ecobriefs
Earth Care Women’s Leadership for a Green Economy
Earth Day Network’s new campaign, Women and Green Economy (WAGE), is engaging female executives in business, government and nongovernmental organizations to take leadership of the emerging global green economy. “Currently, women are not present in very many top international negotiations on climate change and the green economy,” says Earth Day Network President Kathleen Rogers. “We aim to change that equation.” Women such as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, are among those now leading key efforts in the climate and renewable energy discussion. “It is essential that our most talented and driven women come together to fast-forward the green economy,” says Rogers. With the world’s women making 85 percent of all consumer choices, they are in a commanding position to lead the way to a sustainable world. WAGE creates a road map for women to aggregate
their power and promote their leadership in such issues. Earth Day Network’s supporting goals are to help prompt national and international initiatives that will promote the green economy, secure education and job training opportunities for women and channel green investment to benefit women.
Learn more and join in via the Programs menu at
EarthDay.org.
Stirring Giants Green Homebuilding Progress Report
America’s 10 largest publicly traded homebuilders have started to improve their environmental policies and practices, but much progress remains to be achieved, according to the latest Survey of Sustainable Practices by the Homebuilding Industry, by Calvert Asset Management Co. KB Home, based in Los Angeles, and Pulte Homes, of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, were ranked as the top industry firms. Calvert reports that out of 42 possible green data
points, the average total score was just over six points, or 15 percent. Without the top two companies in the mix, the average overall score would have been less than 6 percent. Green building represents a major industry
opportunity. “Whereas two years ago, the industry had not yet begun to embrace sustainability as a core part of building design and construction, companies today have taken many meaningful steps toward developing greener and cleaner homes,” says Rebecca Henson, a sustainability analyst at Calvert and co-author of the report. “However, given the environmental impact that homebuilding has, the industry has significantly more progress to make.” Companies are most active in energy efficiency and
conservation, paying more attention to sustainability issues that can offer short-term financial benefits to operating costs and customers, such as building material recycling and energy and water efficiency measures. Issues with long-term benefits, such as climate change, are not well addressed.
For more information, search Green Homebuilder at
Calvert.com. To assess a home’s energy efficiency score, take the quiz at
EnergySavvy.com.
www.
NaturalTucson.com
April 2011
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