Ray Anderson is known as ‘the greenest chief executive in America’ – but he wasn’t always that way. The founder and CEO of Interface Inc., a carpet tile company, found himself faced with giving a speech about his company’s approach to the environment in 1994 and it really made him think.

He told The New York Times, “I was running a company that was plundering the earth. I thought, ‘Damn, some day people like me will be put in jail! It was a spear in the chest.’”

Anderson is a prime example of how going green can benefit companies financially. Since setting out to make Interface a more sustainable operation in 1995, the company has saved an amazing $336 million. At the same time, according to Haily Zaki of Inhabitat.com, Interface was able to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 82%, fossil fuel consumption by 60%, waste by 66% and water by 75%.

Now, Anderson is sharing his advice and experience with the world in a book called Confessions of a Radical Industrialist: Profits, People, Purpose – Doing Business by Respecting the Earth.

The book gives other companies that would like to see similar success in turning sustainability into a successful business strategy a practical roadmap to the process.

“I think that if I had any advice to give, it would be to make sure your product meets every conventional test of the market and then add the environmentally responsible frosting on the cake,” Anderson told GreenLivingIdeas.com in an October 2009 interview about the book.

“Green for the sake of green may not cut it. In fact, there’s another way to think about that: The brownest product there is is the greenest product that doesn’t work. Not only is it not working, but also it’s giving green a bad name.”

Check it out at Amazon.com.

Link [Open Forum] + [Green Living Ideas] + [Amazon]

You might think that because eco-conscious shoppers care about the earth, they also have strong morals. But according to a recent study, that isn’t true – in fact, greenies are more likely to cheat and steal.

The study, conducted by by Nina Mazar and Chen-Bo Zhong at the University of Toronto, found that “subjects who made simulated eco-friendly purchases ended up less likely to exhibit altruism in a laboratory game and more likely to cheat and steal.”

From Slate:

In an experiment, participants were randomly assigned to select items they wanted to buy in one of two online stores. One store sold predominantly green products, the other mostly conventional items. Then, in a supposedly unrelated game, all of the participants were allocated $6, to share as they saw fit with an anonymous (and unbeknownst to them, imaginary) recipient. Subjects who had chosen items from the green store coughed up less money, on average, than their counterparts.

In a second experiment, participants were again assigned to shop in either a green or conventional store. Then they performed a computer task that involved earning small sums of cash. The setup offered the opportunity to cheat and steal with impunity. The eco-shoppers were more likely to do both.

Naturally, this study has ignited a fiery debate between people who shop green and those who don’t (and now believe they’re justified in that choice). And there are a lot of questions in play regarding how the study was run, and whether things like age and class values were taken into consideration. The insinuation here is that people who buy green products do so out of privilege, not morality.

But you have to admit that, even if we’re not all like that, there are plenty of smug holier-than-thou greenies out there who make the rest of the population THINK we’re all like that. And behavioral studies that have researched similar concepts not involving environmentalism found similar results.

The bottom line: being green doesn’t automatically make you a good person (and vice versa). Seems obvious, doesn’t it?

Link [Slate]
Photo credit: South Park Studios

Isn’t it nice to look up at a billboard, just once, to see that no one is trying to shove a product down your throat? A joy, indeed – and a nice thing to see at the outset of the holiday season, when, nearly 2 months from Christmas, we’re already being bombarded with “BUY ME!” ads.

Via [Treehugger]

What’s more annoying than driving down to your local brothel only to find that there’s no parking available? It’s enough to make you stay home – and that’s exactly why Berlin’s Maison d’Envie, or House of Desire, is now offering discounts to clients who arrive on bicycles.

Thomas Goetz, the brothel’s owner, hopes that the discounts will stimulate sales and help the environment at the same time. From New York Daily News:

The bordellos in the capital of Germany, where prostitution is legal, have seen business suffer with the global financial crisis. Patrons have become more frugal, and there are fewer potential customers coming to the city for business trips and conferences.

But Maison d’Envie has seen its business begin to return since it began offering the euro5 ($7.50) discount in July, Goetz said.

To qualify, customers must show the receptionist either a bicycle padlock key or proof they used public transit to get to the neighborhood. That knocks the price for 45 minutes in a room, for example, to euro65 from euro70.

Those who arrive on foot, however, are out of luck.

“We haven’t found a way for people to prove they have walked here,” Goetz explained.

It’s a win-win: get double the exercise, see Berlin up close and personal, and get a discount on a prostitute. Who can argue with that? Even Berlin locals who don’t frequent brothels are cool with it, since it cuts congestion and pollution in this busy urban capital.

But why stop at brothels? This concept could be used by practically any kind of business and it’s a trend that we’d like to see remain long after the economy has picked back up again.

Link [New York Daily News]
Photo credit: Flickr user jesse.millan

Amid all the hubbub over Van Jones’ resignation and Obama’s focus on other issues, talk of green collar jobs in America has slowed down somewhat – but that doesn’t mean that those jobs aren’t out there. The clean-tech sector remains a bright spot in a dull economy, and a report released by Clean Edge research on Thursday hints at where those jobs are.

From CNET:

Based on the number of job postings and placements, and public and private investment, the report found the solar industry to be the leading clean-tech sector, followed by biofuels and biomaterials, conservation and efficiency, smart grids, and wind power.

For those willing to move for a job, the report lists the 15 areas in the U.S. where people are likely to find the most clean-tech job activity, as well as a separate list for global clean-tech hotspots.

Here’s the breakdown:

1. San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose
2. Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County
3. New York-northern New Jersey-Long Island (N.Y.-N.J.-Conn.-Pa.)
4. Boston-Worcester-Lawrence-Lowell-Brockton (Mass., N.H.)
5. Washington, D.C.-Baltimore (Md., Va., W.V.)

See the rest of the list – which includes Denver, Seattle, Houston and Detroit – over at CNET.

The report, “Clean Tech Job Trends 2009” (PDF) also includes tons of other info for clean-tech job hunters including schools that offer green career training, websites where you can find green job listings and a list of the best green-tech blogs, so it’s definitely worth a read.

Link [CNET]
Photo credit: Oregon DOT

Which of the S&P 500 companies are the least environmentally friendly? Newsweek unveiled its Green Rankings last week and while there has been a lot of discussion about the top 5, there’s another story to be told in the bottom 5.

Unsurprisingly, nearly all of the bottom-ranking companies on the Newsweek list are in the energy industry. Here they are with their green scores (based on environmental impact, green policies and performance, and reputation):

Consol Energy – Basic Materials – Green Score: 28.65
ConAgra Foods – Food and Beverage – Green Score: 27.49
Allegheny Energy – Utilities – Green Score: 25.04
NRG Energy – Utilities – Green Score: 22.75
Peabody Energy – Basic Materials – Green Score: 1.00

Pretty big drop there for the bottom company, Peabody Energy (the world’s largest private-sector coal company). Peabody Energy comes in dead last thanks to its incredibly high toxic emissions and the negative impact that its product has on the environment.

This company is one of the biggest offenders in violating the Clean Water Act, injecting billions of gallons of coal slurry and sludge into the ground in the past 5 years. Pine Ridge, a subsidiary of Peabody Energy, reported to West Virginia officials that 93 percent of the waste it injected into the city of Charleston has illegal concentrations of chemicals like arsenic, lead, chromium, beryllium and nickel.

Green business expert Joel Makower has a great overview of how the companies were scored and, as he notes, the list isn’t perfect. Since it’s only a list of the S&P 500, far greener companies than the top 5, like Patagonia, are left out. However, it does bring together a lot of data in a way that’s efficient and easy to understand. If only they included a greenwashing factor – each company’s real efforts versus its claims about being green. Maybe next year.

Link [Newsweek] + [Joel Makower]
Photo credit: PeabodyEnergy.com

For every company that’s intentionally trying to manipulate consumers with vague or misleading green claims, there are many more businesses who are trying to do the right thing, but are sort of confused about what they should say. Enter the new guidelines to packaging sustainability claims developed by Greener Package, which should clarify some important points.

These anti-greenwashing guidelines will be used to review claims made by suppliers who submit their product data to the Greener Package Database.

From Earth 911:

“Consumer demand for sustainably produced products is a key driver in promoting progress at the manufacturing level,” said Victor Bell, EPI’s CEO, “Third-party validation is critical in combating greenwashing, which—if left unchecked—could erode consumer confidence and ultimately the public’s interest in buying sustainable products and packaging.”

The database offers companies that manufacture packaged goods a means to research and compare sustainable packaging materials, containers and suppliers. The data will also feed Walmart’s Packaging Scorecard system.

Submitting a company or material to the database utilizes a “middle ground” developed by Greener Package, where companies submit to a voluntary, third-party review.

“In effect, the reviewer serves as a neutral third party making a good-faith effort to review backup documentation from suppliers to compare to a common guideline in order to save the users of the database time from having to do the same for each listing each time they search,” according to Greener Package.

A service like this is invaluable, especially when fear of greenwashing accusations scares some businesses away from even trying to be greener in the first place. The cost for review will be between $110 and $330, well worth the investment to provide both businesses and consumers with some peace of mind.

Link [Earth 911]
Photo credit: Lunchbreath

We’re always on the alert for ‘greenwashing’, but what about ‘localwashing’? It turns out, big corporations are just as eager to make money off your dedication to buying local as they are off what they see as “the green trend”. From Walmart to Citgo, huge companies are trying to lure our dollars out of our pockets using misleading and often downright deceptive ads claiming that they’re “local”.

Grist put together an amazing collection of the 12 of the most outrageous examples. Check out these three (images are at Grist):

Citgo: “Local. Loyal. Like it should be.” The crop of new billboards from the petroleum company owned by Hugo Chavez’s Venezuelan government makes sense only if the rather undemocratic president lives around the corner from you. Which he doesn’t.

Barnes & Noble: Maybe you’ve heard of this cute little bookstore around the corner. It’s got a DIY-looking video blog with the tagline, “All bookselling is local.” Except when it isn’t.

“Hellmann’s Mayonnaise, a U.S.-based subsidiary of European processed-food behemoth Unilever, has seen fit to subject Canada (Canada?) to an eat-local campaign,” reports Grist Food Editor Tom Philpott. He’s dumbfounded. Here are those locally sourced ingredients of which Hellmann’s is so proud:

WATER, MODIFIED CORN STARCH, SOYBEAN OIL, VINEGAR, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, EGG WHITES, SALT, SUGAR, XANTHAN GUM, LEMON AND LIME PEEL FIBERS, COLORS ADDED, LACTIC ACID, (SODIUM BENZOATE, CALCIUM DISODIUM EDTA) USED TO PROTECT QUALITY, PHOSPHORIC ACID, NATURAL FLAVORS.

It’s absurd, but the sad thing is, a lot of people will fall for it. Head to Grist for the rest of the list, which includes Starbucks and Lay’s.

Link [Grist]

Right now, there’s a veritable army of green workers being trained across the country in fields ranging from conservation to clean energy. That’s great news to most people – except the older green workers who are afraid they’re going to be pushed out of their jobs by young trainees.

The Labor Department is paying to train people for green jobs, and younger workers tend to get more training money than adults. The fact that older workers have to update their knowledge to compete, paired with the lower cost of employing apprentices makes even this booming job market tough if you’ve got experience under your belt.

Youth Radio’s David Dominguez interviewed L.A. green workers, young and old.

This is ETI, the Electrical Training Institute of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Here, you find a mix of older union workers, called journeymen, and young apprentices, like 24-year-old Anthony Hernandez. Right now, Hernandez and his fellow trainees are learning how to install solar panels.

Anthony Hernandez: “We’ll be brought up as apprentices with the solar and the green movement so the journeymen will have to relearn everything. Hopefully it will be to our advantage and easier for us to install.”

Anthony used to be non-union electrical contractor, but decided to join the union for the safety training and benefits.

Frank DuMarcos: “I’m learning not to change the future, but to keep up with the new technology.”

That’s electrical journeyman Frank K. DuMarcos. He’s a 10-year union veteran. He admits that jobs often boil down to the brutal bottom line of a contractor’s budget. And that creates tension.

“Some contractors hire apprentices because apprentices are cheaper than a journeyman. Some apprentices only make $20. A journeyman makes over $37. I’ve been on jobs where they had two journeymen and they had 15 apprentices.”

But older workers needn’t worry too much, according to Jerome Ringo, President of the Appollo Alliance, which is devoted to creating green jobs around the country. He says that older workers will have an opportunity to retrain and that all workers, regardless of age and experience, will have a chance to benefit from investment in green jobs.

Listen to this Youth Radio story at the American Public Media Marketplace.

Link [American Public Media]
Photo credit: Flickr user greenforall.org

Tsk, tsk. How can Verizon Wireless show intelligence and class by dropping its ads on Glenn Beck’s idiotic Fox show (for his comments about President Obama’s supposed ‘racism’) – and then turn around and give money to another conservative whackjob?

Verizon has become a sponsor for a global warming denial rally organized by none other than Don Blankenship, CEO and President of Massey Energy, which has destroyed far too much of Appalachia with mountaintop removal mining.

From the NRDC:

Who is Don Blankenship?

He has been called “the scariest polluter in America.”  Just last December, my colleauge Pete Altman exposed the videotape from a speech in which Blankenship indulged in his patented version of full-blown climate change denial and also called various pro-environmental elected officials “greeniacs” bent on destroying the American way of life.

His rally next week will feature speeches by prominent global warming denier Lord Christopher Monckton, the Science & Public Policy Institute (global warming skeptics), conservative Fox blowhard Sean Hannity.  Ted Nugent and Hank Williams, Jr. are among those who will provide musical entertainment.

The website for the ‘Friends of America’ rally even offers up a petition against the Waxman-Markey climate bill. The majority of the rally’s sponsors are in the dirty energy and manufacturing industries including Coal-Mac, West Virginia Oil Marketers and Petroleum Products, Inc. Verizon looks pretty damn out of place on that list.

Verizon Wireless spokesman Jim Gerace explained it away by saying, “his company simply paid $1,000 for the right to be able to sell its products at the rally. It’s nothing more than that … and the groups who are trying to make it more than that are misguided. I’m definitely bothered that people are trying to put us in the middle of an argument.”

Aww, poor Verizon. Imagine, people getting angry over their support of complete and total destruction of beautiful mountain ranges and the dumping of toxic waste into waterways. It’s inexplicable!

Jeff Biggers said it best at The Huffington Post:

Can you hear us now, Verizon Wireless? Time to dump Massey Energy with Glenn Beck.

Link [NRDC] + [The Huffington Post]
Photo credit: Flickr user unanimous graphics