Greenlist(tm) Bulletin 06/09/2006
This is the weekly bulletin of the TURI Library, reporting a selection of recently published titles we have acquired. Our pledge is to keep the bulletin relevant to your work and brief -- no more than 10 titles. You are
welcome to send a message to jan@turi.org if you would like more
information on any of the articles listed here.
- Greening the Supply Chain: Small Business, Big Environmental Gains
- 'Cloaked' Carbon Nanotubes Become Non-Toxic
- Grants Management: EPA Has Made Progress in Grant Reforms but Needs to Address Weaknesses in Implementation and Accountability
- Defining Organic Practices for Wine and Grapes
- Indoor Air Chemistry: Cleaning Agents, Ozone and Toxic Air Contaminants
- Choices Matter: 2005 Sustainability Report
1. Greening the Supply Chain: Small Business, Big Environmental Gains
AUTHOR FitzGerald,
SOURCE Trio, The Newsletter of the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation, Spring 2006
ABSTRACT "Can a company simultaneously become more
eco-efficient and more competitive, or does caring for the environment come at
the cost of productivity? These were just some of the questions that went
through the heads of Mexican suppliers several months ago when they were
invited to participate in a project aimed at “greening the supply chain.” This
pilot project was launched in October 2005 with the participation of such major
multinationals as Colgate-Palmolive, Janssen-Cilag, Bristol-Myers Squibb and
Clarion, under the sponsorship of the CEC and the Iniciativa GEMI de México.Each
of the multinationals involved went through a process of identifying a group of
small and medium-size suppliers (up to 500 employees) with whom they believed
they could work to achieve economic and environmental efficiencies. Through
training and technical and financial assistance, the project—now at its halfway
stage—aims to help small and medium-size suppliers to improve both their competitiveness
and their environmental performance through reducing operating costs in a
sustained and long-term manner. The pilot project’s main aim is for supplier
companies to develop projects that display competitiveness and prevent
pollution in their production processes. The training and development stage
lasts about four months, and after that it depends on the individual company
and the projects they want to put in place. The project does not require that
companies comply with certain norms, but rather that they identify
opportunities to improve productivity from an environmentally-conscious
standpoint."
2. 'Cloaked' Carbon Nanotubes Become Non-Toxic
AUTHOR Barry, Patrick
SOURCE NewScientist.com, May 15, 2006
ABSTRACT "A way to cloak carbon nanotubes, making them
both non-toxic and highly customisable, has been revealed. It marks a step towards
using nanotubes in biological research and medicine. Nanotubes are rolled up
sheets of linked carbon atoms and are as little as 10 atoms wide. In the future
they could act as tiny molecular sensors, detecting individual enzymes inside
living cells, or could enable new medical treatments for diseases such as
cancer. But for reasons that remain unclear, bare nanotubes are toxic,
triggering the death of cells that they touch. To deal with this problem,
researchers at the
3. Grants Management: EPA Has Made Progress in Grant Reforms but Needs to Address Weaknesses in Implementation and Accountability
DATE 2006
SOURCE
ABSTRACT "EPA has made important strides in achieving the grant reforms laid out in its 2003 Grants Management Plan, but weaknesses in implementation and accountability continue to hamper effective grants management in four areas. First, EPA has strengthened its award process by, among other things, (1) expanding the use of competition to select the most qualified applicants and (2) issuing new policies and guidance to improve the awarding of grants. Despite this progress, EPA’s reviews found that staff do not always fully document their assessments of grantees’ cost proposals; GAO also identified this problem in one region. Lack of documentation may hinder EPA’s ability to be accountable for the reasonableness of the grantee’s proposed costs. EPA is reexamining its cost review policy to address this problem. Second, EPA has made progress in reviewing its in-depth monitoring results to identify systemic problems, but long-standing issues remain in documenting ongoing monitoring and closing out grants. EPA and GAO found that staff do not always document ongoing monitoring, which is critical for determining if a grantee is on track in meeting its agreement. Without documentation, questions arise about the adequacy of EPA’s monitoring of grantee performance. This lack of documentation occurred, in part, because managers have not fulfilled their commitment to improve monitoring documentation. In addition, grant closeouts are needed to ensure that grantees have met all financial requirements, provided their final reports, and returned any unexpended balances. For fiscal year 2005, EPA closed out only 37 percent of grants within 180 days after the grant project ended, as required by its policy. EPA also did not always close out grants properly in the regional files GAO reviewed. Third, EPA has initiated actions to obtain environmental results from its grants, but these efforts are not complete. For example, EPA’s 2005 environmental results policy establishes criteria grants should meet to obtain results. However, EPA has not established a performance measure that addresses these criteria. Furthermore, EPA has not yet identified better ways to integrate its grant reporting systems. Finally, the Office of Management and Budget’s 2006 assessment indicates that EPA needs to continue its concerted efforts to achieve results from grants. Finally, EPA has taken steps to manage grant staff and resources more effectively by analyzing workload, providing training, assessing the reliability of its grants management computer database, and holding managers and staff accountable for successfully fulfilling their grant responsibilities. Management attention is still needed because, among other things, EPA has just begun to implement its performance appraisal system for holding managers and staff accountable for grants management."
WEB LINK http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d06625.pdf
4. Defining Organic Practices for Wine and Grapes
AUTHOR Robin, Renee L.
SOURCE Wine Business Monthly, April 2006
ABSTRACT "While the
wine industry is actively evaluating how to enhance quality and production, it
is also working toward "treading more lightly on the land." For some
this means reducing certain chemical inputs in production practices; for others
it may mean "greening" operations by reducing the waste stream, using
more renewable energy sources, or investigating alternative seed stocks and
cultivation practices. Wherever you fall in the spectrum, the wine industry is
looking hard at the merits and feasibility of adopting certified organic
practices. The key question is whether the adoption of organic practices or
ingredients adds value to your products, markets and community. In the case of
organic wine, the regulatory environment is specialized, but there are
opportunities for premium pricing, a supplemental niche market and long-term
environmental benefits. Moreover, in the world of gourmet food and wine, products
made with organic ingredients are given deference for their flavor and their
consistency with gastronomic values, such as quality ingredients and land
stewardship. According to the Organic Trade Association (OTA), the organic
market grew an average of 20-24-percent a year throughout the 1990s, and
consumers spent $7.8 billion on organic products in 2000 alone. According to
the California Department of Food and Agriculture, there were 7,940 acres of
certified organic wine grapes in
WEB LINK http://www.winebusiness.com/html/MonthlyArticle.cfm?dataId=42774
5. Indoor Air Chemistry: Cleaning Agents, Ozone and Toxic Air Contaminants
AUTHOR Nazaroff, William W.; Coleman, Beverly K.; Destaillats, Hugo; et al.
DATE 2006
SOURCE
ABSTRACT "When cleaning products and air fresheners are
used indoors, occupants are exposed to airborne chemicals, potentially leading
to health risks. Indoor air pollutant exposures owing to cleaning product and
air freshener use depend on emissions from products, dynamic behavior of
chemical species, and human factors. A series of experiments was conducted to
investigate volatile organic compound emissions, concentrations, and reactive
chemistry associated with the household use of cleaning products and air
fresheners. Research focused on two common classes of ingredients in cleaning
products and air fresheners: ethylene-based glycol ethers, which are classified
as toxic air contaminants, and terpenes, which react rapidly with ozone. A
shelf-survey of retail outlets led to the selection of 21 products whose
chemical composition was characterized. Among the criteria used to select these
products were ready availability through
WEB LINK
http://www.arb.ca.gov/research/abstracts/01-336.htm
6. Choices Matter: 2005 Sustainability Report
DATE 2006
SOURCE International Finance Corporation (IFC), World Bank Group
ABSTRACT "Celebrating its 50th Anniversary, the International Finance Corporation has released its 2005 Sustainability Report, entitled “Choices Matter. ” This is IFC’s fourth annual sustainability report and third stand-alone edition. This year's report provides more information than ever before about how sustainability is integrated into decision-making throughout IFC's investment cycle. It also shows how the Corporation is using its unique position and resources to respond to global challenges, such as climate change, poverty, corruption, HIV/AIDS, participation of women in private sector development, and the preservation of natural resources. According to the report, IFC invested nearly $221 million in sustainable energy during FY05 and used microfinance projects to widen access to finance for the world's poorest people. IFC is leading by example through its new environmental and social standards and by promoting the business case for sustainability among its financial sector clients. Additional highlights include progress on IFC's commitment to manage its own social and environmental footprint by reducing waste, greening its energy use, and reaching out to the community."
WEB LINK http://www.ifc.org/ifcext/home.nsf/Content/Resources_SustainabilityReport
Compiled by the TURI Library, University of Massachusetts Lowell
This page updated Friday June 16 2006