For a few years now, clean energy and sustainable business practices have been driving large-scale efforts inside companies of all sizes. Whether the end goal was cheap energy, response to impending government regulation or even a little positive media exposure, evidence of the new green corporate landscape is everywhere. The green movement is gaining a substantial amount of momentum with little evidence of slowing down, due to large-scale implementation of energy efficiency projects. I recently stumbled on an article that discussed how Google has invested $280 million through a partnership with SolarCity, a California-based solar design and installation company. continue
December 8, 2010 • Current Events, Energy's Lighter Side
by Eric Bickel
Here at Summit, we spend a great deal of time perfecting our knowledge of the energy markets, both in the U.S. and globally. As a result, we begin to grow sensitive to the economic climate. While there are probably dozens of reasons for this, I will focus on two in particular: continue
In the last few months Apple has introduced the world to the latest technology “must have” – the iPad. Before its release, it was rumored to revolutionize the way we read and consume media. Though it will probably take five or maybe ten years to see if this hypothesis is correct, one thing is for certain: in this increasingly electronic world, businesses are getting smarter, whether unconsciously or not, about being paperless. And perhaps this is not so much a change of the times as it is a statement on energy sustainability.
The up-side to these emerging technologies (besides the fact that they’re just really cool) is that they are making us smarter consumers. Even every day processes which we never think about, like powering our houses, cars and businesses are being examined for greater energy efficiency. continue