Moloka'i and Lana'i so that wind generated in Maui can be utilized in Oahu which will add 400 MW of renewable capacity.  Further, the agreement calls for 40% of the state's energy to be renewable by 2030.
The agreement also calls for a mandatory solar roofing requirement and tax credits and rebates to convert homes to solar hot water heaters.  Further, the utility will be responsibel for supplying solar water heaters to any customer and the cost will be shared between the customer and ratepayers.

The utilities are also required to implement a PV Host Program.  The program will allow the utilities to own PV systems and pay rent to property owners and/or provide electricity to property owners.  Further, the program will require a utility to purchase PV generated electricity pursuant to a feed-in tariff with the additional costs being borne by ratepayers.

The utilities have also agreed to implement a "feed-in" tariff system for renewable energy projects which will stabilize the price paid for renewable energy generated and purchased by the utility.

You probably don't notice it, but on a typical midday in a Costco warehouse very few ceiling lights are on. The buildings are designed with enough skylights to light the interior, and light-sensitive controls automatically turn off the overheads when the sky provides enough brightness.

Called "daylight harvesting," the system is a simple yet important example of the many steps taken in the warehouses to lessen their impact on the environment. Other efforts are designed to reduce the amount of waste generated by the warehouses, recycle everything from cardboard to chicken grease and use smarter packaging to decrease truck delivery trips. These are all environmentally smart programs, but in truth they have been employed at Costco for years as measures to reduce operating costs. In other words, at Costco the concept of green applies to the environment and to money.

"We have been doing these things because they were efficient and bring cost reductions," says Karen Raines, Costco's director of corporate sustainability. "And now we're finding out they're also green."

What's new is that Costco is aggressively pursuing more ways of reducing the warehouses' impact on the environment. Here's a look at the highlights.

Energy savings: a top priority

Operating nearly 400 warehouses in the United States requires a tremendous amount of energy1.9 billion kilowatts last year, to be exact. Several programs reduce energy requirements in the warehouses.

The most visible is solar panels on warehouse roofs. Costco installed the first panels in 2006; today, more than a dozen warehouses in Hawaii and California have them and more are being added every year. These systems can reduce overall electricity requirements by about 20 percent. "We're doing this primarily because it's the right thing to do, but also because it makes financial sense," says Craig Peal, a Costco assistant vice president who oversees energy-saving initiatives.

All new refrigeration, air-conditioning and lighting systems in the buildings are high-efficiency units that minimize energy usage. Older buildings are being upgraded with more efficient equipment. A recent tune-up of lighting and air-conditioning control systems in 350 warehouses reduced energy consumption by about 5 percent, says Craig.

The warehouses are also finding they can significantly reduce water consumption by using new fixtures. For example, the Costco in Grandview, British Columbia, recently installed low-flow spray valves in sinks throughout the warehouse. It was found that the new nozzles use about 48 percent less water than standard valves. Now, new building specs include these water-saving valves.

Reducing waste in the buildings

Each Costco warehouse generates tons of waste each week, in the form of cardboard, plastic, unusable produce and more. Much of it is kept out of local landfills through a variety of efforts.

All cardboard and plastic wrap is baled in the warehouses and recycled. This year, that will total some 240,000 tons of material. Recyclable paper and plastic are both sold as commodities, so keeping them out of landfills makes smart business sense, says Todd Fitzgerald, Costco corporate recycling and waste-reduction specialist.

Another big source of waste is produce as much as 1.5 tons a week per warehouse. Costco is testing programs in several buildings to keep this produce out of landfills by paying composting companies to pick it up, for a rate lower than what garbage companies charge. For example, in Palm Springs, California, two warehouses are sending the waste produce to a worm farm, where it is composted into mulch. The trimmings from meat and grease from Costco's rotisserie chickens are also reusable. These wastes have traditionally gone to rendering companies, which make them into animal feed and other products. But now, biofuel producers in some regions have started buying the meat trimmings and chicken grease.

Smart advances in packaging

Costco is examining virtually every product in the warehouses with this question: Can the packaging be smarter? The answer is often yes. For example, buyers are working with suppliers to replace the clamshell packages, which hold everything from cosmetics to calculators, with packages that use paperboard and PET plastic. The clamshell packages have PVC plastic, which isn't readily recyclable, while paperboard and PET plastic are.

In many cases, products and their packages can be designed to be greener. For example, by making square plastic milk bottles, 224 gallon-size bottles can now fit on a pallet, compared to 210 round bottles. It doesn't sound like a lot, but spread out to all warehouses, the larger pallet count saves 521 truck trips to the warehouses per year, eliminating fuel usage and exhaust emissions. The same approach is being applied to dozens of products, from laundry detergent to nuts.

Costco is committed to shrinking its carbon footprint in real, sustainable ways, tapping the same innovative spirit that has helped the company be successful, says Karen. "We're doing what we've always done, by trying to be efficient and cost-effective on things," she says. "But we're also looking at where we can do a better job."
 

The Environmental Protection Agency has unveiled its new ENERGY STAR rating is for solid-state lighting products, starting with undercabinet shelf-mounted task lighting, portable desk task lights, recessed downlights and outdoor step lights and pathway lights.
 
The new program, which was launched Sept. 30, will include both residential and commercial applications intended for general illumination. DOE is following a two-phase approach for the program —the first phase allows for early participation of a limited range of market-ready products while the second phase sets out more rigorous performance targets for future products.
 
The first group of products eligible  for the ENERGY STAR program will take advantage of the directional nature of LED technology. These products include undercabinet shelf-mounted task lighting, portable desk task lights, recessed downlights and outdoor step lights and pathway lights.
 
By 2011, the ENERGY STAR program will allow all types of SSL applications for general lighting. Until then, the ENERGY STAR program will identify specific types of lighting applications to be added to the program. Some applications include street and area lighting, parking garage lighting, cove lighting, replacement lamp applications and wallwash applications.