Wells Fargo Environmental Forum

Environmental Forum Readers if you read my earlier post, here's the follow up report:  The babies have arrived!

The first falcon chick hatched - rather appropriately - on Mother's Day, May 12. The second chick arrived sometime within the last day or so.

Between naps, both Mom and Dad have been bringing plenty of food to their new little ones, and they're already growing fast - Chick No. 1 looks as though it's doubled in size since Sunday!

For an expert's perspective on our Peregrine friends, check out this blog by Jeff Thomas, ornithologist and Associate Professor of Biology at Queens University in Charlotte, who's asking folks to do a little "citizen science" to help monitor the birds' hunting and feeding habits.

You also can visit the website of our partners at the Carolina Raptor Center to follow the action with "Aragorn", the Center's resident Peregrine falcon - just click on the "FalCam" tab to see his Twitter feed and the live webcam. Welcome to the world, little falcons!

Take the situation at the Boise River, where the habitat faces a challenge brought by invasive plants, especially false indigo. Thankfully, the Land Trust of the Treasure Valley has stepped in to run a conservation and preservation project. Wells Fargo supported this project in 2012 with a $25,000 Environmental Solutions for Communities grant. A major part of the plan includes removing the false indigo, which will benefit the area's fisheries and improve downstream water quantity and quality.

Recently, the Wells Fargo Boise Green Team volunteered to help cut and remove the false indigo. It's no trivial task. Invasive species tend to spread extremely quickly and can produce devastating results, including shifting how a river flows. Removing the false indigo also helps to reintroduce native species, which in turn reduces erosion and creates better wildlife habitat. 

The folks at the Land Trust of the Treasure Valley aren't just great environmentalists - they have a knack for creating compelling video through time lapse photography. See how they captured a day's work in about 2 minutes.

And if you just can't get enough of the Green Team, see them going at it in the video below:

Environmental Forum readers, here is the latest version of our ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Notes compiled each week. If you have any questions or comments about Nelson Capital's ESG notes, please visit our website

 Big City Bright Lights

New York City's commitment to replacing all of its streetlights has recently completed one of the first phases of the project since the completion of testing back in 2009. Margaret Newman, chief of staff for the NYC Department of Transportation spoke with GreenBiz journalist Cindy Cesca and shared the project goals and projected savings. According to Newman, the city is planning to replace approximately 300,000 city lights with a completion date by 2019. The City spent 18 months testing various LED lights for different applications including roadways and park pathways. Since the implementation of the lights, energy savings from replaced 175-watt metal halide light to the more efficient 90-watt LED fixtures in Central Park has created a savings of about $250,000 per year and approximately 700,000 kilowatts per year in energy savings according to Newman. Because the costs of the LED technology and manufacturing has come down so much in just the past 4 years the payback on investment is projected to come in between 5 and 7 years as opposed to original estimates of 14 years when the project first came to the table. The sustainability goals were set by the mayor's office, which was 30 percent reduction by 2017. Newman believes the city will see 30 to 50 percent in energy reductions and approximately $15 million in savings citywide.

Read more: http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2013/04/17/what-it-takes-change-all-lights-new-york-city?page=0%2C0

New SF Transit Center includes roof with a view.

The "Grand Central Station of the West" has broken ground in downtown San Francisco, a $4 billion project that will create a regional transit hub in the heart of a new transit-based neighborhood with homes, offices, parks and retail. Designed by renowned architecture firm Pelli Clarke Pelli, the 1.5 million square foot development will connect eight Bay Area counties and the state through 11 transit systems, including BART, Caltrain, Golden Gate Transit, Greyhound and Amtrak. The future high speed rail that links San Francisco with Los Angeles will also connect there. The development will have a new 5.4-acre park in the form of a green roof that tops the five-story Transit Center, designed by PWP Landscape Architecture. Planned for the green roof are native plantings, bicycle and walking paths, a playground, café, a cultural center and a 1000-person amphitheater. Once constructed, the new Transit Center will accommodate more than 100,000 passengers each weekday and more than 45 million people a year. The new transit building will be built to LEED Gold certification standards

Read more: http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/24804

Watch: http://transbaycenter.org/media-gallery/video-gallery/the-transbay-transit-center-project-narrated-by-peter-coyote

UPS Increases its Natural Gas Fleet

UPS announced last week the accelerated growth of its alternative vehicle fleet with plans to purchase approximately 700 liquefied natural gas (LNG) vehicles and to build four refueling stations by the end of 2014. Once completed, the LNG private fleet will be one of the most extensive in the U.S. UPS has been operating natural gas vehicles for more than a decade. With natural gas prices 30-40 percent lower than imported diesel and U.S. production gearing up, the logistics company is investing more aggressively in the natural gas infrastructure necessary to make it part of the UPS delivery network here. Beyond favorable fuel cost and domestic resource access, the industry cites 25 percent less CO2 emissions. Worldwide UPS has more than 1,000 natural gas vehicles on the road today. UPS's alternative fuel and advanced technology fleet of more than 2,600 vehicles also includes a wide array of low-emissions vehicles, including all-electrics, electric hybrids, hydraulic hybrids, propane, compressed natural gas and biomethane. Since 2000, the fleet powered by alternative fuels and technologies has driven more than 295 million miles.

Read more: http://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/35515--UPS-Ramps-Up-Natural-Gas-Investment

In 2010, we introduced an unusual recognition program for our Wells Fargo Green Teams. As a way to thank our teams for their accomplishments and encourage them to continue to support our environmental efforts, we commissioned a collection of recycled art pieces through Women's Environmental Artists Directory (WEAD), an artist organization dedicated to supporting environmental art and the people who create it, to distribute among select Green Teams making significant progress in our environmental work.

Environmental Forum readers, here is the latest version of our ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Notes compiled each week. If you have any questions or comments about Nelson Capital's ESG notes, please visit our website

Shine Bright

Kerosene lamps, while functional, can be problematic for those dependent on them as their primary source of light. Kerosene is relatively expensive for those living in extreme poverty, is toxic, polluting and a potential risk of fire and burns. A good alternative to kerosene is solar powered light, but that too faces its own set of logistical hurdles in order to reach some of the world's poorest communities; including the high cost of buy-in, shipping, instillation, charging capabilities, and energy storage.  Rather than create large solar light systems subject to those logistics, Dutch company Off-Grid Solutions created the WakaWaka (Swahili meaning shine, shine) personal solar light. The WakaWaka is a small (slightly bigger than an Iphone) highly durable, water resistant light with five switchable light modes. It is powered by three rechargeable AA batteries (included). On a fully charged battery, WakaWaka can either provide 8 hours of bright ambient light, 16 hours of bright reading light and up to 80 hours of soft night safety light. The company claims the battery will last up to 3 years with continuous daily use and recharging. Creating the lamp is only the first step in getting them out to the communities that need it. The company has created a non-profit foundation with a goal of getting the WakaWaka into the hands of 1.5 billion people. Off Grid Solutions donates 10% of profits to the foundation that will either subsidize or provide free lights for communities or individuals in need. They also offer a donor program for people to provide lights directly to people in need and have worked with international organizations to supply lights for Haitian communities after the earthquake and currently areas of war torn Syria.

Video clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDTz5pJ8ZRo&feature=player_embedded#

Read more: http://nobleprofit.org/wakawaka-solar-lamp-social-enterprise-brings-the-most-efficient-solar-light-on-the-planet/

Sustainable Savings

Unilever has cut more than 1 million tons of CO2 from its manufacturing and logistics operations since 2008, the company announced this week. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a central target in Unilever's high-profile Sustainable Living Plan, which has introduced a raft of eco-efficiency programs that cut the company's operating costs by $395 million since 2008 -- a period over which the company also has grown sales by 26 percent from $54.4 billion to $67.6 billion. The new measures include the widespread installation of combined heat and power (CHP) systems that have reduced CO2 from Unilever's European operations by 50,000 tons while cutting energy bills by $13 million, the deployment of biomass boilers and the creation of regional transport hubs that have served to slash the distances covered by the company's lorries.  John Maguire, Unilever's group manufacturing sustainability director, said in a statement. "Since 2008 our eco-efficiency programs have avoided more than $395 million of costs -- almost $132 million in energy; $245 million in materials; $22 million in water; and $13 million in waste disposal. The benefits are very clear in a world where energy prices are increasing."

Read more: http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2013/04/18/unilever-sustainability-program-saves-395m

IKEA's Roof top Solar

IKEA, the world's leading home furnishings retailer, officially plugged-in the solar energy system installed at its distribution center in Perryville, Maryland this week. Built with 18,576 panels it is the state's largest rooftop array. The IKEA distribution center will produce approximately 3,397,178 kWh of clean electricity annually, the equivalent of reducing 2,397 tons of carbon dioxide (CO₂), eliminating the emissions of 499 cars or powering 359 homes yearly (calculating clean energy equivalents at www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/calculator.html). This installation represents the 36^th completed solar project for IKEA in the U.S., with three more locations underway, making the eventual U.S. solar presence of IKEA nearly 90% of its U.S. locations with a total generation of 38 MW. IKEA owns and operates each of its solar PV energy systems atop its buildings - as opposed to a solar lease or PPA (power purchase agreement) - and globally has allocated $1.8 billion to invest in renewable energy through 2015. This investment reinforces the long-term commitment of IKEA to sustainability and confidence in photovoltaic (PV) technology.

Read more: http://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/35451-IKEA-Completes-Maryland-s-Largest-Rooftop-Solar-Array-Atop-Distribution-Center-In-Perryville-MD

Amy Harcourt, guest blogger and expert on bike commuting is back for her third post in a series on bike commuting. Amy is co-founder of Bikes Make Life Better, a consulting firm that helps leading organizations to develop impactful sustainability initiatives through the use of well-planned and executed bicycle and transportation programs.

This week Amy's taking us on a trial bike commute. (--kvt)

Amy Harcourt is back for her second post in a series on bike commuting. Amy is co-founder of Bikes Make Life Better, a consulting firm that helps leading organizations to develop impactful sustainability initiatives through the use of well-planned and executed bicycle and transportation programs. 

This week Amy discusses the ins and outs of bikes and accessories. (--kvt)

Last year I introduced you to Jill Burbary, who leads marketing communications for Warranty Solutions®. Her initial post discussed the importance of planting trees. Here she talks about Earth Day. Take it away, Jill:

You've probably heard the phrase "every little bit helps", and no matter what you are referring to, even the smallest amount of anything is helpful to the cause. With Earth coming up soon on April 22, this phrase reminds us that even the smallest amount of environmental stewardship matters to our planet. Every time you chose to reuse, recycle, or reduce anything, you step up and impact our environment. That is why my team at Warranty Solutions has a certain fondness for trees and Earth Day.

We are proud of every little tree sampling the Arbor Day Foundation has been planting in honor of our customers and Wells Fargo. For every sale of our EcoMind® extended vehicle service contract product option, 25 trees are donated for planting as needed to national forests that have been devastated by wildfires or disease. For those of you unfamiliar, EcoMind is a coverage option designed to protect consumers and the environment. EcoMind provides additional mechanical breakdown coverage for the parts that help vehicles run more efficiently, burn fuel more cleanly, and reduce overall emission output. To date, we are excited to have contributed nearly 469,350 trees to this important effort. A recent video shares our EcoMind story and how every little tree does make a difference.

Warranty Solutions is Wells Fargo Dealer Services business. Warranty Solutions provides finance and insurance (F&I) aftermarket products and services that auto dealers can offer to consumers.

Wells Fargo has also partnered with the Arbor Day Foundation by funding tree planting on behalf of customers who opt for paperless statements.