NEWS: Fed's climate change plans fail to meet requirements of Kyoto Act Quebec intros climate change bill Bioenergy: the forestry industry's white knight? Investments in green energy and electricity grid could generate 90,000 jobs in Ontario 3rd Annual Canada China Environmental Forum Low cost optimized diesel particulate filter launched in Vancouver

The Waxman-Markey climate bill and Canada

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COLUMNS:

Strategy: Sustainability in tough economic times — 7 questions to spur your efforts By Rob Abbott In a recent Calgary Herald article on the challenges facing Alberta's coal-fired generating stations in a carbon-constrained future, TransAlta President and CEO, Steve Snyder said ''we have to solve the carbon dioxide issue, but we can't bankrupt the province to solve the problem.'' (''Alberta in CO2 firing line'', May 2, 2009.) In doing so, he inadvertently perpetuated an image of environmental protection as the purview of earnest do-gooders who don't understand business. more...

Legal: U.S. climate change legislation — the view from Washington By Tom Brett It is important for Canadian companies, institutions, and government agencies to understand the pace of change on greenhouse gas policy in the U.S., including when federal legislation will be enacted, when the U.S. program will actually begin and the likely general shape of the U.S. federal legislation, in so far as it's envisaged today. more...

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FEATURES:

Green marketing: A strategy to overcome confusion
By Valerie Chort and Daniel Wang
Consumers seeking opportunities to ''shop green'' are being stymied by the very organizations that stand to benefit from this interest. A recent study by the Grocery Manufacturers' Association (GMA) and Deloitte found that although 47 per cent of shoppers surveyed looked for and found green products, only 22 per cent actually purchased one. That means retailers and manufacturers are losing potential green sales from a quarter of shoppers at the store shelf. more...

Selling your green products: tips from Discovery 09
By Robert Colman
Green procurement is an important part of greening a company's business practices. Differentiating your company by creating a green product can create new opportunities in the marketplace. But what is the market like for green right now? How do you sell it? At the Ontario Centres of Excellence fourth annual Discovery conference (held May 11-12), Scott McDougall, CEO of TerraChoice, and Dr. Blair Feltmate, Director of Sustainable Development for Ontario Power Generation were asked to discuss the issue. more...

Community engagement a key to clean energy innovation: Energy Matters 2009
At this year's Energy Matters Summit, hosted by the Region of Peel, it was made abundantly clear that the public sector is adopting effective energy management solutions and creating opportunities for innovative clean technologies to flourish. Much of this is out of necessity, but innovative implementation is making the difference for those that are most successful. An island community in Denmark is perhaps the most remarkable example of this yet. more...

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BOOK REVIEW

Good to Green: an up-to-date view of Canada's corporate sustainability landscape
It's hard to keep up with the many changes in environmental legislation, government incentives and climate change action today, so it would seem publishing a book on the subject could be a precarious undertaking. Good to Green, however, somehow succeeds — by offering valuable basics on how to create a ''green'' approach to managing your business, and by including valuable Canadian content you won’t find in many other texts today.
To read the full review, click here.
To go straight to an excerpt, click here.

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS:

Ontario Power Summit, May 25-26. St. Andrew's Club & Conference Centre, Toronto, Ontario

Hydrogen and Fuel Cells 2009, May 31-June 3, Vancouver Convention Centre, Vancouver, B.C.

Canada China Environmental Forum, June 8, CNIB National Office, Toronto, Ontario

Canada Green Building Council National Summit: Every Building Can Be Green, June 9-11, Montreal, Quebec

ENEX09: Energy efficiency benefits for the bottom line, September 22-23, Stage West, Mississauga, ON

Check out the Calendar of Events on the Green Business website for more upcoming industry seminars, conferences, shows and training sessions.

Got an event you want us to include on the website? Please send an e-mail to editor Rob Colman: rcolman@clbmedia.ca.