It's Green Week at NBC Universal

It's Green Week at NBC Universal and they are making a commitment to sustainability across the entire company.

Sustainability @ NBC Universal

From identifying opportunities for energy savings and waste reduction to educating our consumers via environmentally themed programming, NBC Universal is hard at work mobilizing our assets to protect the planet.

Programming

During Green and Earth weeks, the networks of NBC Universal join forces to provide green-focused content across their wide scope of programming. Click here to read more about green programming at NBC Universal.

TV Production

From 30 Rock to Eureka the television production crews across the networks of NBC Universal have done their part to make sure the green messages they relay on screen match the practices they implement behind-the-scenes.

Film Production

Universal Pictures and Focus Features have made sustainability a priority in production. Learn more about how our studios have reduced the environmental impact of some of your favorite movies.

Products and Packaging

NBC Universal’s commitment to reduce carbon emissions and lessen our environmental footprint focuses on all parts of our business, including the physical products we produce. Click here to read more about our eco-friendly products.

Facilities

Across our facilities, the only thing moving up faster than our elevators is our use of sustainable materials and resources in construction and daily operations. Click here to read more on the sustainability practices within our NBC Universal facilities.

International

NBC Universal is committed to practicing green domestically and abroad. Click here to read more on our international green efforts.

Employee Engagement

What fun would our Green and Earth Weeks be if the whole company didn’t get involved? We have created internal employee programs that both encourage green practices and reward our eco-leaders. Click here to read more about our employee engagement programs.

Read more about ways you can start to live greener on GreenIsUniversal.com

Amazon shipping goes green w/ eco-friendly shipping & carbon credits

Who would have thought you could patent slower, more expensive shipping? Amazon.com does. The online retail giant was just granted a patent for "Environmentally conscious electronic transactions." The patent envisions a system in which customers are given "a shipping option that might not be as fast, and might be more expensive, but that is more environmentally friendly in at least one way." It also suggests letting people buy carbon credits to offset the emissions generated by the packaging and shipping of their purchases.

The patent notes that "more attention is being focused on the environmental impact of the manufacture, purchase, and disposal of goods and services," and says some companies have responded by optimizing their routes and vehicles and using recyclable materials. But, the patent adds, e-commerce customers have "little control" over which environmentally friendly options they would prefer when ordering something online…

Read more on Tech Flash in Eric Engleman's Amazon Blog on TechFlash.

protect your iPad w Eco-Envi, a stylish eco-leather sleeve

The Eco-Envi offers a stylish eco-leather sleeve that helps protect your iPad. Premium, high-grain eco-leather, contrast stitching, and an environmentally-friendly fleece interior round out the features of this elegant carrying and storage solution.


What's so great about eco-leather? The tanning process used to make this leather uses less toxins than traditional leather tanning. This minimizes toxic runoff into the ground and water tables. Throughout the entire process, the leather remains RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) compliant. No chlorine, no sulfuric acid, and no petroleum/chemical based dyes. This is real leather, without the environmental impact of standard tanning and dying processes.

Eco-friendlier wines for Labor Day

CNN recommends several boxed wines for the holiday weekend. Are the boxes the only eco-friendly thing about them?



Check out the CNN video, and then take a look at what Robin Shreeves of the Mother Nature Network (MNN) learned about the wines from their websites. MNN.com

Reusable lunch boxes for back-to-school. Go Green.

According to wastefreelunches.org, a child using disposable containers generates more than 67 pounds of waste per year, more than 18,000 pounds of lunch waste for the average-sized elementary school! By using reusable drink containers and lunchboxes you can help reduce the lunchroom waste.

Cut down on the lunchroom waste by using…

• cloth napkins  
• stainless-steel forks and spoons  
• reusable drink containers 
• reusable lunchboxes

Apple takes gulp of strong, glossy Liquidmetal

Apple will get exclusive rights to Liquidmetal, an exotic metallic material that could be used to create computer and phone casings.

Apple isn't saying anything about the deal, and it's far from certain that the material will ever make it into its products. Though it matches the sleek Apple aesthetic, it's prohibitively expensive...

Source: www.mnn.com

buy a new Kindle and read digital magazines and daily newspapers electronically

Reading newspapers and magazines on a Kindle device saves paper and doesn't cover you with newsprint.

And reading that electronic newspaper on a small device such as a Kindle uses less energy than a desktop computer or laptop. If you use a solar powered battery charger, even more power to you!

Hey if you feel better reading the traditional print paper, no worries. Pass on the Sunday paper to a friend or neighbor – or if you’re an organizer, coordinate with a group to pass the paper along to a few friends.

And check out a few of the free Kindle reading Apps from Amazon...

GreenPrint saves paper, eliminates wasted printed pages

Green Print paper-saving software eliminates unwanted pages and reduces printing by 17% or more. The software analyzes each page of every document sent to the printer and looks for typical waste characteristics (like pages with just a URL, banner ad, logo, or legal jargon) and then highlights and removes them. It also makes it easier for users to select only the pages they want to print, provides image removal options, and allows a file to be saved as a PDF rather than printing. GreenPrint saves the average user over $90 and 1,400 wasted pages per year and allows enterprises to quantify the ecological and cost-saving benefits that result from using the software.

What is Energy Star? Energy efficient consumer products

Energy Star is an international standard for energy efficient consumer products. It was first created in the USA as a government program by the Clinton Administration in 1992, but since Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Taiwan and the European Union have also adopted the program.

Devices carrying the Energy Star logo, such as computer products and peripherals, kitchen appliances, buildings and other products, generally use 20%–30% less energy than required by federal standards. However, many European-targeted products are labeled using a different standard, TCO Certification, a combined energy usage and ergonomics rating from the Swedish Confederation of Professional Employees (TCO) instead of Energy Star.

Energy Star qualified televisions use 30% less energy than average. In November 2008, television specifications were improved to limit on-mode power use, in addition to standby power which is limited by the current specifications. A wider range of Energy Star qualified televisions will be available. Other qualified home electronics include cordless phones, battery chargers, VCRs and external power adapters, most of which use 90% less energy.

Local Earth Day 2010 Events in your area (earth day network)

Earth Day Network was founded on the premise that all people, regardless of race, gender, income, or geography, have a moral right to a healthy, sustainable environment. Our mission is to broaden and diversify the environmental movement worldwide, and to mobilize it as the most effective vehicle for promoting a healthy, sustainable environment. We pursue our mission through a combination of education, public policy, and activism campaigns. Earth Day Network has a global reach with more than 20,000 partners and organizations in 190 countries. More than 1 billion people participate in Earth Day activities, making it the largest secular civic event in the world.

Learn more and search for Local Events on earthday.org/events