Ecoconception

The analysis revealed the carbon footprint of making a one-minute voice call on the O2 network is 3.6 grams of CO2 equivalent and transferring one megabyte of data is 11g CO2e. Based on this data, making a five-minute call is the carbon-equivalent to boiling water to make one cup of tea, the company said.

That’s no cup of tea.
What about a 90MB movie?
That’s 1kg of C02.

Oh, and Goldman Sach’s says 25% higher stock value to those who are working towards sustainability.

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May 3, 2012—

“1) Most consumers want to do the right thing. They want clean air and clean water, healthful food to eat, litter-free parks and beaches to play in, and energy to run their lives;
2) All consumers tend to overstate virtuous behavior to pollsters. (More than we would like, they report the person they aspire to be, or who they are just part of the time).
3) just like for all products, most consumers will only pay a premium when products demonstrate genuine added value.”

So there: Be humble, look to be good, and buy quality products.

Whole Foods Market Eco-Scale™ Rating System for Household Cleaning Products

At Whole Foods Market^® we believe it’s important that consumers are able to make informed decisions about the products they buy. We also believe in doing our part to encourage a more eco-friendly household products industry.

The Eco-Scale™ rating system we have developed is the first cleaning-products standards of any retailer and the most comprehensive standards of any “green cleaners” standards-setting group. Based on audits conducted by a third-party audit agency, household cleaning products are rated red, orange, yellow or green on our Eco-Scale™.

	Not carried at Whole Foods Market.
Eco-Scale™ orange indicates 3rd-party-verified standards for safety and environmental impact that are higher than any other standards-setting group or retailer.	✓ Full transparency, disclosure of ingredients on packaging by April 2012 ✓ Independent 3rd party verified compliance to standards ✓ No ingredients with significant environmental or safety concerns ✓ No formaldehyde-donors, preservatives which have the potential to release formaldehyde ✓ No phosphates, chlorine, or synthetic colors ✓ No animal testing
Eco-Scale™ yellow indicates all of the 3rd-party-verified high standards of the orange rating plus even more assurance of safety and environmental impact.	✓ Full transparency, disclosure of ingredients on packaging by April 2012 ✓ Independent 3rd party verified compliance to standards ✓ No ingredients with significant environmental or safety concerns ✓ No formaldehyde-donors, preservatives which have the potential to release formaldehyde ✓ No phosphates, chlorine, or synthetic colors ✓ No animal testing	✓ 100% natural fragrances ✓ No ingredients with moderate environmental or safety concerns ✓ No DEA, MEA or TEA—surfactants that have the potential to contain nitrosamines and other impurities ✓ No synthetic, petroleum-derived thickeners made from nonrenewable sources
Eco-Scale™ green indicates all of the 3rd-party-verified standards of the orange and yellow ratings plus our highest standards for safety and environmental impact.	✓ Full transparency, disclosure of ingredients on packaging by April 2012 ✓ Independent 3rd party verified compliance to standards ✓ No ingredients with significant environmental or safety concerns ✓ No formaldehyde-donors, preservatives which have the potential to release formaldehyde ✓ No phosphates, chlorine, or synthetic colors ✓ No animal testing	✓ 100% natural fragrances ✓ No ingredients with moderate environmental or safety concerns ✓ No DEA, MEA or TEA—surfactants that have the potential to contain nitrosamines and other impurities ✓ No synthetic, petroleum-derived thickeners made from nonrenewable sources	✓ Plant- and mineral-derived ingredients ✓ No petroleum- derived ingredients

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After Rona’s effort in differentiating better products as Eco-responsible, Walmart’s sustainability consoritium is still in discussion, Europe is already on CO2 and other, well Whole foods is in the game.

The game being an external validation of a product’s sustainable attributes. And in this case cleaning products. Element of discussion #1: Disclosing ingredients. Most difficult element: non petroleum based.

Makes you think, what would a red, orange, yellow, green be for your product?

We now have the knowledge required to prove that some options are better than others. And not just financially. So go out and prove it!

Intel says:
“The research compares the energy and CO2 emissions associated with downloading music to those from buying a physical CD, concluding that downloading music yields 40-80% reductions compared to buying a CD. These findings demonstrate one concrete example of effectively using technology for improved environmental outcomes, i.e., the benefits of dematerialization using IT.”

In retrospect, 40 to 80% reduction doesn’t sound very clear. Image it had been just 40% more. That’s another subject.

Simple, efficace, mobile, et surtout: peu de matière pour beaucoup de rendement.

Un produit digne du 21e siècle.

“But this vehicle seems to have taken a different route altogether with the absence of side panel doors, and also the large windscreen giving the whole concept a very airy look, though very simplistic in appeal. By these looks itself, one can easily figure out, that most of the features that other high-end cars would not be a part of the package but then the maintence factor is a main factor. The build design is such that the cart remains ultra-low maintence throughout its working life, for majority of the expensive and rather complicated components don’t exist. Just the frame hardware and the electric motor system are all there are to take care of. Even the upholstery inside is limited to the seat alone, which too is crafted out of a low maintence fabric.”