News Updates for the Week of October 25

1. NEWSWEEK's 2010 Green Rankings is a data-driven assessment of the largest companies in the U.S. and in the world. Our goal was to cut through the green chatter and quantify the actual environmental footprints, policies, and reputations of these big businesses. To do this, we teamed up with three leading environmental research organizations to create the most comprehensive rankings available. The Top 10 greenest USA companies are:

1) Dell
2) Hewlett-Packard
3) IBM
4) Johnson & Johnson
5) Intel
6) Sprint Nextel
7) Adobe Systems
8) Applied Materials
9) Yahoo
10) Nike

http://www.newsweek.com/2010/10/18/green-rankings-us-companies.html

2. PNNL Report Urges Better Energy Use for Restaurants - Coffee shops and fast-food eateries could reduce their energy use as much as 52 percent with changes that include ultra-efficient appliances, lights and heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, according to a new report by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland. To calculate savings, PNNL researchers modeled a typical 2,500-square-foot quick-service restaurant and plugged it into an energy simulation computer program. PNNL compiled the report for DOE's Building Technologies Program with industrial collaborators the Halton Co. and the Pacific Gas and Electric Food Service Technology Center. http://www.pnl.gov/main/publications/external/technical_reports/PNNL-19809.pdf

3. NALMCO Announces Lighting Industry's First Sustainability Certification - The National Association of Lighting Management Companies is unveiling the Certified Sustainable Lighting. The certification -- named CSLC for Certified Sustainable Lighting Consultant -- will be a seal of approval ensuring that a lighting professional has expertise in creating and maintaining lighting systems that use long-lived, energy-efficient products that minimize impacts on the environment and society. For more information, visit www.nalmco.org

4. GE to Market CFL-Halogen Hybrid in 2011 - Starting in 2011, GE Lighting will market an incandescent-shaped light bulb that combines the instant brightness of halogen technology with the energy efficiency and longer rated life of CFL technology. The halogen capsule inside GE’s new hybrid halogen-CFL bulb comes on instantly, allowing the bulb to operate noticeably brighter in less than a half a second. The capsule shuts off once the CFL comes to full brightness. First to launch will be 15W and 20W hybrid halogen-CFL bulbs that are considered viable replacements for 60W and 75W incandescent bulbs, respectively. http://enews.penton.com/enews/electricalwholesaling/green_biz/2010_10_21_green_opportunities/display

5. ESCO Energy Services Program - GE Lighting’s ESCO Energy Services Program provides a comprehensive strategy for identifying energy-saving opportunities within customer facilities. Find an ESCO Service Provider in your area thru this website: http://www.geconsumerandindustrial.com/environmentalinfo/regulations_resources/esco/

6. NEMA Goes Global on LEDs - NEMA, Rosslyn, Va., has joined other key lighting organization in the Global Lighting Forum (GLF), an initiative to coordinate and promote LED (light emitting diode) technology on a global level. The GLF will develop international standards, produce educational materials, and work with key LED stakeholders in business and government. http://livewire.electricalmarketing.com/2010/10/19/nema-goes-global-on-leds/

7. Solais Brings Two Industry Leaders Aboard to Drive Sales Efforts - Solais Lighting, Inc., a leading manufacturer of lightweight, specification grade LED lamps with Luxiance® technology announced today that Glenn Bordfeld and Rich Stam have joined the company as vice president of sales and national director of sales, respectively.

8. German 'Heatball' Outwits EU Light Bulb Ban - A German entrepreneur is bypassing a European Union ban on light bulbs of more than 60 watts by marketing his own brand as mini heaters. Siegfried Rotthaeuser and his brother-in-law have come up with a legal way of importing and distributing 75 and 100 watt light bulbs — by producing them in China, importing them as "small heating devices" and selling them as "heatballs." Costing 1.69 euros each ($2.38), the heatballs are going down well — the first batch of 4,000 sold out in three days. http://enews.penton.com/enews/electricalwholesaling/green_biz/2010_10_21_green_opportunities/display