PromoCard Services goes green with CornCard

PromoCard Services is now proudly offering the eco-friendly CornCard for card-based programs. The new cards are produced with corn plastic (NatureWorks PLA), a substrate manufactured from corn, an abundant and annually renewable resource. PLA is fully biodegradable because it is derived from plant-based materials. The company also feels that since corn is domestically grown, it is readily available for manufacturing, supports US farmers, the US economy, and reduces dependency on foreign petroleum supplies.

CornCards are virtually identical in look and feel to traditional credit, debit, and loyalty cards, and provide all the same convenience and functionality. PromoCard Services says that any of its card-based promotional programs can be created with the CornCard , including their Music Download Cards, Ring Tone Cards, Hotel Cards, Movie Cards, Phone Cards and Dining Cards.

Source: SecureIDNews

Habitat For Humanity Goes Green!

Habitat for Humanity's contribution to providing affordable housing is crucial with nearly 12 percent of Americans—33 million people—living below the official poverty line (now $18,104 per year for a family of four). Although the immediate need to provide low-cost shelter is obvious, what is becoming increasingly important is the ability to ensure that these houses are affordable to their owners over the long term. That means building homes that incorporate energy-efficient measures and technologies in their design. And Habitat's Green Team is doing just that.

Source: Mother Earth News

Wal-Mart CEO renews call to make a greener company

If the CEO of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has his way, customers will one day be able to charge their hybrid or electric cars in a store's parking lot while they shop. Speaking at Wal-Mart's annual meeting last week, CEO Lee Scott told the company's 7,000 managers that he wants Wal-Mart to play a leadership role in environmental issues in the 21st century. Scott said Wal-Mart's goal is to be supplied by 100% renewable energy, create zero waste and sell products that are energy efficient. One of the areas Scott wants the company to focus on is hybrid and electric vehicles. He said he has been talking with the heads of the major automakers over the past several weeks to find out how Wal-Mart could get involved in the hybrid electric or plug-in electric car market.

Source: Computerworld

Lift-off for green fuel superplane

The world's largest passenger aircraft, the Airbus A380, has become the first commercial plane to fly on "green" liquid fuel made from natural gas, rather than crude oil. The super-plane, taller than five double decker buses and the width of a football pitch, took off from the UK to France using a synthetic fuel, developed using Gas to Liquid (GTL) technology. The plane, which seats 555 passengers, left Airbus' UK headquarters in Filton, Bristol at 11.30am on Friday morning for a three-hour test flight to Toulouse. Sjoerd Post, vice president of Shell Aviation, which developed the fuel, said that he hoped the plane would eventually run on even greener bio-fuels made from sustainable plant matter.

Source: The Press Association

Telling a Green Ballpark's Story

This spring, will baseball fans leave the Washington Nationals' new stadium -- the first "green" major league ballpark -- with a new environmental awareness to go with peanuts and statistics about their favorite players?

If not, Nationals Park may end up as a muted tribute to the far-thinking D.C. Council, which has legislated that all new large construction in Washington, such as office buildings and shopping centers, be built according to green standards -- reducing their impact on the environment.

Source: Washington Post

Growing Interest In Green Investing

New research shows that individual investors think the environment is hot, with solar energy an important investment opportunity. Investing in the environment is rich soil to till, reports a survey released by Allianz Global Investors. Almost half of those surveyed said that in the next year they are likely to invest in a company or fund that is proactive on environmental issues.

Source: SocialFunds

HP Innovates Cartridge Recying Program

HP has developed the ability to use recycled plastics in the production of new HP inkjet print cartridges, according to this report. More than 200 million cartridges have been manufactured using the process thus far. HP used more than 5 million pounds of recycled plastic in its inkjet cartridges last year, and the company plans to use twice as much in 2008. The amount of recycled content in the new cartridges varies between 70 to 100 percent of the total plastic used.
HP’s recycling process uses a range of plastic products, from water bottles to HP inkjet cartridges. Since first piloting the process, HP claims to have used enough recycled plastic to fill more than 200 tractor trailers.

Source: Environmental Leader