Reader elsameow commented, “That’s a nice list, but why are they all men?” Tail between my legs I owned up to the error (blaming it partially on a Colbertian inability to see gender), and suggested it might make for good fodder for another post. So in honor of International Women’s Day, I bring you Earth & Industry’s alphabetical listing of 16 Women You Must Follow on Twitter for Green Business. Like last week’s list this is just a sampling of the many great green business twitterfeeds out there so please add your suggestions in the comments below.

@ChristineArena Christine Arena is an author and blogger with specialties in CSR, sustainability and ethics.  Cristine is writing about green business and interviewing industry leaders at ChristineArena.com.

@DianeMacEachern A communications professional, speaker and accomplished writer, Diane MacEachern is passionate about empowering consumers — especially women — to use their marketplace clout to protect the environment. Diane is the author of Big Green Purse: Use Your Spending Power to Create a Cleaner, Greener World.

@ecofashionista Kelly Drennan is a writer, speaker, ecofashion activist, green publicist and event producer. She tweets about green fashion, living and issues.

@elaineishere Elaine Hsieh is “business savvy green building consultant whose professional activities focus on energy and sustainability.” Elaine is also Pacific Regional Council Chair of the US Green Building Council. She tweets about green building and a range of energy and environmental issues.

@greenhance An Adjunct Faculty in Marketing at Marymount University, Jennifer Kaplan has conducted in-depth research into consumer attitudes about how small businesses can most effectively go green. Jennifer is also a blogger for Ecopreneurist.com and author of the new book, Greening Your Small Business.

@greensara President of Eco Assist Consulting and founder of YourGreenReview.com, Sara Rampersaud tweets and retweets high quality sustainable business content.

@jasminchua Business obviously means much more than heavy industry, manufacturing and technology. Editor of Ecouterre Jasmin Malik Chua writes about sustainable fashion and beauty.

@Jaymiheimbuch Jaymi Heimbuch is an eco-dabbler at TreeHugger and Planet Green. Jaymi writes and tweets mostly about clean tech, green gadgets, sustainability and global water issues.

@joannayarrow An “explorer of 21st-century sustainable living,” Joanna Yarrow is a writer, broadcaster, consultant and founder of Beyond Green, a full service consultancy that can conceive, plan, design, communicate, develop business models for and help to deliver sustainable developments.

@kate_sheppard Environmental reporter and blogger at Mother Jones, Kate covers more politics than business in her writing and tweeting. But Kate’s inside the beltway muckraking on the energy industry and the Chamber of Commerce make her a must follow for anyone interested in the business and politics of green and greenwashing.

@katiefehren Prolific clean tech blogger and editor at GigaOm’s Earth2Tech, Katie Fehrenbacher has been covering cutting-edge technology and startups in Silicon Valley for over seven years.

@MariaEnergia Maria Surma Manka is a self-described energy guru, PR professional and blogger. A member of the original writing team at Green Options, Maria is a contributor at Earth & Industry as well as the voice of reason on Earth & Industry Radio’s “Gang of Four” podcast.

@mkaufmann Michelle Kaufmann is an architect “working on smarter ways to design, build and live.” Founder of Michelle Kaufmann Designs, her award-winning green prefab building designs have caused us to redefine what it means to build green.

@OliviaZaleski Host of CNN, Fortune Mag’s Business of Green series and CNNmoney.com environmental correspondent, Olivia Zaleski also launched HuffPo Green, and is a contributing editor at “The Daily Green” and regular guest expert on ABC’s “Good Morning America Now.”

@OrganicMania Lynn Miller is a green marketing consultant and mom who is “Crazy about Organics and Green Living.” Organicmania is a blog “devoted to cutting through the hype and figuring out when it makes sense to lay out the big bucks for organic and green purchases. Lynn also tweets with a business focus at @4GreenPs.

@TaigaCompany Julie Urlaub consults, blogs, and works with businesses leaders to help them address sustainability interests. Julie’s blog and twitterfeed is full of practical bits of strategic advice to help businesses green their operations.

Of course, you can also follow @earthindustry on Twitter. Earth & Industry focuses on the intersection of people, planet and profit, leading the discussion on how companies can maximize profits while being responsible citizens of this earth. Tweets are from the Earth & Industry writing team, anchored by editor Tim Hurst (@ecopolitologist).

See also:

Who to follow on twitter for environmental politics
Who to follow on twitter for green business

Photo credit: magerleague via flickr/Creative Commons

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Click here to view the embedded video.

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From sharing news or quality content, to communicating with friends and communities of interest, the micro-blogging platform Twitter has something for everybody. And there are few communities of interest that have swarmed around Twitter with more fury than the business community. Granted, maybe ‘business community’ is too large a group to even classify as a community, but ‘green business community’ isn’t. On that note, we bring you the Earth & Industry 16 must-follows on Twitter.

Now, this is not exactly scientific, but it’s not arbitrary either. It should also be noted that we left out companies and focused on individuals unless they are in the business of writing about green business. And, of course, this is by no means the definitive list, so please leave your suggestions in the comments below to help make it one. Without further ado and in alphabetical order:

@adamwerbach Named the youngest-ever national president of the Sierra Club in 1996, Adam Werbach is now a business trategist tweeting tips for running a sustainable business. Author of new Harvard Biz book, Strategy for Sustainability.

@AlexSteffen While not strictly a ‘green business’ guy Alex Steffen of World Changing delves deep into the underlying problems at the root of sustainability. This undoubtedly means he approaches the world of business at multiple levels, but from a different perspective than most ‘business people.’

@britesprite Chris Milton is a UK sustainability journalist and writer. Chris says he’s never met the opportunity to write a feature he didn’t like: “The thing is everyone, every business, is a feature waiting to happen. Because everyone, every business, is in some way unique and ground breaking.”

@DavidCoethica David Conor’s bio tells us that he knows a thing or two about CSR and ethical business. Conor is a sustainable business strategist, environment specialist, speaker and now blogger, using Coethica “to make the world a better place to live and work.”

@DCarli Don Carli’s Twitter bio says he’s into sustainability, CSR, green, advertising, media, design, marketing and tech. If that weren’t enough, Carli is Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Sustainable Communication, a nonprofit working to develop “the next generation of communication and media leaders required to create green jobs, foster environmental restoration and improve quality of life in the communities they touch.”

@fabianpattberg Blogging at FabianPattberg.com, among other places, Fabian Pattberg writes prolifically on the topics of sustainability, corporate social Responsibility and the use of social networking for business and individuals.

@gfriend Gil Friend is an engaging speaker, strategic sustainability thought leader and consultant. Gil is the CEO of Natural Logic Inc. and author The Truth About Green Business.

@GreenBizTweets The man operating the switches of the the official and informal source of green business news and conversation from GreenBiz.com is Hugh Byrne. The GreenBiz social media machine is much more than a twitterfeed of the network’s wide-ranging content, Hugh has made curation and promotion of others’ good content just as important.

@greenskeptic Blogging the new green economy as The Green Skeptic since 2004, Scott Anderson lends his expertise on cleantech and social-entrepreneurial ventures. When he’s not busy trying to win converts on Fox Business News, Scott likes to spend some of his time shooting hoops and following the Boston Red Sox.

@GreenSmith Paul Smith describes himself as a “Sustainable/Green Biz Consultant. Digital PR. Blogger for Triple Pundit. Ghost Writer for ____. Social Media Demystifier. Brain for hire.” Check out some of Paul’s work at Greensmith Consulting.

@jetsongreen Preston Koerner at Jetson Green covers green building, sustainable architecture and small-scale renewable energy better than pretty much anyone in the space.

@Makower Joel Makower describes himself as “Founder of GreenBiz.com; bestselling author; speaker, adviser, entrepreneur in green business, green marketing, clean tech, blah blah blah.” We couldn’t have said it better, Joel.

@MarcGunther Writer, speaker and consultant on business and sustainability, Mark Gunther is a regular contributor at GreenBiz and a leading voice in the sustainable business. You can find some of Marc’s work at MarcGunther.com.

@sustainablog Jeff McIntire-Strasburg is no stranger to green social media. Writing about sustainability and green business at Sustainablog since 2004, Jeff still finds time to teach college students how to write in sentences longer than 140 characters.

@TriplePundit No, not a person, but I couldn’t omit TriplePundit from this list as it. Led by founder, Nick Aster, Triple Pundit has grown into one of the most insightful and reliable sources of green business news and featured content on the Web.

@WillSarni Will Sarni is Founder and CEO of DOMANI Sustainability Consulting and a regular contributor here at Earth & Industry. Will’s expertise on water issues, brownfields remediation and sustainability reporting strategy.

Of course, you can also follow @earthindustry on Twitter. Earth & Industry focuses on the intersection of people, planet and profit, leading the discussion on how companies can maximize profits while being responsible citizens of this earth. Tweets from the Earth & Industry writing team, anchored by editor Tim Hurst (@ecopolitologist)

See also:
Women to follow on twitter for green business
Who to follow on twitter for environmental politics.

Photo: Spencer E Holtaway via flickr/Creative Commons

Related posts:

1. The 16 Women You Must Follow on Twitter for Green Business
2. Tweetin' for Good: Toyota Connects with Sustainable, Charitable Twitter Hub
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Walmart announces plan to to cut 20 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions in their supply chain over the next five years.

In another large-scale sustainability effort aimed at greening their supply chain, Walmart today announced the lofty goal of cutting 20 million metric tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from its global supply chain by the end of 2015. The reductions would equal 3.8 million cars-worth of greenhouse gas emissions, or, 1.5 times the company’s projected CO2 growth over the next 5 years.

“Energy efficiency and carbon reduction are central issues in the world today,” said Mike Duke, Walmart president and CEO, in a live televised announcement on Thursday. Duke said that Walmart has been “working to make a difference in these areas, both in our own footprint and our supply chain. We know that we have an opportunity to do more and the capacity to do more.”

Duke said that working with suppliers, the plan would be measurable and attributable, calling it “a plan that will make a difference.”

“Reducing carbon in the life cycle of our products will often mean reducing energy use,” added Duke. “That will mean greater efficiency and, with the rising cost of energy, lower costs, making our business stronger and more competitive. And, as we help our suppliers reduce their energy use, costs and carbon footprint, we’ll be helping our customers do the same thing.”

Duke said that reductions can come from any phase of a products lifecycle, including sourcing raw materials, manufacturing, transportation, customer use and end of life disposal.

Fred Krupp of Environmental Defense talks with Walmart's Leslie Dach about Walmart's new greenhouse gas emissions strategy.

“Today the world’s largest company begins a global race for carbon pollution cuts,” said Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense Fund. “Walmart’s bold move will help companies identify steps to slash pollution and costs.”

“What’s sensational is that you’re going to launch a race, a treasurehunt,” said Krupp, referring to Walmart suppliers finding ways to reduce GHG emissions.

Working with Environmental Defense Fund, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Clear Carbon Consulting and the University of Arkansas, Walmart created a plan of action to find and measure the greatest opportunities for reduction, and a plan to verify those GHG reductions.

The measuring and verification document created by the partner groups was not yet publicly available, “but the plan is to make it available shortly,” said a Walmart representative in an email on Thursday afternoon.

Elizabeth Sturcken, managing director for corporate partnerships at EDF said that that Walmart and their partnering organizations were “trying to find a goal that was aggressive yet achievable,” adding that, “what’s real important is a change in perspective.”

Calling it a move into “uncharted waters,” Sturcken noted that the plan doesn’t require waiting for the world or the US to act on greenhouse gas emissions and that that the plan is a “good opportunity to get action now.”

This is not the first major sustainability announcement in the last year or so for the world’s largest retailer. In addition to the goal of being completely powered by renewable energy, Walmart also created a sustainability index that they say will  “measure the sustainability of every product it sells.”

Follow Tim Hurst on twitter

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Boulder's smart grid project grow more expensive as cost of fiber optics rises. (Photo: Xcel Energy)

As project costs for the world’s first smart-gird enabled city in Boulder soar, the Colorado Public Utilities Commission has stepped up oversight to help prevent runaway build-out costs and help protect Colorado ratepayers.

Back in December, the Xcel’s $11 million rate hike for Boulder’s SmartGridCity project was approved by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), but the regulatory body also indicated they wanted Xcel to prove the rate hike will serve the public interest and they would be increasing oversight of the state’s largest (and only) investor-owned utility, ordering the utility to file a “Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity”, something that Xcel hasn’t yet had to do for the project.

Boulder’s SmartGridCity project has been hit by cost overruns, which, according to Jeff St. John at Earth2Tech, can be blamed on the rising cost of fiber optics. St. John wonders whether the cost overruns in Boulder will be emblematic of other smart grid projects in the U.S. and the world:

Rumors that SmartGridCity was facing fiber-related cost overruns have been circulating for some time. The whole affair brings into question whether smart grid services alone can justify the cost of building out a fiber optic network. While many utilities have fiber optic networks installed, they’re usually limited to major transmission lines and end at big substations, rarely venturing out into neighborhood distribution grids.

Global demand for faster data transmission across broader bandwidth is undoubtedly going to create some unexpected cost increases like the one we are witnessing in Boulder. But one wonders if President Obama’s smart grid investments and increased stimulus spending will help take some pressure off an already-taxed fiber optics industry, or whether this is just a manifestation of smart grid growing pains.

Xcel has until late February to file its certificate of public convenience and necessity, and the CPUC could take six months or so to review.

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Environmental Defense Fund is all too aware of this and with the help stresslimitdesign has produced this nifty tilt-shift video about fleet vehicle efficiency. Take home point: It’s all about scale.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Tailings pond at oil sands development along Canada's Athabasca River. (Photo Courtesy of David Dodge/Pembina Institute)

In an effort to slash CO2 output, Whole Foods, Bed Bath & Beyond announce they will no longer buy products sourced using Canadian oil sands.

Sure there is little to no progress from the COP15 summit in Copenhagen; the US Congress is gridlocked in beltway madness with regards to climate legislation; and the media can’t seem to understand that climate science is not a sound bite.

However, I remain hopeful because of voluntary actions by companies that recognize that we need to move to a low carbon economy — and they have the power to make it happen. Why the hope? Many companies are voluntarily moving ahead with carbon cutting programs on their own.

Tucked away in the Financial Times last week, Sheila McNulty reported that Whole Foods Market and Bed Bath & Beyond have decided not to source fuel from Canada’s oil sands (formerly tar sands).

Oil sands have a much higher carbon content than crude oil and many of the development processes have oil sands’ negative impact on human health, water and wildlife.

Michael Besancon, Whole Foods’ senior global vice-president of purchasing, distribution and marketing, said: “We’re looking at our carbon footprint, and tar sands fuels are higher carbon,” Mr Besancon said. “We’re trying to be a leader – out in front on this issue.’

These latest actions are being encouraged by ForestEthics an NGO that is pushing to move US businesses away from the high carbon footprint oil sands. ForsetEthics is negotiating with 30 companies to follow the lead by Whole Foods and Bed Bath & Beyond.

Whole Foods looked at their supply chain carbon footprint and replaced Marathon Oil with CountryMark which sources from US oil sources. A simple and relatively small action but with significant implications for energy companies that source from oil sands. If industries decide to move to a low carbon source for energy to better manage risk (high carbon sources will at some point be regulated) and demonstrate leadership in sustainability, then it will have an impact on the energy sector.

Building a low carbon economy: the power of voluntary actions

Although the impact may be smaller, the move is like the Walmart sustainability initiative in that the greatest impact a company can have on their environmental footprint is typically within their supply chain.

Walmart is now positively influencing tens of thousands of their suppliers to pay attention to their resource use (energy, carbon, water and materials). Walmart, Whole Foods and Bed Bath & Beyond are not alone in quantifying their entire environmental footprint and looking a ways to reduce the supply chain portion of their footprint.

Based upon my experience with our clients influencing your supply chain is is where the real power resides in embedding sustainability thinking into a cross section of industry sectors. The approach: tell your suppliers that you are committed to a sustainability strategy and they are part of the solution. If they are not interested companies now have the option of sourcing from those companies that can provide “low footprint” products.

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South Carolina-based publisher of local photographic histories goes with 100% Forest Stewardship Council-certified paper

While some books are ending up in dumpsters before they’re even sold, the same can’t be said for most high-quality heirloom photography books. And while some publishers are likely looking for ways to cut corners in a sliding economy, South Carolina-based Arcadia Publishing is looking for ways to invest in both the future of the company and the future of the world’s forests.

Arcadia, the largest publisher of local history books in the U.S. is now the country’s first major book publisher to use 100 percent Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper across its entire line. Beginning with its current reprint runs and all 700 new releases in 2010, Arcadia will feature the FSC-certified paper and will carry the accredited FSC label.

Products using the FSC label are independently certified to assure consumers the paper comes from forests that are managed to meet the social, economic and ecological needs of present and future generations.

Richard Joseph, CEO of Mount Pleasant-based Arcadia Publishing said he considers the unprecedented initiative as a natural next step for the company. “Consistent with our commitment to help communities preserve history through local and regional history books, we have extended our efforts to improve the impact we have on our environment,” Joseph said.

All books are manufactured in South Carolina on American-made paper. “We are proud our books are made right here in the USA,” said Joseph.

“Our books feature local history, are manufactured locally, and are written by local authors-our focus is truly all about being local.”

Follow Tim Hurst on twitter @ecopolitologist

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The 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid and the future of the American sedan. (Photo: Tim Hurst)

The 2010 Ford Fusion was named Motor Trend Car of the Year. And that wasn’t even the hybrid.

I couldn’t have asked for a better time to get out of town. A strong winter storm was barreling down on Colorado and virtually every road surface in the state was covered in snow.  I was about to head off for a long weekend to cover sustainability efforts at a music festival in sunny southern California.  On top of this, my traveling partner for this excursion, Gas 2.0 editor Nick Chambers had secured a 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid for an extended test-drive. There was a very good likelihood that if I didn’t make my flight or if it was delayed, that I wouldn’t be getting out at all.

Despite the fact that the plane I was supposed to get on to California never actually arrived in Denver, somehow the airline was able to find another and get us into the air.

By the time I landed in Long Beach, the storm was already to the east, the sky was blue and the air was warm. I grabbed my bags at the outdoor baggage claim looked up and saw Nick roll-up in a shiny-new Ford Fusion Hybrid.

All was right with the world. 

The review

At first blush, the Fusion is a good looking and comfortable vehicle with a cool user interface and a comfortable ride. The Fusion isn’t cheap. Starting at $27,625, it costs about five thousand bucks more than a brand 3rd Generation Toyota Prius. And at 41 miles per gallon (hwy), it won’t get the mileage that the 51-mpg Prius will. But in terms of comfort, features, and its larger size, the Fusion is really more like a Toyota Camry than a Prius.

The first thing that I noticed when I got behind the wheel was that the Fusion’s user interface has a lot going on. They call it the Dual LCD SmartGauge Cluster with Eco Guide that provides real-time information to help you squeeze the most efficiency from your Fusion Hybrid. While it could be a little overwhelming for the easily distracted, after making myself familiar with the cluster, I found the gauges to be plenty informative without having to look directly at them.

The SmartGauge with EcoGuide uses LCD screens on either side of the center-mounted speedometer. (A tutorial built into the display lets you choose one of four data screens for the level of information you want – Inform, Enlighten, Engage or Empower – and explains your options within each.)

On the data screen setting we opted for, the LCD screen on the left had guages indicating fuel level, battery level and miles per hour (with the EcoGuide indicator telling you when you are driving in EV-mode). You keep it in the green zone on the EcoGuide and the 2.5L Atkinson-Cycle I-4 Hybrid engine shuts off and runs completely off of the high-power NiMH battery. Keep it in the green and you are essentially driving an electric car. Continued…

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