By Sarah Lozanova, Sustainability WriterEvery year, about 20 billion pairs of footwear are produced across the globe. Unfortunately, the fashion industry is known for pollution, an immense water and carbon footprint, and poor working conditions. However, a handful of footwear companies are creating fundamentally more sustainable products and inspiring corporate giving programs. These innovative brands are taking actions such as opting for ocean freight over air freight to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, partnering with BLOOM for algae-based EVA foot beds, and using recycled water bottles in their footwear materials. They are creating fashionable products using bio-based or recycled materials, reducing packaging waste, and paying a living wage to their workers. Let’s explore some of these footwear brands that are leaders in sustainable footwear. By Sarah Lozanova, Solar Writer The United States now has enough installed solar energy capacity to power 17.7 million homes. Although this is fantastic for air quality and greenhouse gas emissions, it means there is a looming e-waste issue on the horizon. At some point, the photovoltaic panels will no longer generate enough energy. Is it possible to recycle solar panels when they have reached their end of life? The design life of solar panels is 25 to 30 years. Over time, solar modules become less efficient in converting sunlight to electricity due to degradation. Most of the solar panels in the U.S. were installed in the last decade. The efficiency of the panels will decrease and need to be replaced. Broken solar panels are good candidates for a refurbishing program. Currently, only a small fraction of solar panels are recycled. The lack of governmental policies, infrastructure, and foresight in the module design process makes solar panel recycling expensive and arduous. For solar energy to truly produce clean energy, we must recycle solar panels effectively. What materials are in solar panels? When exploring recyclability, it is helpful to consider the components that make up a solar photovoltaic (PV) panel. Silicon-based modules are comprised of glass, plastic, aluminum, and silicon. Unfortunately, they also contain trace toxic compounds, such as lead, which can leach into groundwater if not properly disposed of. Cadmium telluride (CdTe) is found in thin-film solar and is toxic and a carcinogen. Because thin-film currently constitutes less than 5% of the global module market, it is a smaller-scale concern. By Sarah Lozanova, Clean Energy Writer Despite serving a valuable purpose to us all, tech companies have been criticized for years for their exorbitant energy consumption. Data centers are the backbone of the internet and keeping all that information just a click away requires a lot of electricity. A transition to renewable sources is underway, which cloud users can encourage by choosing their online service providers that source clean energy. The ‘Dirty Cloud’ Data centers use up to 3 percent of all U.S. electricity and the information technology sector is responsible for 7 percent of global electricity consumption. The term “dirty cloud” was even coined to refer to the coal and other high-emissions fuel sources that power cloud computing. Global internet traffic has tripled in the last four years and it is anticipated to triple again by 2022, according to the International Energy Association. The IT sector isn’t keeping up with its rapid growth,” says Gary Cook, the senior corporate campaigner on the Climate & Energy for Greenpeace. “More companies are making renewable energy commitments but energy demand growth by the industry is outstripping their renewable energy growth. This is an urgent issue to address the use of fossil fuels given the climate crisis.” Since 2009, Greenpeace has been putting pressure on some of the more polluting tech companies while praising greener ones. When examining the energy footprint of tech companies, some clearly lead the way in the corporate use of renewable energy deployment, energy transparency, advocacy, and energy efficiency innovations. Read More... Greening the Cloud with Renewable EnergyBy Sarah Lozanova, Solar Writer Across the globe, corporations are helping to fuel the clean energy movement and are using solar energy to power their operations, providing consumers a choice to support solar when shopping. Large U.S. corporations installed 326 megawatts of solar panels in 2017, and now more than 4,000 U.S. companies have installed solar energy systems, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. Corporate investment in renewable energy is boosting solar energy deployment as companies work towards sustainability goals and cut operating expenses. As the cost of solar energy falls, solar has become a cost-effective source of new power generation. Many of the solar-powered corporations consist of retailers and IT companies. Let’s examine some of the retailers that are leading the way in solar energy installations. 1. Target With more than 200 megawatts of total solar energy capacity or enough electricity to power 33,000 homes, Target is the leading retailer for solar energy capacity, and it installed a whopping 40 megawatts of capacity last year. With over 1,800 stores total, Target has a goal to have solar panels on 500 stores and distribution centers by 2020, and it is well on its way with 422 solar systems. In addition, Target has solar systems with battery storage at six locations in Hawaii. Read More... |