Green Report Cards are becoming very popular, especially since there are some clear standards and criteria that allow third party organizations to measure how organizations perform.

Newsweek ranked the 500 greenest companies in America, focusing on ‘the economic case for going green.’ It ranked businesses by Environmental Impact,  Green Policies and Performance, and gave them a ‘Reputation Score.’ McDonald’s came 22nd. HP topped the list.

Read the story here.

Read the rankings here.

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I was at a Fry’s grocery store this morning to exchange something, and was shocked to receive a plastic gift card because there happened to be a refund of 0.44 cents! I bet that 2-part plastic card cost about as much.

It reminded me of how much retailers need to educate their staff about not just reducing the plastic bags and reducing energy use etc. I have had to refuse plastic cards from so many other retailers it’s not funny. Several others have told me how they have tried to turn down  cards, but store staff don’t seem to care.

But there are some more positive trends to report as well. Some retail outlets are adopting these:

• An EcoATMs is yet another fascinating vending unit that accepts e-waste –basically consumer electronics. This machine too, scan the item deposited, and generates a coupon or credit.

• Reverse Recycling is showing up in stores such as Albertsons. Yes, there is such as thing as a Reverse Vending Machine, which can be used to give you store credit for your recyclables.

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What’s the definition of a Light Green Consumer?

A light green consumer is apparently a woman who shops at Whole Foods, but gets there in a Hummer. (There’s another definition here, if you’re interested.)

The topic came up as we brainstormed at Decision Theater this morning. Derrick Mains CEO of GreenNurture led the meeting and talked about how we plan to use social media to help businesses –Light Green, Dark Green and anything inbetween–promote eco-actions, and have employee buy in? How do you get rid of Styrofoam cups within an organization, and provide scientific basis as to why it is a profitable to it?

It’s all about providing organizations a clear path through the Decision Funnel, said George Basile, Director of the Decision Theater. “The space in which businesses have to make environmental decisions is decreasing –narrowing– over time,” he said. “We know they face all kinds of hurdles –boycotts, resource limitations, skepticism etc …

Basile: What if the funnel widens at the other end, creating a ‘double-sided funnel?’ Could GreenNurture bring the best science and layer it over the an employee-driven sustainability program, to help companies pass through that funnel?

Mains: We will. We are going to know what people are concerned about before hand so our content experts will point to the science that will validate the ‘five things’ being voted on or acted on. We can tell the corporate administrator, “hey that Styrofoam cup idea –it will save you $x,000 at the end of the year.” The social platform on which GreenNurture is based could engage employees, and track their actions.

If you want to see a demo of the GreenNurture platform, the tracking capabilities, click here.

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Here’s a great document by the National Environmental Education Foundation, or NEEF.

In their report about aligning corporate sustainability values and everyday business practices, they feature case studies from Cisco, HP. Walmart, Johnson & Johnson, and Stonyfield. It is about identifying and empowering employees in aligning day-to-day operations with corporate values.

Sounds familiar?

It will, if you look how the social media-based application from GreenNurture works. The tool answers all of the six requirements defined, that address the need for more information, incentivization and tracking.

Download the report here.

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Last week there was the news of George Soros investing $1 Billion in green energy.

This week it’s the other deep-pockets guy –actually it’s the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation — investing $120 Million  in the ‘next green revolution.‘

Investments have been up and down over the past few quarters, as the chart below shows, but October has certainly been a good month.

Venture Capital money is also flowing. Rob Day, who writes a great VC blog observed recently that 93 percent of money for start ups  is coming from individuals not VC firms.

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So if you missed the radio interview on Energy Dynamics show last Saturday, we captured it on video as well.

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At a recent GreenNurture meeting, someone mentioned a simple method of making people aware of the impact they make when they toss something in the trash.

Apparently there are three receptacles in an airport, labeled Glass, Paper, and … Landfill.

So we though this was an equally powerful way to send a message. The video is self explanatory.

Tired of sticking up signs in the office to remind folks to turn off the lights or use double-sided paper? It’s time to get creative!

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This morning, Derrick Mains, CEO of GreenNurture was be featured on Stan Hexom’s show, Energy Dynamics.

Broadcast from the Phoenix studios of KFNX 1100.

Hexom, whose weekly show focuses on topics such as solar, green buildings and energy efficiency, inquired about the role of ‘micro-sustainability’ and how organizations that promote want to go green can get started.

Click on image to see more

Derrick talked about the ’sleeping giant’ that executives could educate and energize in ways that affect the company’s bottom line. “Leaving the light on, or not reporting a broken sprinkler head, not only costs the company money, but ultimately costs jobs.” We need to point to the correlation between micro eco-actions and the bottom line.

He talked of recognition, a rewards mechanism, and pledging. The last, explained Derrick, is under-used; research shows that getting people to make a commitment  has a direct bearing on their long-term actions.

Great Quotes:

“Sustainability is an inside job” – Stan Hexom

“Sustainability is the next dot-com” – Derrick Mains

“Arizona could be the epicenter of the big sustainability movement” - – Derrick Mains

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This week, we’d like to point you to two resources – both blogs.

1. Solar Decathlon Winner’s blog

Heard about the Solar Decathlon this week? It was run by the Dept. of Energy. It was a different kind of show-and-tell in the nation’s capital. Amazing photos here.

Essentially a student competition to see how high-tech solar homes could be built. Twenty colleges competed, and the winner was Germany. Competitors were judged on 10 categories: Architecture, Market Viability, Engineering, Lighting Design, Communications, Comfort Zone, Hot Water, Appliances, Home Entertainment and Net Metering.

So the best way to get a sense of the run up to the contest is to read their blog.

2. Blog Action Day posts

Climate took the global spotlight this week in the blogosphere with Blog Action Day (our contribution was one of the 31,000 posts about climate change yesterday, creating a 500% jump). Some 155 countries participated, so there’s a lot of reading here! Blog Action Day 2009

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This post is our contribution to Blog Action Day, which falls, today.

The story of how our climate is changing is being told in many formats, and not just via PowerPoint presentations. There are podcasts, abrasive town halls meetings, a prodigious book industry, blogs, videos…

But interactive maps tell a different type of story. The latest National Geographic magazine has a great pull-out section on climate change. So I looked for it online, and there it was, a wonderful interactive map, that lets you look at different variables –eco-systems, health, food and forests, industry and society etc

A similar interactive experience awaits at NPR, which has a series called Climate Connections. The map links you to all the NPR stories on different topics, and you can select them by clicking on cities on which they are based.

View both maps here:

• National Geographic

• National Public Radio

So what’s your story? How would you tell it? We like to know as we too are documenting how you think your micro-actions can be more than a push pin on a big map.  Leave a comment here, or email us  here.

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It’s been an amazing week, as we ramp up toward the launch of GreenNurture. But this bit of promotion, by Microsoft took us off guard.

We had started using a Quick Response tag in our business cards and marcom material, because it ties in nicely to our effort to reduce printed material. And then this, from Nadia and Elliott :

Watch what they say at 1.20 minutes into the vid.

As we like to say, use a tag, save a tree.

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It’s impossible to miss the numerous green initiatives swirling around us. And it not just because of the run up to GreenBuild International Conference next month.

Phoenix took the lead to be one of the nation’s greenest cities almost a year back.  Aside from making this Green list, it’s ranked as a top Solar city awell.

Not by accident, the Phoenix metro area is home of the Global Institute of Sustainability at ASU, with the backing of the Wrigley Investments, LLC. It has and put its money where it’s mouth is, with the light rail system, and together with GPEC, has been steadily attracting ventures such as SolarCity and First Solar.

At the county level, there is the Green Government initiative -watch a short video here –by Maricopa County. Just today, 15 Arizona schools received stimulus money for solar related projects. Naturally, we are excited to in conversations with Maricopa County, to help them use our social media platform toward their long term goals.

Just for the record, here two other indicators.

• Renewable Energy projects
• Green Building Initiatives

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Every Friday, we compile a list of topics and reports that are worth digging into, and save them to the Green Reading Room.

We know how busy the week can get, so if you’re like me, who downloads or ‘social bookmarks‘ a bunch of weekend reading, then this would be a good place to find some great reads.

This week, I’ve picked two reports:

1. The Seven Deadly Sins of Greenwashing - Download a PDF here. It’s published annually by Terrachoice Environmental Marketing.

1. P&G’s 2008 Sustainability Report – don’t try printing this (it’s 105 pages!) but it’s worth looking at P&Gs Three Strategies: Products, Operations, Social Responsibility. Also a look at its “Turn to 30” campaign, in changing behavior by getting households to change their temperature settings in washing machines from 43.5°C to 30°C. (One million households have turned to 30° with an estimated 41% energy savings.

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While  most nations have their eyes on the climate summit in Copenhagen this December, there appears to be a lot of hustling by the European Union to get R&D into energy projects on track.

A recent report by the European Commission, and the race to gain good standing in “smart cities’ rankings indicate that European nations are anxious about falling back, and have deep interests in stimulating green-collar jobs.  A campaign by the EU is due to be launched later this October.

Speaking of green jobs, nearly every summit on sustainabilty has a track on this. You can bet it will be a hot agenda item at the upcoming summit in Los Angeles in November –Opportunity Green.

What’s Opportunity Green? Watch this space!

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I’ve come across many definitions of sustainability over the past two years, so it was refreshing to hear someone call it “a way to improve operations efficiency and the bottom line.”

That was how Charles Ducas, Senior VP of sales and marketing for Kentucky Trailer, said he approached green business practices. He was speaking this week at the sustainable energy conference in Scottsdale, Arizona, an event put together by Arpin, a Rhode Island-based international freight forwarding company.

Derrick Mains, who was a featured speaker  at the event, talked about the role of employees in driving sustainable business practices, and how management is taking note that the best ideas can percolate from below.

Case in point, the freezer lights in Walmart. You may have heard of Walmart’s big push into sustainable buildings and its new generation Super Centers. But what you may not know, said Mains, when you walk past the freezer section in a Walmart Super-center, is that  a 19-year old employee’s suggestion is at work, saving the company millions!. The employee had noticed the freezer lights left on at night were a waste of electricity, and asked if they could be switched off. That suggestion led to Walmart implementing motion sensors that turn off the lights when a customer moves away -

Talk about change from the bottom-up!

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