Sustainability

WASHINGTON--Deloitte has announced a new initiative in federal government services focused on energy management/sustainability. The initiative will be led by David J. Fornari, a principal at Deloitte Consulting LLP, who had been leading Deloitte's work in the federal energy sector for several years.

DEARBORN, MI--Ford Motor Company, building on its success in measuring and reducing its own carbon footprint, announced plans to survey 35 top global suppliers on their energy use and estimated greenhouse gas emissions.

Last week the Wall Street Journal reported that the childhood home of erstwhile presidential candidate Mitt Romney is going to be torn down under a new plan by Detroit Mayor Dave Bing. The plan calls for the razing of 10,000 vacant or abandoned homes as a way to "right size" the city due to its shrinking population. Citizens have been calling for this plan to start ridding the city of decay and blight. Currently there are 90,000 of these homes.

CONSHOHOCKEN, PA-- IKEA, the world's largest home furnishing retailer, has released its 2009 Sustainability Report, which recaps and highlights its progress in many areas including integrating sustainability into all IKEA strategies as well as the entire product life cycle. 

CINCINNATI, OH--The Procter & Gamble Company has announced the launch of the Supplier Environmental Sustainability Scorecard and rating process to measure and improve the environmental performance of its key suppliers. The new scorecard will assess P&G suppliers' environmental footprint and encourage continued improvement by measuring energy use, water use, waste disposal and greenhouse gas emissions on a year-to-year basis.

NEWARK, NJ-- As Waste Management of New Jersey caps a week of community cleanups and activities marking the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, parent company Waste Management is moving ahead with company-wide sustainability initiatives to increase recycling, reduce emissions and preserve wildlife habitat.

WASHINGTON--Health Care Without Harm and the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, part of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, have released "Balanced Menus: A Pilot Evaluation of Implementation in Four San Francisco Bay Area Hospitals," the first US examination of the impact that reduced-meat menus in hospital food service have on climate change. The report concludes that a pilot implementation of the Balanced Menus program across four participating hospitals yielded greenhouse gas emissions that exceeded the initial 20 percent reduction goal and substantial cost savings.

SAN FRANCISCO--Sustainable Life Media has announced Paul Stamets and Summer Rayne Oakes as additions to the speaker lineup for its upcoming Sustainable Brands 2010 (SB'10). "The Power of AND" conference will present visionaries and brand innovation success stories across sectors including Food & Retail, Apparel, Consumer Packaged Goods, Technology, Transportation, B2B services and more.

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, NJ--Underscoring its commitment to energy efficient products, LG Electronics Inc. has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with three of the world's top certification authorities to promote reliable methods for testing the energy efficiency of consumer electronics and home appliance products around the globe.

VILLANOVA, PA--As investment in sustainable business and industry practices grows, so does the demand for engineers who can navigate this changing landscape. To better position students for success in this growing job market, Villanova University's College of Engineering has launched a unique national master of science degree program in sustainable engineering.