What does building green mean and why is it necessary? Greening a company encompasses many different aspects, not just recycling or stopping use of toxic materials and replacing it with something more environmentally friendly. Turning your company green includes green building practices. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, more commonly known as LEED, is at the top in terms of certification of green building construction practices. Follow their guidelines, study their material and join others in building for a green and better tomorrow. The U.S. Green Building Council offers a third-party certification program. If interested, you can find out about the specifics of the LEED rating systems for new construction, schools, homes and retail designs.
Founding Father
Rob Watson is the founder of LEED and because of this he is generally regarded as one of the founders of green building practices. His passion for green construction and green building practices cannot be understated. Offering rational arguments and a refreshing point of view supporting green building and construction, Mr.Watson is at the cutting edge of green business and the structures that house these increasingly powerful companies. He offers a bottom-up approach to business and the environmental responsibility that everyone shares. It is with his forethought, insight and imagination that has brought LEED front and center in green building. This is more than a movement, but a fundamental change in the way businesses look at buildings not only as a means to house products and workers, but a way to harmoniously co-exist with the environment. Hats off to Rob Watson for over 15 years of dedication and teaching the world how to build green.
Like the Phoenix rising from the ashes the green economy will be a significant participant in bringing an end to the current worldwide recession - the key reason being the enormous investment in alternative energy. When we look back, 2009 will be viewed as a monumental year in terms of the economy. Critical to the green economy is alternative energy and the willingness of governments around the world to jump-start their economy by investing billions of dollars into these once scoffed at energies. The solar and wind energy that we use in our homes and businesses, and the hybrid electric cars that we drive, will be the reason we exit a recession and sidestep another Great Depression.
The auto industry needs new markets. We all have cars, but how many of us have hybrids or cars that run exclusively on electricity? The market is massive and the auto industry is currently being given money to research and manufacture these new types of cars that few people own. Instead of asking if you have a car that is standard or automatic you can now ask if your car is run on electricity or not. The auto industry, specifically, is teetering on the brink of collapse, as of this writing. There have been rumblings that the big three auto makers could be filing for bankruptcy. What was unthinkable a mere 10 years ago is the reality today. The potential for new sales is enormous with regards to cars run by alternative energy. The survival of the auto industry is dependant on the the sale of cars run by electricity. The auto industry either fully adapts and creates automobiles that satisfy the needs of the green era or they perish. The consequences are too tragic. Our future, environmentally speaking, and their future, economically speaking, is relying on it.
On the alternative energy front, governments are throwing money into producing energy from sources other than coal. Low carbon emissions is where it’s at, and I believe solar energy is leading the way. Whether we are talking about North America or Europe, companies that are in the solar energy sector will be thriving in 2009. Green technology is leading green business on a macro level. With all of the money being pumped into the economy by governments throughout the world much of the money in these stimulus packages is going to alternative energies. The consensus seems to be that the alternative energy sector as well as the automobile industry, is where the bulk of innovation with regards to green technology is being made.
Here at Green Business we like to profile small businesses that are environmentally friendly. We decided to do something a little different this time and profile a large company that is a leader in the creation of alternative energy - specifically solar power. Just to make things clear to our readers, we are not affiliated with Suntech and make no stock recommendations. This article is strictly a company profile accompanied with personal commentary. We are giving our readers an example of a company that is making the bulk of their revenues by helping the environment.
Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. is led by Chinese-born, Australian-educated, businessman Dr.Zhengrong Shi. Started in 2001, Suntech is a low-cost producer of solar technology. They develop, market and manufacture solar products that create electrical power. A few of Suntech’s competitors in solar energy includes (stock symbol in brackets): Canadian Solar (CSIQ), GT Solar Intl. (SOLR), Ascent Solar(ASTI), First Solar (FSLR), Sunpower (SPWRA).
What:
Solar Energy
Who:
Dr.Zhengron Shi - Founder and CEO of Suntech Power Co. Ltd.
Where:
17-6 Changjiang South Road
New District
Wuxi, JNG 214028
China
Telephone(510)534-5000
Why:Massive untapped market for alternative energy. Reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions.
How:
By providing solar energy on a mass scale.
In the video interview below, Zhengron talks about Suntech and the opportunities for solar energy. He believes there are great possibilities for solar power to one day become a mainstream power supply. With Government subsidies coupled with the fact that it is becoming cheaper to produce solar energy, Dr.Shi’s goal of reaching ‘grid parity‘ by 2012 might actually become reality. In the video, both Dr.Shi and the interviewer refer to the conversion of solar radiation into electrical power as PV, which is the shortform of the scientific term photovoltaics.
Tomorrow the Province of Ontario, in Canada, will publicly introduce the Green Energy Act. There are a number of goals for the act. First and foremost, the act is to aid the Province in relying less on non-renewable energy. Secondly, Ontario hopes to create at least 50,000 new jobs over the next three years which has seen a significant increase in jobless claims over the past twelve months as the once strong manufacturing sector has been decimated due to the global economic collapse. Dalton McGuinty, the Province’s Premier, is quoted on his personal website as saying that it is his intention to harness Ontario’s renewable energy, specifically solar and wind energy. Ontario’s Minister of Energy, George Smitherman publicly states that the Government of Ontario wants to create numerous smaller renewable energy projects across the Province instead of relying on the fewer large energy generating stations.
The Ontario Sustainable Energy Association (OSEA) has tirelessly been promoting a green energy act and it looks like their wish is now reality. The economic benefit to the province cannot be underestimated. The bill will increase the Province’s investment in the creation of renewable energy as well as making it easier to get new wind and solar farm projects started, while helping protect the environment. The growth in renewable energy in Ontario has been impressive. There were a total of 10 wind turbines in the province in 2003 - currently the number is closer to 600, coupled with Ontario’s newly formed task force, instructed to help meet Ontario’s goal of one hundred thousand new solar-energy systems in homes, the Province is well on its way to becoming an industry leader in alternative energy. Although the current goal of the Province is to become self-sufficient in providing renewable energy to its citizens, it is simultaneously building a vast alternative energy infrastructure. With Ontario’s commitment to alternative energy it is reasonable to predict that in the future the Province will one day be a significant player in selling renewable energy to other provinces and even perhaps many States in America, specifically those located in the North East.
If you have never heard of CleanSkies.tv you must visit their website and watch some environmental television. Offering both live and recorded newscasts focused on energy and the environment, this channel has taken a major step in presenting green issues in an entertaining and informative way. If you are looking for the latest news about green technologies CleanSkies.tv is the channel for you.
Clean Skies broadcasts live Monday through Friday from 9 AM until 4:30 PM EST.
Green.tv offers its viewers newscasts about the environment. It also has a channel dedicated to green investing and green business. Some of the channels at Green.tv that are focused on green business includes: Cantos Green, and Green Design.
With the immense popularity that social media is seeing on the internet I thought it might be interesting to see how subscribers at Twitter are doing their part. We have an account at Twitter and we are fortunate enough to have a number of followers there. When we post an article at Green Business our followers immediately receive a message regarding this. It is an amazing web of focused information at the ready for anyone interested in green business. Please feel free to visit some of our followers.
Investing in green technologies has become the most logical way to stimulate the economy on a mass scale by creating green jobs by the millions. The effects of this will be felt well into the future as the infrastructure of all of these cities will be green. The short-term benefit is job creation while the long-term benefits will be environmental. We are witnessing the greatest example of what green business truly is and are prospering from it. This is an amazing time in our history.
This video from Linktv.org brings together news footage from around the world. It showcases how governments such as Turkey and Germany are investing in green technologies and products to help jump-start their economy while helping save the environment.
I was dumbfounded when I discovered the following environmentally friendly toy. Made from 100% soy bean fiber by Aurora , this teddy bear perfectly illustrates how a business can make steps towards becoming greener. Aurora is coming out with a ‘green’ plush line of toys to meet the demands of consumers and at the same time shifting their business to meet the demands of Mother Nature.
The time has come where businesses can make the kinds of choices that Aurora is making and be financially successful. I hope other companies think about adding an environmentally friendly line of products. Small steps add up to big changes for our environment and if it is profitable, why would not a company, at the very least, look into the financial prospects of adding a ‘green’ line of products to their inventory.
We have forgotten about those businesses that were green businesses before the term was even part of the average person’s vocabulary. A green business that has been around a long time that most people do not give a second thought to is organic seeds. Sellers of organic seeds focus on the primary building blocks of today’s family - food. By planting organic vegetable and flower gardens we respect the earth and the environment, sustainability is key.
I have randomly picked Seeds of Change as an example of one of these green businesses.
In my opinion the biggest question entering 2009 is will Barack Obama be true to his word and invest in green technologies to the extent he promised he would during the presidential campaign? If he is a man of his word and billions upon billions of dollars are invested in the ‘greening’ of America it would easily change the landscape of the U.S. economy as we know it. The expansion of existing companies that create energy in an environmentally friendly way would be enormous and new companies would surely be formed to support this expansion. Not only would millions of jobs be created, but the entire infrastructure of the United States, which needs a much needed upgrade, would benefit. It simply is a win-win situation.
There were a total of 10 wind turbines in the province in 2003 - currently the number is closer to 600, coupled with Ontario’s newly formed task force, instructed to help meet Ontario’s goal of one hundred thousand new solar-energy systems in homes, the Province is well on its way to becoming an industry leader in alternative energy. Although the current goal of the Province is to become self-sufficient in providing renewable energy to its citizens, it is simultaneously building a vast alternative energy infrastructure. With Ontario’s commitment to alternative energy it is reasonable to predict that in the future the Province will one day be a significant player in selling renewable energy to other provinces and even perhaps many States in America, specifically those located in the North East. 
