NEWS: Last Week @ SSC

Last week we looked in to a variety of exciting sustainability issues here at SSC. From our latest white paper on how to engage employees in a company’s sustainability, green team feedback, the Pittsburgh World Environmental Day 2010 and venture capital for green technology to feedback from our DC Green Festival presence, interesting sustainability tweets, more on sustainable consumption, eco-eating-out and a clean energy organization’s support for oil & gas drilling. Read on!

Resources

• Engaging Employees in the Company's Sustainability: our latest white paper explores the steps in which a company can engage their employees and successfully implement sustainability into their business operations. 
• Interesting Sustainability Tweets: Follow-up on the latest sustainability happenings from these interesting sustainability twitter accounts.

News

• Pittsburgh to host World Environment Day 2010: The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) just announced that Pittsburgh will host North America’s World Environment Day (WED) on June 5, 2010.
• Venture Capital for Clean Technology – Green, Growing and Global: A recent report by the Cleantech Group shows that venture capital funding for the third quarter totalled $ 1.59 billion in Europe, North America, India, and China, bringing the 2009 total up to $3.8 billion.
• Clean Energy Organization Supports Oil & Gas Drilling: The Florida chapter of the Solar Energy Industries Association released a statement last week that backed the offshore drilling of oil and gas along the state’s coastline.  The support may appear to be the antithesis of the aims of the organization to promote renewable energy sources.  However, the revenue generated by this offshore drilling might be channelled towards an increase in construction of solar technologies.

More from the SSC team

• WORKPLACE - Green Team Feedback: Isn’t it wonderful when you get feedback on your Green Team efforts?
• VIDEO - Strategic Sustainability Consulting at the 2009 DC Green Festival: We were delighted to exhibit at the DC Green Festival this year--it's always such a pleasure to catch up with colleagues and talk to the attendees about all things green.  This year, we put together a little video montage of our favorite local exhibitors. 
• SSC - Explaining Strategic Sustainability Consulting: At the Green Festival this past weekend we were asked dozens of times "so what is strategic sustainability consulting"?  And we would dutifully explain who we are and what we do.  A few days later, I still have a scratchy throat from all that talking.
• ANALYSIS - Responsible Consumption Part 2: To buy, or not to buy: that has been a predominant question facing many Americans before the end of 2008.  Fareed Zakaria notes, “Our spending is currently equal to the entire economies of China and India added together and then doubled.”  But in the short period when consumption has tapered, let us reflect on the behavior of U.S. consumers. 
• VIEWS - Eating Out Without the Negative Impacts: Eating out, as we all know, can generate lots of waste. Disposable napkins, utensils and plates, for instance, are what we commonly confront at the more convenient lunch locations during our workweek.  This past week however, I had the great pleasure of trying out a new street-food themed restaurant in Chicago’s River North district.