DIY Green Solar Energy

Visit 3blmedia.com for the latest sustainability and CSR headlines. Darden Restaurants has turned on a solar panel installation on the roof of its Restaurant Support Center in Orlando. The largest private solar unit in Florida, the system generates enough power to produce 15 to 20 percent of the RSC’s annual usage. Darden’s RSC facility is the largest building in Florida to receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold certification for New Construction. Darden’s brands include Red Lobster, Olive Garden, and LongHorn Steakhouse. National Grid is sponsoring “Energy Savings Investigation,” an education and fundraising program for K through eighth grade students. The program offers interactive lessons that provide information about energy efficiency, and fundraising kits which include CFL light bulbs and advanced power strips provided at no cost by National Grid. Students sell the products and all proceeds from sales are kept by participating schools. The program is open to elementary schools and not for profit youth organizations. For more information on these and other stories, go to www.csrminute.com. The CSR Minute is produced for 3BL Media by Video4Good www.video4good.com

For more about energy efficiency at Chevron, visit www.chevron.com The Chevron Center for Sustainable Energy Efficiency at the Qatar Science & Technology Park supports Qatar’s sustainable development with research, demonstration and training in solar power and energy efficiency. A solar test site adjacent to the center is testing 25 different solar panels to find the technology best suited to weather conditions in the region.

Tiffany’s has launched a website dedicated to corporate social responsibility initiatives. The new site contains the company’s first annual, web-based Corporate Responsibility Report. The Report details Tiffany’s history of environmental and social responsibility, and its Fiscal Year 2010 sustainability performance. Included are sections on Tiffany’s sourcing of precious materials from responsibly mined metal deposits; its supply chain standards for sourcing diamonds; and its corporate giving program through the Tiffany Foundation, which donated 2 percent of pre-tax earnings to charitable purposes. SC Johnson has received a Green Power Leadership Award from the Environmental Protection Agency. The company was honored for its commitment and contribution to the advancement of the voluntary green power market. The award honors EPA Green Power Partners that distinguish themselves by using on-site, renewable energy applications, such as solar energy or landfill gas. For more information on these and other stories, go to thecsrminute.com

The Advanced Energy Economy, a new organization, has been formed to promote alternative energy companies. The group has already signed up regional chapters representing 700 companies, and plans to become a nationwide chamber of commerce for solar, wind and electric car companies. Among the leaders of the effort is Tom Steyer, founder of the Farallon Capital Management hedge fund in San Francisco. US Bank is one of only three banks that made the top 100 in Newsweek’s recent ranking of the 500 largest American companies, rated on sustainable management policies, programs, and environmental reporting practices. The company, which placed 57th overall, was recognized for its environmental sustainability efforts. US Bank was also noted as one of America’s Greenest Banks by Bank Technology News. For more information on these and other stories, go to thecsrminute.com

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Chrysler has released its first sustainability report. The paper establishes initial goals and commitments for products, the environment, and stakeholders. The report was developed using the Global Reporting Initiative’s G3 Framework, and achieved a GRI Application Level A rating. Campbell Soup is adding solar energy power to its Sacramento plant. The 2.3 megawatt generation system will be built by American Capital Energy, which will maintain the system, and Campbell will buy the energy it produces. The solar power will contribute about 10 percent of the energy that the plant uses annually. For more information on these and other stories, go to thecsrminute.com

Darren Saravis is the founder and CEO of Nectar Design, a Long Beach-based engineering and product design consultancy dedicated to innovation and sustainability. For 19 years, Nectar has been known for design that pushes to the edge of art and function. The firm has worked successfully in numerous fields including medicine, high tech, green tech, and general consumer products. A socially conscious artist and musician as well as an inventor, Saravis’s newest innovation with Nectar is the Solarflora™. Suggestive of a tree or a giant flower, the sculptural device can hold as many as four solar panels and supplies up to 1.2 kilowatt-hours of electricity per day. Saravis envisions the Solarflora as a means of mainstreaming the use of solar energy into the contemporary urban landscape, contributing to a more ecologically balanced, and more prosperous, nation and world. “Darren Saravis fears we’re losing touch with the natural world. To Saravis the mountain climber and environmental activist, the notion is disheartening. To Saravis the designer and engineer, it’s a problem to be solved.” — O, The Oprah Magazine ABOUTTEDx In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event …

Dow Corning will be a sustaining sponsor of the US Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011 to open September 23rd in Washington, DC Dow Corning will provide educational resources including a school curriculum for teachers; a Student Welcome and Education Center on the Solar Decathlon grounds; and a student-oriented program for students visiting the Solar Village in person and virtually via the Solar Decathlon website. The Solar Decathlon challenges 20 collegiate teams to design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient, and attractive. The annual Asian Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility, the largest in Asia, will celebrate its tenth year by returning to its home base in Manila, Philippines on October 18th and 19th this year. Organized by the Asian Institute of Management, Ramon V. del Rosario Senior Center for Corporate Responsibility, AFCSR 2011 will be co-presented by Intel and Nestle Philippines. The conference theme will be “Strategic CSR: Creating Shared Value.” For more information on these and other stories, go to thecsrminute.com The CSR Minute is sponsored by Brown-Forman Corporation, producer and marketer of fine quality wine and spirits brands including Jack Daniel’s, Southern Comfort, Finlandia Vodka, and Casa Herradura Tequilas. Download Brown-Forman’s new corporate social responsibility report at www.brown-forman.com/responsibility.

Dow Corning will be a sustaining sponsor of the US Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011 to open September 23rd in Washington, DC Dow Corning will provide educational resources including a school curriculum for teachers; a Student Welcome and Education Center on the Solar Decathlon grounds; and a student-oriented program for students visiting the Solar Village in person and virtually via the Solar Decathlon website. The Solar Decathlon challenges 20 collegiate teams to design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient, and attractive. The annual Asian Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility, the largest in Asia, will celebrate its tenth year by returning to its home base in Manila, Philippines on October 18th and 19th this year. Organized by the Asian Institute of Management, Ramon V. del Rosario Senior Center for Corporate Responsibility, AFCSR 2011 will be co-presented by Intel and Nestle Philippines. The conference theme will be “Strategic CSR: Creating Shared Value.” For more information on these and other stories, go to thecsrminute.com The CSR Minute is sponsored by Brown-Forman Corporation, producer and marketer of fine quality wine and spirits brands including Jack Daniel’s, Southern Comfort, Finlandia Vodka, and Casa Herradura Tequilas. Download Brown-Forman’s new corporate social responsibility report at www.brown-forman.com/responsibility.

A report by As You Sow, a shareholder advocacy group, concludes that major US beverage brands would support new laws making producers financially responsible for collecting and recycling post-consumer packaging. The study, “Waste and Opportunity: US Beverage Container Recycle Scorecard and Report,” outlines new efforts by beverage companies to reverse lagging US bottle and can recycling rates. Of the 224 billion containers sold annually in the US, only 29 percent are recycled. As You Sow gave a letter grade of B minus to Nestle Waters North America, Pepsico, The Coca-Cola Company, and Red Bull for their sustainability performance to date. Nissan has launched a Web site dedicated to sustainability, www.theplanet-zero.com. The site features a game called “The Planet Zero” that allows players to control a character who roams a virtual Earth, interacting with icons for wind energy, solar power, and other elements of a zero-emission society. Aimed at high school and college-age youth, the web game offers a vision of a possible zero-emission world. Nissan is the manufacturer of the Leaf electric car. For more information on these and other stories, go to thecsrminute.com The CSR Minute is sponsored by Brown-Forman Corporation, producer and marketer of fine quality wine and spirits brands including Jack Daniel’s, Southern Comfort, Finlandia Vodka, and Casa Herradura Tequilas. Download Brown-Forman’s new corporate social responsibility report at www.brown-forman.com/responsibility.