Blue Tech Makes a Splash at Greenbuild

Day two of Greenbuild is a wrap, and what a whirlwind it’s been. Here are a couple of impressions after surveying the Greenscape:

1. Commercial builders just aren’t feeling the pinch like green home builders are. The big construction companies tell me that while big projects may be on hold, that doesn’t mean building owners are cutting green features.
2. It is impressive to see the number of “blue” water tech companies on display – especially on a day when my home town of Milwaukee announced that its water technology sector is hauling in $10 billion annually.

Blue really is the new green. Wisconsin company Kohler made a statement this year. Not only did the company showcase a full range of water-efficient gear but Kohler was one of the show’s platinum sponsors.

This has been a good year for the company’s sustainability bona fides. Last month, the EPA named Kohler WaterSense Partner of the Year. With 1/3 of the world facing fresh water shortages by 2025, Kohler’s water conservation evangelism is a welcome development.

Speaking of water, I spent some time talking with UTC Fire & Security about their Hi-Fog fire suppression product. Hi-Fog generates a fine mist to put out fires, using 90 percent less water than traditional sprinklers. It’s just as effective and causes less water damage. UTC tells me Hi-Fog is especially popular with museums and libraries. Its contribution to water sustainability? Probably negligible. But the product is still pretty cool and innovative.

I also dropped by old friend Cooper Power Systems’ booth for a tour of what’s new. Cooper is pushing soy-based transformer coolant to replace nasty old mineral oil. Not only is the stuff non-toxic and biodegradable, but it extends insulation life by a factor of five to eight times. You have to love it when the new green alternative outperforms what it’s replacing by almost every measure.

Naturally, lots of energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions were on display as well. With carbon caps and additional efficiency regulations on the horizon, the companies pioneering those solutions have bright futures. The president of Optimum Energy told me his “personal Pickens Plan” is to require that all commercial buildings meet ENERGYSTAR standards. It’s an aggressive idea. But it’s not quite as unrealistic as it may have seemed, say, November 3rd now is it?

Desmond Tutu, Van Jones Open Greenbuild on Optimistic Note

Here’s the dirty little secret of green business: What makes sense for the environment often makes sense for the bottom line. In green buildings, up-front investments in energy efficiency pay for themselves in energy savings.

Some cynics have written off the green revolution as opportunism fueled by escalating energy costs and cheap capital. Drive down energy prices, choke off capital markets and the fad will go away.
A month ago you could have counted me among the cynics, but after the first full day of Greenbuild, I’m a green true believer. Not only is attendance at the continent’s largest green building tradeshow breaking records, but spirits are high.

Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu set a provocative tone in his opening address. “It is becoming part of the fabric of our morality that causing harm to the environment is as egregious as a human rights violation.”

Overstatement? Perhaps. Inspiring to hear it from a man who fought apartheid? Definitely.

Later, author and Green for All president Van Jones called the green energy the foundation of America’s future prosperity. The U.S. will replace consumerism with local production, overreliance on credit with thrift, and environmental destruction with environmental conservation, Jones said. He called Barack Obama the country’s “first green president” and prevailed on his administration to keep its promises to cap carbon, retrofit American homes and buildings (“The biggest weapon in the new green economy will be a calk gun.”) and overhaul the American power grid.

The Dow may have dropped below 8,000 today, but word from the Boston Convention Center was full speed ahead. If business is slow for America’s green builders, you wouldn’t know it from here.

Tomorrow: highlights from the Expo floor.

On My Radar

Here's something to pay attention to over the next couple of months. Germany has proposed creating the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), a multi-national organization whose main goal would be to promote "a rapid and widespread transition towards the widespread and sustainable use of renewable energy on a global scale." (that's a mouthful - whoo!)

This very noble cause has rallied support from 51 countries from around the world. The list includes the obvious within the UK, France, Denmark and India as well as the not-so-obvious in The Republic of Korea, Pakistan, Vietnam and Nigeria.

Countries not showing their undivided support include Canada, Greenland and, oh yeah, the U.S.

From an American's perspective, I haven't heard very much chatter about IRENA. Could be that I'm not tuned into the right source for this (which is what I'm hoping). The alternative is that American news media isn't really interested in IRENA, it's goals for global access to renewable energy or why our government isn't driving these kinds of initiatives. (Good lord, I hope this isn't it).

For any company with a global footprint, IRENA could have a major influence on your bottom line, future projects and growth. With such strong global support, it's only a matter of time before everyone starts to see the global impact that this type of organization can have.

The founding conference for IRENA will be held on January 26, 2009 in Bonn, Germany. From there, countries can choose to officially sign on as members. IRENA is both seemingly strong and determined. As we bring a new president to office during that same timeframe, it will be very interesting to see how the renewable energy and sustainability priorities of our country shift.

http://www.irena.org/

The Army Issues Sustainability Report - Who Knew!

So it turns out that even an old sustainability marm such as myself can be surprised!

The U.S. Army has issued its 2007 Sustainability Report. Wow. I didn't even know the army was tracking their sustainability impact and efforts, let alone reporting them!

According to Keith E. Eastin, assistant secretary of Installations and Environment for the Army, "this report highlights the Army's current accomplishments in sustainability, while setting a baseline from which we will measure all accomplishments in the future."

Per information released yesterday, the Army's mantra is to "Build Green, Buy Green and Go Green." According to the report, 78 percent of new Army military construction projects were designed to U.S. Green Building Council leadership in energy and environmental design (LEED) standards in fiscal year 2007. Additionally, the Army has realized an 8.4 percent reduction in facility energy use intensity since FY 2003.

Good for you, U.S. Army! You're a great example of a federal agency taking responsibility for your actions, planning for the future and being transparent about the process. You're leading by example. Hopefully more public agencies will start down a similar path.

http://www.defpro.com/news/details/3769/

People I Like

Ian Merchant, head of Scottish & Southern Energy, one of the UK's big five energy companies, is a person that I like.

Energy companies find themselves in a very interesting position right now. Utilities make money by selling energy to people, and obviously coal and natural gas have been their top sellers for a long time now. But in a world where sustainability is shifting things, including local/state/federal policy, energy providers walk a fine line.

Do they embrace renewable energy, make investments in research and development, update their infrastructure and roll it out to the public? This all comes at a short-term cost and requires these companies to break free of their own energy addictions (and all that comes along with that). And, as we've all seen before, it's easier to just keep making money the old way.

But if they don't change, we're all stuck with old infrastructure that can't handle the increased energy loads that renewable energy solutions put out. That means that you could make billions of KWs of clean energy, but have no way of putting it on the grid or giving it to people to buy. Then, we have no choice but the old way. Boo!

But SSE is a company that is investing in the future. They've either acquired or partnered with multiple renewable energy companies, especially in the wind category. He works with policy makers to ensure that funding is kept in place. He's honest, upfront, driven and unafraid.

If there were more Ian Merchants in more energy companies around the world, just imagine the kind of progress that would happen...

Here's a profile of Ian and SSE that will make you like him too...

http://business.scotsman.com/business/Ian-Marchant-interview-Power-behind.4697401.jp

There's a lot of ball left to play...

Forbes just printed an interesting article on the renewable energy industry, discussing how it has also collided with a credit crunch.

Venture capitalists are nervous, natural gas and oil prices have dropped 32% in a month and consumers have lost confidence in everything, including alternative energy development it seems.

This is where I get a little frustrated.

I understand that the short-term can be very compelling. People need money immediately to buy groceries, pay their mortgages and keep the electricity on. But these things aren't going to just go away. Yes, we have temporary "relief." Still, money is tight. This will still be an issue facing everyone 10 years from now.

Here's what it comes down to: I expect my government to plan ahead. Now, this may sound a bit naive (government plan ahead? yeah right...), but it's the truth. We need to invest and diversify now so that 10/20/30 years from now we have a fully functioning energy infrastructure. It won't matter if gas was $1.99 in 2008 when in 2018 it's $8.00.

For Pickens to halt his long-term energy independence plan because of a short-term price drop in natural gas is ridiculous. This kind of short-sighted idealism will only put us in a worse place in years to come. It's like calling the world series in the second inning - there's a whole lot more ball to play!

As a country, we need to stand firm that energy independence is a long-term strategy. Certain factors will rise and fall; we just need to ride the waves until we actually have a viable solution, whatever that may be. Update our energy grid, increase capacity and install more energy infrastructure. Invest R&D dollars in many areas of energy efficiency and renewable energy in order to make them practical and affordable. Apply these solutions to America.

Less talk, more action. The demand is there; the profitablility and economic benefits are there too. We just need vision, patience and execution. Otherwise, we're just stuck in the same vicious cycle, cursing gas prices and wary of our own future.

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/11/13/ap5691186.html

China's New York City

I've been watching India for a while now. Mumbai is leading the way in the Clinton Climate Initiative; India's obviously better education system is churning out smarter and more capable kids than ever (far beyond the US). Plus, India has a lot of people working hard to build a strong economy.

Today The Hindu News has a great article about Dongtan, a city just north of Shanghai that is being built using the principles of sustainable urban development. The size of New York City, Dongtan is set to revolutionize living in Asia.

I think it's important to look outside our own American bubble to see what the rest of the world is doing. Maybe we'd even learn a thing or two...

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/006200811131901.htm