Watch out! Often criticized for spewing jet exhaust into the air, the aviation industry also has a major recycling problem—250 million pounds* of in-flight waste to be specific.
The “What Goes Up Must Come Down: The Sorry State of Recycling in the Airline Industry” report, from Green America, rated airlines on the diversity of waste recycled, future recycling plans, size of recycling programs and other in-flight sustainability initiatives—and none of the carriers scored well.
Delta and Virgin America fared best with B- grades.
The Greener Gadgets Show opened in New York City on February 25th in the middle of a snow storm, but that did little to dampen delegates enthusiasm for energy efficiency, sustainable design, packaging innovations, product manufacturing to end-of-life recycling solutions—and green gadgets galore, ranging from eco-undies to the Mission One electronic motorcycle to the Herman Miller Leaf Lamp to scads of new battery chargers.
To mark the occasion, Retrevo released the “Gadgetology Report,” a study of consumers’ attitudes toward gadgets. The survey revealed 58% of US consumers didn’t feel the least bit guilty about not buying green gadgetry.
In many ways green travelers act like traditional travelers. According to the CMI Green, “Green Traveler Study Report,” the top sites visited by green travelers are Travelocity, Expedia and Orbitz—the most popular sites with traditional travelers.
According to the “Clean Energy Economy Study,” published by the Pew Charitable Trust, green jobs in the US grew 9.1% from 1998 to 2007, compared to 3.7% overall job growth in the same period.
Not surprising. In the case of many home appliance and electronic products, over half of all models carry the distinctive blue label. For example, 84% of LCD Displays sold in 2008 were Energy Star certified.
The 2009, Gallup “Healthways Well-Being Index” ranked the 50 states across six categories, including life evaluation, emotional health, physical health, work environment, healthy behavior and basic access to necessities.
Fairtrade products are sourced from farmers for a fair market price, covering the cost of sustainable production. This price floor is a mechanism meant to improve international trade and allow smaller farms to produce food in ways that meets social, economic and environmental standards.
In the UK, Fairtrade products are certified by an independent non-profit, the Fairtrade Foundation, which works to raise awareness and increase consumer demand for Fairtrade products.
Fairtrade-certified products in the UK grew 12% from 2008 to 2009—even during the recession.
According to a survey of restaurant retailers by Retail Systems Research (RSR), conducted on behalf of Nation’s Restaurant News, the restaurant industry is moving to adopt a number of green initiatives.
The main factor driving dining organizations to become more environmentally responsible is the consumer, cited by 66% of restaurateurs.
