eco-officiency blog » energy

Measuring Your Success with Sustainability

eco-officiency — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 05:00:31 +0000

As companies start sustainability initiatives, how will they know they are successful? One of the ways is to develop a metrics plan to measure the improvement. The complexity comes in what data do you track and measure. Data is not always available and/or time consuming to collect, track and maintain for limited staff resources.

Here are some options to consider in three of the more common areas for companies:

Energy

% of total KWH energy reductions (via utility bill)
# of energy star equipment or appliances purchased or used

Purchasing and Supply Chain

% of recycled or post-consumer waste products purchased
% of local based products or vendors used
% of revenue of total purchases used with sustainable vendors
# of vendors who ‘sustainable’

Transportation

# of bus passes (used and/or purchased)
# of miles driven to and from work for all staff
% of products purchased within (# of miles) of company location
# of employees who use alternative transportation (days per year)

For more information, the International Sustainability Indicators is an organization that provides information to measure progress toward sustainability for communities and companies.

Sustainable Innovation

eco-officiency — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 05:00:33 +0000

YERT – Your Environmental Road Trip, is a film that entailed a year long road trip in the U.S. showing unique and innovate ways to approach environmental sustainability. The film features some incredible innovations. Check out this short preview of some of the innovations.

One of the more practical and large scale ideas is the Solar Roadways project that is working to pave roads with solar panels that you can drive on. Check out this short four minute video on their idea to increase solar energy and guarantee power to outlying areas in our country.

How much water does a single Google search use?

eco-officiency — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 05:00:38 +0000

Who knew that a simple Google search related to water usage? Well the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) examined the relationship between water and energy and showed just how much a Google search requires.

In their report, “Where Water Meets Watts”, they cite that a single Google search requires a half a milliliter of water in energy. With over 300 million searches worldwide that adds up to over 150,000 liters of water per day to produce enough electrical power.

The IEEE also developed an interactive map that shows the relationship between energy and water and how it relates to each communities supply. The map shows population access to clean water and electricity along with the prognosis provided by IEEE. It hopes the map will encourage global awareness of the situation of water and energy use.

To calculate and learn more about your water consumption habits visit Water Footprint.

Calculate Your Impact and Footprint

eco-officiency — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 05:00:25 +0000

There are a host of calculators out there to help you or your office determine your impact. Once your impact is known then create a goal of how you would like to reduce it. Here are a few of my favorites to get you started:

Global Footprint Network: A good overall calculator on general green footprint

Household Savings Calculator: Developed by the NRDC to track home energy savings

Water Calculator: Developed by H2O Conserve this measures water consumption.

Xerox Sustainability Calculator: A great calculator that measures the overall impact a company’s printers and copiers have on the environment.