By Dick Munson

The U.S. electricity industry is experiencing unprecedented innovation and change. The grid is getting smarter and customers can play a more active role in how their electricity is made, moved, and used. Between all the initiatives that utilities, cities, and states are pursuing and the new services and products that entrepreneurs are creating, it can be difficult to keep up.

That’s why I enjoy connecting with and learning from colleagues at events like the Demand Response and Distributed Energy Resources World Forum. Held in Costa Mesa, California on Oct. 10-11 this year, the forum brings together stakeholders from across the clean energy industry to discuss the latest technology and business strategies for increasing distributed energy resources – like solar panels and batteries – and demand-side resources like demand response. This year at the forum, I’ll be speaking on the power of data, which undoubtedly has a large role to play in our grid’s transformation. With the deployment of modern sensors and smart meters across the U.S., there are enormous quantities of energy-use data at our fingertips for the first time ever. Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) believes this data can revolutionize the grid, but only if people have access to data, as well as to the tools needed to control their energy use and electricity bills. With the first-of-its kind Open Data Access Framework, Illinois is making that a reality.

The power of energy data in Illinois and beyond
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Illinois’ open data

Conceived by EDF and our partners at the Citizens Utility Board (CUB), the Open Data Access Framework is made up of guidelines for securely authorizing and sharing energy-use data. By clarifying the type of electricity data that customers and authorized third parties have access to and how the data should be delivered, the framework opens the door for innovators to create new tools and services that lower electricity bills and cut pollution.

The framework opens the door for innovators to create new tools and services.

The Open Data Access Framework was finalized by the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) earlier this year, and can serve as a playbook for other states interested in providing electricity customers with secure data access.

The ICC also recently approved an energy data-sharing program for Illinois’ largest electric utility, ComEd. The program allows companies and researchers access to anonymous energy-use data from ComEd’s nearly 4 million smart meters, which will further encourage the development of energy-saving products and services designed to help Illinoisans save money. EDF and CUB look forward to using that data to help answer important policy questions, unlock innovation, and make our grid smarter and cleaner.

I’ll be discussing all of these pieces and more at the Demand Response and Distributed Energy Resources World Forum, so come say hi.

The U.S. electricity industry is experiencing unprecedented innovation and change. The grid is getting smarter and customers can play a more active role in how their electricity is made, moved, and used. Between all the initiatives that utilities, cities, and states are pursuing and the new services and products that entrepreneurs are creating, it can […]

The post The power of energy data in Illinois and beyond appeared first on Energy Exchange.

On today’s show Dr. Theryn Henkel of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation and Dr. Deb Abibou of CRCL join the program to talk about how people can get involved restoring the coast. From tree plantings to oyster shell recycling programs, here's how you can get get dirty and get to work restoring the coast. Below is a transcript of this week's Delta Dispatches Podcast. Subscribe to our feed in iTunes and Google Play.     Listen Now! Show Transcript Jacques: ...

Read The Full Story

The post Delta Dispatches: Volunteering to Restore the Coast appeared first on Restore the Mississippi River Delta.

On today’s show Dr. Theryn Henkel of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation and Dr. Deb Abibou of CRCL join the program to talk about how people can get involved restoring the coast. From tree plantings to oyster shell recycling programs, here's how you can get get dirty and get to work restoring the coast. Below is a transcript of this week's Delta Dispatches Podcast. Subscribe to our feed in iTunes and Google Play.     Listen Now! Show Transcript Jacques: ...

Read The Full Story

The post Delta Dispatches: Volunteering to Restore the Coast appeared first on Restore the Mississippi River Delta.

On today’s show Dr. Theryn Henkel of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation and Dr. Deb Abibou of CRCL join the program to talk about how people can get involved restoring the coast. From tree plantings to oyster shell recycling programs, here's how you can get get dirty and get to work restoring the coast. Below is a transcript of this week's Delta Dispatches Podcast. Subscribe to our feed in iTunes and Google Play.     Listen Now! Show Transcript Jacques: ...

Read The Full Story

The post Delta Dispatches: Volunteering to Restore the Coast appeared first on Restore the Mississippi River Delta.

By Boma Brown-West

Credit: Flickr user Mike Mozart

Today, Walmart updated their ambitious Sustainable Chemistry Policy on Consumables, which to-date has resulted in a 96% reduction in the weight of High Priority Chemicals. The new commitments set a bold goal of reducing Walmart’s chemicals footprint by 10% – over 55 million pounds of priority chemicals – a historic move.

Reducing chemicals of concern from products is a major interest for consumers. Modern science increasingly shows that certain chemicals prevalent in products can impact our health. Walmart’s renewed commitment to drive safer products onto store shelves is a laudable effort.

Walmart’s announcement signals to 700 global suppliers of 90,000 consumable products that…
Click To Tweet

Walmart’s policy expands on the three original commitments of the Sustainable Chemistry Policy: “Transparency,” “Advancing Safer Formulations,” and product leadership in a section now titled, “Advancing Our Assortment.” Walmart has set clear, measureable goals and commits to reporting publicly on its progress to implement these new commitments. So what does Walmart champion in its policy refresh? Let’s take a look.

ESTABLISHMENT OF STRONG PRINCIPLES:

For the first time, Walmart publicly states its own sustainable chemistry principles. It is a strong list, including commitments to the 12 principles of green chemistry (the foundation of the green chemistry movement), transparency about approach and progress, and the belief that leadership means much more than legal and regulatory compliance.

ON TRANSPARENCY:

Walmart recognizes that it still has work to do with suppliers to improve ingredient disclosure, so existing commitments still stand, including a 2018 deadline for better ingredient disclosure on product labels.

However, there are also some notable new features of Walmart’s commitment to “Transparency.”

• NEW GLOBAL COMPONENT: Walmart is a global company, so it’s important to see it begin expanding its sustainable chemistry efforts worldwide. Walmart is starting with ingredient disclosure, both online and on-pack, for private label and national brands. This commitment reflects the demands of over 80% of global consumers for greater ingredient transparency when shopping for personal care and household cleaning products. .
• TRANSPARENCY MAKES BUSINESS SENSE: Walmart has committed to participate annually in the Chemical Footprint Project. The Chemical Footprint Project is a benchmark tool that enables investors to compare companies’ management of chemical risks. Signatories represent over $2.3 trillion in assets under management and purchasing power, including BNP Paribas Investment. This new commitment reflects Walmart CEO Doug McMillon’s historic move last year to declare to investors that the company’s sustainability initiatives would help the company win in the 21st  century.

Walmart set a strong new commitment to reduce the chemical footprint of its consumables product…
Click To Tweet

 ON ADVANCING SAFER FORMULATIONS:

The biggest changes in Walmart’s new policy appear in its “Advancing Safer Formulations” section. These changes include:

• SCALING ACTION: Walmart sets a strong new commitment to reduce the chemical footprint of its consumables product portfolio by 10% by 2022. Walmart learned a lot about how to implement a safer chemicals initiative in a practical, meaningful, and measurable way through its original policy, which successfully focused efforts on a select few High Priority Chemicals (HPCs). As Walmart nears full elimination of its existing HPCs, the retailer is taking those learnings and expanding its safer formulation target to a larger pool of priority chemicals (PCs). The new goal is notable for a large retailer like Walmart: based on their 2016 chemical footprint, a 10% reduction translates to over 55 million pounds.
• TAKING STEPS TO TACKLE FRAGRANCES: Walmart has expanded its reference list for Walmart Priority Chemicals by adding two new authoritative lists that identify fragrance chemicals of concern. These lists, the EU Fragrance Allergens and the EU Cosmetics Regulation (Annex II), reflect an understanding that allergens are important to address when talking about cosmetics, personal care products, and cleaning products.
• IT TAKES A VILLAGE: Similar to their approach with their new historic Project Gigaton, Walmart recognizes that success demands a collaborative effort between the company and its suppliers. In addition to the High Priority Chemicals it will continue to target for reduction, Walmart calls on suppliers to help them tackle other priority chemicals (PCs). Since PCs are not equally represented across products and suppliers, this approach allows its suppliers to focus on those chemicals of concern that are most relevant and impactful to their particular product lines. We recommend several steps to ensure that this approach is successful: (1) ask suppliers to give their time-bound reduction plans including which chemicals they will target in what products, (2) hold check-ins along the way to keep them accountable, and (3) give recognition to suppliers who already have small chemical footprints and those that go above and beyond on their reduction targets.
• CONTAMINANTS MATTER TOO: Walmart’s policy now includes contaminants of concern as an area of focus in recognition that problematic chemicals in products can be intentionally added or come along the way through manufacturing processes (e.g. sourcing, chemical synthesis, product formulation). For example, benzene and 1,4 dioxane are known contaminants of concern that sometimes appear in formulated products and are carcinogens. Walmart recognizes that consumers can be exposed to chemicals of concern regardless of how they enter a final product—intentionally or unintentionally—and is taking action to be more holistic in their approach to safer chemistry.

ON ADVANCING THEIR ASSORTMENT:

• CERTIFICATIONS ACCELERATE PROGRESS: In keeping with its strategy of phasing out priority chemicals and encouraging the use of safer chemistries, Walmart recommends its suppliers utilize product certifications that emphasize material health and are applicable to their specific product categories. These certifications – U.S. EPA’s Safer Choice, EWG Verified, and Cradle to Cradle – credibly evaluate ingredient safety, are transparent about their approach, and reward products for continuous improvement.

When EDF opened an office in Bentonville ten years ago, we believed Walmart was a company that could scale environmental progress. Over the past several years, we have worked with Walmart in its iterative pursuit of safer chemicals leadership. Walmart has learned a lot in implementing its original policy and has used those lessons to inform its new, ambitious steps towards advancing safer, effective and affordable products. We expect them to continue learning and evolving their commitments in the future – with a firm eye on driving safer products into the marketplace.

Boma Brown-West, Senior Manager, Consumer Health, EDF+Business

By Boma Brown-West

Credit: Flickr user Mike Mozart

Today, Walmart updated their ambitious Sustainable Chemistry Policy on Consumables, which to-date has resulted in a 96% reduction in the weight of High Priority Chemicals. The new commitments set a bold goal of reducing Walmart’s chemicals footprint by 10% – over 55 million pounds of priority chemicals – a historic move.

Reducing chemicals of concern from products is a major interest for consumers. Modern science increasingly shows that certain chemicals prevalent in products can impact our health. Walmart’s renewed commitment to drive safer products onto store shelves is a laudable effort.

Walmart’s announcement signals to 700 global suppliers of 90,000 consumable products that…
Click To Tweet

Walmart’s policy expands on the three original commitments of the Sustainable Chemistry Policy: “Transparency,” “Advancing Safer Formulations,” and product leadership in a section now titled, “Advancing Our Assortment.” Walmart has set clear, measureable goals and commits to reporting publicly on its progress to implement these new commitments. So what does Walmart champion in its policy refresh? Let’s take a look.

ESTABLISHMENT OF STRONG PRINCIPLES:

For the first time, Walmart publicly states its own sustainable chemistry principles. It is a strong list, including commitments to the 12 principles of green chemistry (the foundation of the green chemistry movement), transparency about approach and progress, and the belief that leadership means much more than legal and regulatory compliance.

ON TRANSPARENCY:

Walmart recognizes that it still has work to do with suppliers to improve ingredient disclosure, so existing commitments still stand, including a 2018 deadline for better ingredient disclosure on product labels.

However, there are also some notable new features of Walmart’s commitment to “Transparency.”

• NEW GLOBAL COMPONENT: Walmart is a global company, so it’s important to see it begin expanding its sustainable chemistry efforts worldwide. Walmart is starting with ingredient disclosure, both online and on-pack, for private label and national brands. This commitment reflects the demands of over 80% of global consumers for greater ingredient transparency when shopping for personal care and household cleaning products. .
• TRANSPARENCY MAKES BUSINESS SENSE: Walmart has committed to participate annually in the Chemical Footprint Project. The Chemical Footprint Project is a benchmark tool that enables investors to compare companies’ management of chemical risks. Signatories represent over $2.3 trillion in assets under management and purchasing power, including BNP Paribas Investment. This new commitment reflects Walmart CEO Doug McMillon’s historic move last year to declare to investors that the company’s sustainability initiatives would help the company win in the 21st  century.

Walmart set a strong new commitment to reduce the chemical footprint of its consumables product…
Click To Tweet

 ON ADVANCING SAFER FORMULATIONS:

The biggest changes in Walmart’s new policy appear in its “Advancing Safer Formulations” section. These changes include:

• SCALING ACTION: Walmart sets a strong new commitment to reduce the chemical footprint of its consumables product portfolio by 10% by 2022. Walmart learned a lot about how to implement a safer chemicals initiative in a practical, meaningful, and measurable way through its original policy, which successfully focused efforts on a select few High Priority Chemicals (HPCs). As Walmart nears full elimination of its existing HPCs, the retailer is taking those learnings and expanding its safer formulation target to a larger pool of priority chemicals (PCs). The new goal is notable for a large retailer like Walmart: based on their 2016 chemical footprint, a 10% reduction translates to over 55 million pounds.
• TAKING STEPS TO TACKLE FRAGRANCES: Walmart has expanded its reference list for Walmart Priority Chemicals by adding two new authoritative lists that identify fragrance chemicals of concern. These lists, the EU Fragrance Allergens and the EU Cosmetics Regulation (Annex II), reflect an understanding that allergens are important to address when talking about cosmetics, personal care products, and cleaning products.
• IT TAKES A VILLAGE: Similar to their approach with their new historic Project Gigaton, Walmart recognizes that success demands a collaborative effort between the company and its suppliers. In addition to the High Priority Chemicals it will continue to target for reduction, Walmart calls on suppliers to help them tackle other priority chemicals (PCs). Since PCs are not equally represented across products and suppliers, this approach allows its suppliers to focus on those chemicals of concern that are most relevant and impactful to their particular product lines. We recommend several steps to ensure that this approach is successful: (1) ask suppliers to give their time-bound reduction plans including which chemicals they will target in what products, (2) hold check-ins along the way to keep them accountable, and (3) give recognition to suppliers who already have small chemical footprints and those that go above and beyond on their reduction targets.
• CONTAMINANTS MATTER TOO: Walmart’s policy now includes contaminants of concern as an area of focus in recognition that problematic chemicals in products can be intentionally added or come along the way through manufacturing processes (e.g. sourcing, chemical synthesis, product formulation). For example, benzene and 1,4 dioxane are known contaminants of concern that sometimes appear in formulated products and are carcinogens. Walmart recognizes that consumers can be exposed to chemicals of concern regardless of how they enter a final product—intentionally or unintentionally—and is taking action to be more holistic in their approach to safer chemistry.

ON ADVANCING THEIR ASSORTMENT:

• CERTIFICATIONS ACCELERATE PROGRESS: In keeping with its strategy of phasing out priority chemicals and encouraging the use of safer chemistries, Walmart recommends its suppliers utilize product certifications that emphasize material health and are applicable to their specific product categories. These certifications – U.S. EPA’s Safer Choice, EWG Verified, and Cradle to Cradle – credibly evaluate ingredient safety, are transparent about their approach, and reward products for continuous improvement.

When EDF opened an office in Bentonville ten years ago, we believed Walmart was a company that could scale environmental progress. Over the past several years, we have worked with Walmart in its iterative pursuit of safer chemicals leadership. Walmart has learned a lot in implementing its original policy and has used those lessons to inform its new, ambitious steps towards advancing safer, effective and affordable products. We expect them to continue learning and evolving their commitments in the future – with a firm eye on driving safer products into the marketplace.

Boma Brown-West, Senior Manager, Consumer Health, EDF+Business

Today, Walmart updated their ambitious Sustainable Chemistry Policy on Consumables, which to-date has resulted in a 96% reduction in the weight of High Priority Chemicals. The new commitments set a bold goal of reducing Walmart’s chemicals footprint by 10% – over 55 million pounds of priority chemicals – a historic move. Reducing chemicals of concern […]

Pollution from coal plant smokestacks is putting your health at risk. Even worse, the power plants responsible have already installed pollution controls that can help--they're just not using them. C4.

Pollution from coal plant smokestacks is putting your health at risk. Even worse, the power plants responsible have already installed pollution controls that can help--they're just not using them. C4.

Pollution from coal plant smokestacks is putting your health at risk. Even worse, the power plants responsible have already installed pollution controls that can help--they're just not using them. C4.

Americans are facing the climate crisis like never before. C4.

Americans are facing the climate crisis like never before. C4.

Americans are facing the climate crisis like never before. C4.

Written by Dominique Browning

Hurricane Maria makes landfall in Puerto Rico, 2017 – NASA

Love opens our hearts. What struck me immediately upon becoming a mother: I felt so vulnerable with love and protectiveness that I might as well have taken out my heart and put it on my sleeve for the world to pluck off. My children are my heart. Opening up to loving them meant opening up not only to the profound joy of their being, but also to concern, or anxiety and fear, for their well-being.

Love opens our hearts.

I am feeling that deep sense of sadness and anxiety these days, on behalf of all the mothers and fathers suffering from the effects of hurricanes and wildfires that have destroyed homes and livelihoods. It is quite literally painful to check the news.

It does me no good to remind myself that we will always have natural disasters—even disasters of biblical proportions, as many have described the rains and flames and floods they witnessed. Of course that’s true. But each disaster brings fresh grief—and a renewed sense of caring responsibility for our fellow humans.

I see vividly, before my eyes, Houstonians wading through sewage-tainted waters, breathing air laced with poisons and heavy metals. I watch in horror as houses burn down, taking with them a lifetime of treasures and memories. I hear farmers weeping in Puerto Rico, because every coconut tree, every plantain tree, every cow that gave milk, is gone, destroyed, vanished.

Puerto Rico is devastated. I feel the pain of every parent agonizing about how they will feed their children, much less clothe them, send them to school, keep them snug at home—when there is no home, no school, no market.

Natural disasters will always be with us. But it is morally up to us to do everything we can not to make them worse—not to add the unnatural to the natural.

We each will do what we can to help immediately—donate money, collect food and clothes, say prayers, send labor and materials and know-how to rebuild.

And then we each must do what we can to acknowledge that we bear responsibility for one another, all the time. We must keep pressing to have sane, rational conversations about science, about climate pollution, about how best to protect our children’s health, about where we build and what we build.

Waters will recede, homes will be rebuilt, crops will be replanted—but what else will we do? Will we continue to spew climate-altering pollution into the atmosphere, deaf to the warnings of the world’s scientists? Or will we open our hearts to sane, rational, careful and respectful solutions to the climate chaos we are bringing down on ourselves?

TELL CONGRESS: NOBODY VOTED TO MAKE AMERICA DIRTY AGAIN

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What's 'insensitive' is putting American lives at risk through denial and delay. It's time for the climate conversation. Regional. C4.

What's 'insensitive' is putting American lives at risk through denial and delay. It's time for the climate conversation. Regional. C4.