- New specifications for computer power supplies result in cooler, more reliable PCs -- and big energy savings.
- The beginning of the end for old-school coal investment?
- Environmental Entrepreneurs goes to the mat in California to pass a landmark law.
- A retail giant flips the switch on the market for energy-saving lightbulbs.
- The music industry leader’s moves could help drive environmental reforms in the paper industry.
- Big business teams and environmental groups team up to issue a joint call for federal government action on global warming.
Success Stories
Environmental Entrepreneurs
Environmental Entrepreneurs goes to the mat in California to pass a landmark law.
Environmental Entrepreneurs, or E2, is an NRDC partner organization made up of business professionals who believe in protecting the environment while building economic prosperity. This business group played a key role in the passage of the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006.
The law was the first to limit a state’s global warming pollution, and it commits the Golden State to rolling its global warming pollution emissions back to 1990 levels by 2020 -- a 30 percent reduction relative to current forecasts.
NRDC and E2 worked with California legislators to develop a strategy to move the bill, known as AB 32, into law. Together, NRDC and E2 conducted research on the economic impact of the proposed bill and found that it had the potential to generate local jobs, reduce costs and spur healthy competition. In a yearlong campaign, E2 mobilized support for the bill’s passage through meetings with key legislators, local business associations and community leaders.
In September 2007, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the bill into law, and the California Public Utilities Commission then implemented one of the first new policies aimed at meeting the 30 percent target. The commission created financial incentives -- rewards and penalties -- for investor-owned power utilities that either exceed or fail to meet energy efficiency thresholds. Other policies would encourage investments in clean energy and set standards for greenhouse gas emissions from cars.
While defeating global warming will require a worldwide effort, California has a major role to play. Were it a country, California would be the world’s 11th-largest emitter of global warming pollution.
“California is on the way to becoming the clean-tech capital of the world,” says Carl Guardino, CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group. “Just as we led the high-tech and biotech sectors, we are going to harness our vision and innovation to create the new clean energy economy while solving the world’s most pressing environmental challenge.”