Recently, several sustainability consultants with a passion for the arts got together on the phone to figure out a way to combine our green knowledge and our artistic drives. … what came out of this conversation is a group for Greening the Arts . We provide sustainability consulting to artists and the various support for those artists, be it the venues they play in or display their work , the instruments they use or the way they are promoted – we are dedicated to making those efforts more sustainable.
Our group has decades of international sustainability experience with multi-national corporations to small businesses. We are also photographers, guitar aficionados, surfers, international travelers, music lovers and even a frisbee golf champion. So, we know how to play too. And we think that it is important to combine these passions in support of the artists today.
Green Arts Green Arts
Imaging Work Group
The subgroups for the EPEAT Imaging workgroup have formed and will be meeting over the next two weeks. Subgroups have formed for each of the 8 existing EPEAT categories. In addition, 2 additional potential categories have formed groups – consumables and emissions/air quality. Also, a product definitions group has formed to define the different products that will be included in the scope of the standard.
The main task for the subgroups will initially be to identify possible criteria that are common across the existing and potential EPEAT standards – Computers, Imaging and Televisions. From there, subgroups will focus on developing and/or modifying criteria and building consensus among the stakeholders prior to draft criteria being circulated to the full working group for voting.
Television Studygroup
The primary goal of the TV studygroup is to develop a Project Authorization Request (PAR) and then vote to accept or reject this PAR. It has been decided that a 75% approval/acceptance will be required to approve the PAR and establish a TV Workgroup that would then be tasked with developing the EPEAT criteria.
The PAR is basically finalized though there are a few more questions that the study group chairs are investigating and will report back to the group at the next meeting. It is anticipated that a vote on the PAR will occur at the next study group meeting in April.
Other Information
A face to face meeting will take play June 8 and 9 in Washington DC for both the Imaging and TV groups as part of the development of the criteria for each standard.
EPEAT Group on LinkedIn started last week. Looking to have some good, open discussions about EPEAT and GEC.
EPEAT EPEAT, Imaging, Televisions
A recent summary in Environmental Leader indicated that by 2012 the cost of carbon, per the proposed budget and cap-and-trade scheme would be $13.70, resulting in a 6 to 7% increase in fuel and energy costs. This is based upon a US-only Cap and not a US-Canada-Mexico Carbon Cap which is an alternative possibility. It also doesn’t include efforts that may be in place for renewable/lower carbon producing energy and fuel alternatives.
Regardless of the details, it certainly looks imminent that some form of the long proposed cap-and-trade carbon scheme will be in effect soon. Though the potential costs may seem to be something that the current economy cannot support, I would tend to disagree.
A known carbon cap with a well defined financial impact on organizations will help to spur additional innovation in how energy is sourced and managed. It will promote more carbon management and accounting and a better, in depth understanding of many of the inefficiencies that exist today in businesses and organizations. By knowing and correcting these areas of waste, a net savings to business will be realized. In addition, there is an opportunity for leaders that implement carbon management solutions into their processes to also participate in carbon trading, generating carbon credits of a known value which can be sold on the open market and added directly to the bottom line.
Carbon Cap and Trade, Carbon Cap