In a bid to help improve the environmental efficiency of the thousands of Paragon planned trucks around the world, Paragon Software Systems has added a new Carbon Minimizer option to its routing, scheduling and transportation optimization software. The Carbon Minimizer enables users to further reduce the carbon and fuel content of their planned schedules, so cutting both carbon footprint and operating costs.
Over the last couple of years my interest and excitment around the concept of reviving and renewing airship transport technology of the blimp or zeppelin variety has been growing steadily. Today I’m now utterly convinced these massive dinosaurs of the sky from the early 1900s actually have the potential to re-emerge and change our world for the better. Can Modern Transport Airships Change the World?
From weforum.org: “Significant movement is expected towards reduced supply chain carbon intensity. This will create both opportunities and risks for logistics and transport firms, with changes in supply and demand driven by: Regulation of carbon emissions, Higher and more volatile fuel prices, as well as Evolving consumer and client demand. The sector can play an influential role in decarbonization, both in its own operations and through broader supply chain optimisation. This provides direct benefits through reduced costs, managed risks and business growth.”
A Walmart business summit, with keynote speech by Dr. David Suzuki. How could these two seemingly opposed global forces exist in the same confined space? This I had to see.
The sun was just rising as I wheeled up to Vancouver’s Pan Pacific Hotel, to find out what Walmart had up its sleeve when it invited 350 top retail execs and competitors for the Walmart Canada Green Business Summit.
The Mayor, the Premier, environmental alarm, sustainability case studies, live wireless polling, this show had it all. I even got to ask the Walmart CEO, face-to-face, about their business model and position on packaging take-back recycling.
This blog is going to run on a bit, but I wanted to keep all of the info in one document, so grab an organic java and get comfortable. David Suzuki vs. Walmart CEO: The 2010 Walmart Canada Green Business Summit Recap
From The Globe and Mail: “The United States has agreed to work with Canada and Mexico to develop a North American carbon market that would allow Canadian emitters to meet some portion of their targets through purchasing credits in the vast NAFTA marketplace. The agreement by leaders from the three countries could help keep down compliance costs for Canadian emitters, while expanding the market for renewable energy companies and others that create carbon credits with projects in Canada. “This is the first time the three North American leaders have been together and have started to flesh out the elements of a continental approach to this,” Environment Minister Jim Prentice said in a telephone interview.”
From Green Energy News: “In a refreshing change of pace, the latest First Family is really putting “their money where their mouth is” in respects to establishing a more economically and environmentally sustainable country. While First Lady Michelle Obama is doing her part by planting an organic garden to supply healthy food and fertilizer, President Barack Obama is now seeking to attain LEED Certification for the colossal, energy-consuming White House.
From CSR International: “A new report from BPM Forum and E2open covers the priorities, progress and pitfalls that supply chain and finance executives are facing in product development environments. The report also provides perspectives from more than 20 corporate and faculty leadership committee members, which includes best practices for implementing environmental sustainability into their supply chains.” Supply Chain Sustainability Study from BPM & E2open
From GSCC: “Ma Jun is one of China’s most prominent environmentalists. His book, China’s Water Crisis, has been compared to Rachel Carson’s Classic work, Silent Spring, which was instrumental in driving environmental change in the United States. “It’s not easy being green,” said Kermit the Frog of his amphibian existence. Talk to sourcing managers, auditing firms, and NGOs and you’ll hear it’s not so easy being truly green in supply chain management either.”
Amid continuing confusion over the scale, scope and timing of planned legislation governing carbon emissions, a leading force in the development of carbon optimisation software is warning that the entire issue could become meaningless unless all nations agree to a common emissions accounting standard.
Ewan French, co-developer of the world-beating CAST-CO2 carbon optimisation software and Chief Operating Officer of Barloworld Optimus, said this week that despite the global economic downturn, pressure on companies to reduce carbon emission remains on a sharp upwards curve – but that individual governments following their own targets and agendas will ultimately result in a dilution of the initiative unless all nations recognise and agree to adopt ‘like-for-like’ carbon calculation and accounting processes.
From SDC(UK): The Earth as a whole is approximately a steady state. Neither the surface nor the mass of the earth is growing or shrinking; the inflow of radiant energy to the Earth is equal to the outflow; and material imports from space are roughly equal to exports (both negligible). None of this
means that the earth is static—a great deal of qualitative change can happen inside a steady state, and certainly has happened on Earth. The most important change in recent times has been the enormous growth of one subsystem of the Earth, namely the economy, relative to the total
system, the ecosphere.
Green Supply Chain Network was established by Jeff Ashcroft dedicated to the finding, creation, sharing and delivery of ideas, information and innovations in green logistics and supply chain management.