Securing Water for People and Nature in a Changing Climate: November 3-4, 2009, Washington, DC. The 2009 Symposium will provide a state-of-the-science review of climate impacts on freshwater systems, challenges to freshwater ecosystem conservation, the role of adaptation in water management, and will provide a platform for the development of an adaptation based "conservation agenda.

Workshop on Life Cycle Aspects of Nanoproducts, Nanostructured Materials and
Nanomanufacturing: Problem Definitions, Data Gaps, and Research Needs: November 5-6, 2009, Chicago, Illinois. The workshop will establish a research agenda that fills an important knowledge gap in present nanotechnology research efforts regarding the systemic environmental consequences of nanoproducts, nanostructured materials, and nanomanufacturing.

Opportunity Green Business Conference: November 7-8, 2009, Los Angeles, CA. Opportunity Green offers two full days of panels, case studies and hands-on workshop sessions showcasing successful sustainability strategies, emerging best practices, and leading edge product and service solutions.

USGBC GreenBuild Conference and Expo: November 11-13, 2009, Phoenix, AZ. USGBC’s Greenbuild Conference and Expo provides an opportunity to connect with green building peers, industry experts, and influential leaders as they share innovations in the green building movement.

GHG Product/Supply Chain Stakeholder Workshop: December 1, 2009, Washington, DC. WRI/WBCSD will host a one-day stakeholder workshop to get stakeholder feedback on the Scope 3 and Product Standard drafts, both of which will be released for stakeholder comment prior to the workshops.

NCSE’s The New Green Economy Conference: January 20-22, 2009, Washington, DC. The National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) is holding the 10th National Conference on Science, Policy, and the Environment: The New Green Economy. The New Green Economy will bring together leaders in sustainable business, environmental policymakers, civil society, university faculty, students from across the nation, and educated citizens.

On October 21-22, 2009, GEMI hosted its Meeting #3 and Forum Day in Washington, DC, as well as a dinner and a tour of the World War II, Vietnam, Korean War and Lincoln Memorials led by the National Park Service’s Ranger Kathy Kagle. Many thanks to Al Collins, Occidental Petroleum, for his help in coordinating for Ranger Kathy Kagle as well as the panel of congressional staffers for the Climate Change Network Meeting.

Pictured: Tom Dower, Senate Commerce Committee and Allyson Anderson, Senate E&NR Committee

GEMI’s Water Sustainability, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Networks met during the meeting:

• GEMI’s Water Sustainability Network meeting included an update on water sustainability and water issues from guest speaker Kent Zammit, EPRI and a presentation from guest speakers Harry Ott and Matt Turner, Future 500, on the Water Leadership Initiative of the Future 500.
• GEMI’s Climate Change Network meeting focused on the status of US Climate Change Legislation/Regulation and featured a panel discussion with guest speakers Allyson Anderson, Senate E&NR Committee and Tom Dower, Senate Commerce Committee.
• GEMI’s Sustainable Development Network meeting included a presentation by Andrew Winston, the author of Green Recovery, on sustainability trends/issues as well as member presentations from Keith Miller, 3M, Phil McAndrew, Kraft Foods and Mark Chatelain, Johnson Controls, on the integration of sustainable development with their companies’ business strategy.

Pictured: Audrey Bamberger, Pathways to Sustainability

The Forum Day focused on Supply Chain Sustainability and was led by Phil McAndrew, Kraft Foods and facilitated by Audrey Bamberger, Pathways to Sustainability. The Forum began with a review and discussion of the findings of the GEMI Supply Chain Sustainability Survey, as well as a discussion around the potential gaps/opportunities that a new GEMI supply chain tool could address.

Pictured: Lily Donge, Calvert Investments

The Forum Day featured presentations from several guest speakers: Matthew Orsagh, Centre for Financial Market Institute, and Lily Donge, Calvert Investments, discussed the value of supply chain sustainability to the investor; Mike Wise, AT Kearney, shared case studies on “Developing Strategies to Incorporate Sustainability into Supply Chain Design Decision-Making”; and, Professor Patrick Penfield, Syracuse University, discussed the future of supply chain sustainability. In addition, GEMI members Christi Witt, JohnsonDiversey, and Jack McAneny, Procter & Gamble, shared methodologies and approaches to measuring supply chain sustainability based on their companies’ experience, and Lynne Olson, Ecolab, provided an overview and examples of the Ecolab sustainability approach.

Copies of the presentations from the Network sessions as well as the Forum Day are available on the Members Only portion of the web site.

3M Performance Label Materials received the 2009 Environmental Leadership Award from the Tag and Label Manufacturers Institutes (TLMI) at the annual TLMI meeting in Arizona. The Environmental Leadership Award recognizes TLMI member companies that have consistently demonstrated a commitment to progressive environmental practices across a range of areas including solid waste reduction, recycling, waste or energy recovery, the implementation of new 'clean' technology and/or processes, and the implementation of an education program. More Information.

In addition, 3M’s Optical Systems Division unveiled its latest optical film solution for LCD TVs—the Vikuiti DBEF D3-260—which is optimized for LCD TVs below 40-inches. Vikuiti Dual Brightness Enhancement Films (DBEF) offer substantial energy savings of up to 32%, without sacrificing performance or image quality. This latest addition to the company’s Vikuiti DBEF D3 series increases brightness by recycling polarized light, and also enhances display viewing angle and uniformity. More Information.

Abbott announced that it has received the annual Illinois Continuous Improvement Award for environmental excellence.Abbott was recognized for implementing 11 projects aimed at reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and waste, and saving water and energy at its Lake County, Ill. headquarters and manufacturing facilities. It is the eighth time Abbott has received the award for its efforts to safeguard the environment and integrate sustainability initiatives throughout its operations in Illinois. More Information.

China-based ENN Group and Duke Energy announced that they will jointly develop commercial solar power projects in the US. ENN and Duke Energy will concentrate on two types of solar photovoltaic designs: large “utility-scale” solar farms and commercial distributed generation solar projects. This joint development agreement builds upon a memorandum of understanding announced September 23 at the Clinton Global Initiative’s annual meeting at which time the companies pledged to work together to accelerate the development of low-carbon and clean energy technologies. More Information.

In addition, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke Energy announced they have signed a contract to place up to three demonstration wind turbines in the Pamlico Sound. The pilot turbine installation will facilitate utility-scale wind energy development by enabling studies to optimize measuring and predicting the wind resource, quantifying ecological impacts, and demonstrating turbine performance in tropical storm conditions. More Information.

Duke Energy also announced that four sites have been selected to have solar energy systems installed on their rooftops as part of the first phase of the company’s distributed solar generation program in North Carolina. Duke Energy will invest approximately $50 million to construct and own a total of 10 megawatts of solar energy capacity in the state, capable of providing electricity to approximately 1,300 homes. More Information.

The Water Environment Federation (WEF) recently presented its 2009 Industrial Water Quality Achievement Award to DuPont Engineering and the Manati Plant in Puerto Rico, in recognition of major upgrades of the site’s wastewater treatment system. The new wastewater treatment system will enable the Manati site to comply with DuPont’s groundwater protection standards, and also contribute to the site’s overall sustainability. More Information.

In addition, DuPont Microcircuit Materials (MCM) recently announced the introduction of DuPont™ Solamet® PV412 photovoltaic (PV) metallization paste for thin film PV technologies. Thin film PV is projected to become the fastest-growing segment of the solar module industry because it has the potential to reduce the cost of producing solar energy. More Information.

Ecolab Inc. announced that it has received the 2009 Tekne Green Company Award from the Minnesota High Tech Association (MHTA). The award honors businesses that practice environmental awareness/responsibility and incorporate sustainability into their overall business model. More Information.

Johnson Controls, Inc. and The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, a leading global environmental foundation, announced the creation of a Europe and Mediterranean Energy Efficiency & Climate Change Forum. The event will be hosted in Monaco in April 2010 and will focus on a range of energy efficiency and policy issues with the goal of elevating awareness and accelerating action on implementing energy efficiency programs to slow climate change. More Information.

In addition, New York’s Kingston City School District has selected Johnson Controls to provide an integrated energy efficiency program for all district facilities. Facility enhancements will impact 15 district buildings and are expected to save the district more than $300,000 annually in energy costs over 18 years. The project is expected to be complete in 2011. More Information.

The Kodak American Greenways Program, the nation’s longest running community-based grants program preserving open space, trails and greenways, is marking its 20th anniversary by honoring three individuals and funding 28 local nonprofits and public agencies that are making great strides with greenways. Since the program’s inception in 1989, more than $800,000 has been granted to nearly 700 organizations in all 50 states. The program is a partnership between Eastman Kodak Company, National Geographic Society and The Conservation Fund. More Information.

Kraft Foods announced a major step forward in its support of sustainable cocoa farming. Based on pioneering work started in 2005 in the Cote d'Ivoire, the company has launched the first mainstream chocolate products in Europe to carry the Rainforest Alliance Certified(TM) seal. Additionally, it has committed to increase current purchases of cocoa beans from Rainforest Alliance Certified(TM) farms ten-fold by the end of 2012, to 30,000 tons. More Information.

In addition, as part of the company’s first-ever “Make a Delicious Difference Week,” Kraft Foods made a commitment to rally 10,000 employees around the world to volunteer from October 5 – 10. The global effort was a first of its kind for the company, aiming to engage six times the number of employees than previous efforts. The company surpassed its original volunteer goal by more than 20 percent with support from more than 12,000 employees around the globe. More Information.

The Procter & Gamble Company released its 2009 Sustainability Report titled "Designed to Matter." The report outlines P&G's progress in improving the environmental profile of products and operations and delivery of several new, sustainable product innovations. The report is available for viewing at www.pg.com/sustainability. More Information.

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company provided a $5,000 grant to Keep Ohio Beautiful (KOB) to help support environmental education outreach programming and raise awareness about litter and solid waste, community improvement, recycling, and quality of life issues. KOB supports and promotes all Keep America Beautiful (KAB) litter prevention, recycling, community improvement and beautification programs, as well as educational and public awareness campaigns. More Information.

Southern Company announced that it has been awarded $165 million in stimulus funds as part of President Obama's plan to invest $3.4 billion to spur transition to a smarter energy grid. The company will match the $165 million in funding as part of an initiative across Southern Company's service territory that spans the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi. The grant awarded to Southern Company was among the top 10 made by the administration. More Information.

In addition, Southern Company announced it will help train students from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in carbon sequestration engineering under a project that adds to efforts advancing the commercialization of technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power production. The research project, selected by the U.S. Department of Energy for funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, will help develop an educated work force to support commercial utility-scale geologic sequestration activities in the future. More Information.

Southern Company also joined electric utilities across the nation in an industry-wide initiative to advance electric transportation technologies. In addition, Southern Company is hosting a 36-month plug-in hybrid electric vehicle demonstration in a partnership with Ford, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the U.S. Department of Energy and 10 other utilities to help develop a pre-production PEV. The company is also researching into the effect of increased PEV use on the electric grid. More Information.

If you have news and notes you would like to share with the GEMI members, please email them to Kellen Mahoney.

• On September 30, Steve Hellem, GEMI participated in "The National Summit on Infrastructure and the Environment" organized and conducted by The Conservation Fund that took place at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Conservation leaders from more than 150 organizations and companies participated in the Summit. Larry Selzer, President and CEO of The Conservation Fund opened the Summit that was sponsored by a wide range of organizations including Occidental Petroleum Corporation. Speakers included Sam D. Hamilton, Director, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Robert V. Abbey, Director, Bureau of Land Management and Joanna Prukop, Secretary, New Mexico Energy Minerals and Natural Resources Department. A copy of Mr. Selzer's opening comments are on GEMI's Members Only website under Items of Interest as well as other materials distributed during the meeting. For additional information about the Summit please contact Erik Meyers, The Conservation Fund.

• On October 8, Steve Hellem, GEMI's Executive Director represented GEMI at the Department of Commerce's "Sustainability and U.S. Competitiveness Summit” held in Washington, DC. He also facilitated one of the three break-out discussion sessions designed to provide the Department of Commerce comments on their initiative, officially called the "Sustainable Manufacturing Initiative." The meeting featured welcoming remarks by Department of Commerce Secretary, Gary Locke, and comments by Mary Saunders, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Manufacturing Services. In addition there was a presentation by Michael Bordt, of the Organization For Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) regarding a new Sustainable Manufacturing Metrics tool that is now being developed. Mr. Bordt indicated that GEMI tools had been reviewed prior to the development of their new draft tool. If you would like to learn more about the SMI you can visit www.manufacturing.gov/sustainability.

• On October 6, Amy Goldman, GEMI, attended the Women's Network for a Sustainable Future (WNSF) annual Businesswomen's Sustainability Leadership Summit. Speakers including representatives from TIAA-CREF, PricewaterhouseCoopers, IBM Green Innovations, Wal-Mart and Pfizer as well as Ms. Linda Fisher, Chief Sustainability Officer, DuPont and Ms. Michelle Moore, Federal Environmental Executive, Council on Environmental Quality, Executive Office of the President.

• UNEP has released the Third Public Draft of the 10 Year Framework of Programs (YFP) on sustainable consumption and production (SCP) for public consultation. All groups of stakeholders are invited to submit comments, more specifically on programs that would be needed to address constraints and obstacles to change unsustainable patterns of consumption and production. This process complements the ongoing CSD 18 review year that aims at identifying and reporting constraints and obstacles as well as best practices for sustainable consumption and production that will then feed into the policy recommendations of 19th session of the CSD. The deadline to provide comments is December 7, 2009. More Information.

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