When Gavin Newsom announced last week that the city’s new sustainable food policy calls for more urban land to be used to grow food, many residents wondered where the additional land would come from. According to Garden Fare, a new and growing business in the Bay Area, most residents don’t need to look any farther than their own front and backyards.

As more and more companies emerge with offerings of urban agriculture services, their emphasis is often largely placed on the conversion of abandoned lots and unused parking areas. What makes a company like Garden Fare unique is that they focus on converting existing ornamental lawns into edible gardens that provide ample amounts of healthy, local produce. In addition to providing easy access to healthy food, Garden Fare founder Patrick Rodysill also highlights the fact that residents see a greater return on their investments in lawn care when those lawns are being used to grow edible foods versus the more typical, non-edible plants.

Currently, the majority of Garden Fare’s customers are middle class homeowners in the Oakland area. The business model that Garden Fare is built upon incorporates a process that begins with an initial consultation, followed up by a garden design, implementation of the design and in most cases, long-term maintenance and care of the garden. In fact, Garden Fare indicates that roughly 90% of their customer base is looking for more than just a pretty garden they can eat; they’re also looking for someone to care for that garden. Although the company philosophy is based on the belief that people should be empowered and educated enough to grow their own food, the company also believes in empowering communities through providing needed gardening services that most residents simply don’t have the time for.

Drawn in by cost savings in lawn maintenance fees and increases in property values, most customers are staying on board because they’re drawn to the easy access that an edible garden provides to healthy produce that is either not available from a local grocer or, is not available at cost-effective prices. Although most customers are homeowners, renters are also coming on board by signing up to have large container boxes of produce installed in their yards. That way, when the renter leaves, they take their investment in garden infrastructure with them.

The details of Newsom’s new food policy are still unclear but the company leaders remain hopeful that Newsom’s announcement may signal a shift towards city-based tax incentives for converting decorative lawns into edible lawns. In nearby regions such as Marin County, residents are taking advantage of subsidies on materials such as drip irrigation supplies, which greatly reduces the upfront capital costs of investing in an urban garden. Hopefully, the same will be true for San Francisco and so far, Newsom’s commitment to providing city residents with secure access to high nutrition produce has received citywide support thus far.

Garden Fare intends to grow the business slowly with an incremental approach to acquiring new customers and servicing new regions. Like any good company, they’re looking for ways to optimize their operations with strategies such as stadard garden layouts and contents so that the same garden may be replicable across a number of yards.

However, with Rodysill and his staff, it’s not just about growing the business for the sake of revenue. According to Rodysill, growing Garden Fare means that more urban residents are being better fed, at lower prices and that more green jobs are becoming available to urban youth.

Whether or not sustained growth is possible given the current economy, one thing is clear: Garden Fare plans to weather the storm, one yard at a time.

In 2008, Texas Instruments (TI) saved $5.1 million through reducing energy use by 5% and water consumption by over 7%. As a result, TI reduced its worldwide carbon footprint to 2.07 million metric tons of CO2, which represents a 2.8% reduction in the company’s worldwide carbon footprint.

The company’s 2008 Corporate Social Responsibility Report outlines the 159 distinct initiatives that were undertaken to realize the company-wide savings. Entitled, “Building a Better Future,” the new report organizes the company’s environmental performance into eight categories including air quality, climate change, energy use, alternative transportation, water use, materials usage & recycling, sustainable site policies and principles.

However, the most captivating elements of the report are the environmental performance highlights.

2008 indicators of success at Texas instruments include but are not limited to:
• Reduced total energy use by 5% from 2007.
• Reduced total water use by 7.3%.
• Recycled 1.4 billion U.S. gallons of water (16% of the company’s global water use).
• Recycled 88% of non-industrial waste.
• Recycled 91% of total waste.
• Constructed the first LEED Silver certified building in the Philippines.
• Set a goal of being LEED certified at all of their major existing buildings globally by 2011.

Of the 159 initiatives that TI embarked upon to accomplish these savings, the key projects include:
• A well-water cooling system in Germany, which leverages an underground aquifer to balance the site’s heating and cooling system. This system alone saved TI roughly $1 million in energy savings and reductions in annual water consumption by nearly 33 million gallons.
• Reusing 228 million gallons of water at a North Texas facility to scrub manufacturing exhaust enabled a savings of $937,000.
• In some instances, TI cut energy costs in half through targeting energy-intensive chillers and vacuum pumps and replacing the targeted system components with more efficient machinery and parts.
• TI avoided a 14% rise in employee commuting-related CO2 emissions through increasing the use of employee carpooling systems, mass transit and onsite shuttles.

Despite these accomplishments, the company still faces challenges in the years to come. The latest report identifies the challenges ahead, which include increased operating costs from greater regulatory assessments. Specifically, the company is concerned that increased regulations may result in a market in which necessary replacement materials for semiconductor manufacturing either won’t be available at cost-effective prices or, the materials won’t be available at all.

TI is currently exploring renewable energy sources and efficiency strategies as a means of determining a clear path to remaining profitable in a low-carbon economy. Given the company’s ability to achieve such significant savings in 2008 is a clear indicator that despite whatever challenges may lie ahead, the company is well-poised to create innovative and cost-effective solutions to maintaining it’s status as an industry leader while also reducing the environmental impact of doing business.

On Friday, the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) published a report that indicates increased economic activity could result in a rise in carbon dioxide emissions. However, the report also stipulates that increased ease of trade can also help combat climate change through delivering energy efficient and renewable energy technologies to more markets.

Although these findings align with the existing beliefs of numerous business managers and policy makers, the conclusions issued in the report are significant because this is the first time the WTO and UNEP have collaborated to examine the connections between trade and climate change. These types of multilateral cooperation and findings are critical measures to ensure the success of the upcoming UN climate negotiations in Copenhagen (December 2009).

In summary, the report illustrates that it is within the scope of WTO rules to enact trade policies that address climate change at the national level, but that the efficacy of these policies are determined by the design of the policies and the implementation conditions in the local regions. Although the report does not highlight specific examples, it does assert that the energy intensive sectors of our global economy (agriculture, forestry, fisheries, tourism and transport) can reduce their contribution to GHG emissions if we increase the diffusion of mitigation technologies through free trade policies.

In support of this notion, WTO Director General Pascal Lamy and UNEP’s Executive Director Achim Steiner are urging nations to adopt policies that open up trading for environmental goods and services as a means of reducing GHG emissions. Specifically, Lamy and Steiner issued a joint news release, urging the international community to finalize the stalled Doha trade talks that began in 2001 in hopes of and opening trade reducing barriers for innovative products and services that support cleantech economies.

The comprehensive, 161-page report examines the relationship between trade and global climate change through four perspectives:
1) Climate change science
2) National and international economics
3) Multilateral efforts to combat climate change
4) The implications of national climate change policies on trade.
The report provides an overview of the traditional regulatory instruments, economic incentives and other financial measures that have been used worldwide to increase energy efficiency and to reduce emissions. More in-depth coverage of the mainstream pricing mechanisms (carbon tax and emissions trading) provide insight into how to prevent emissions leakage through off-shoring production and how to protect competitiveness across markets.

A common concern among policy makers is that new taxes and tariffs could be put in place, which protect domestic industries and exclude products and services that are made available through countries with weaker environmental standards. The new report indicates that these types of border adjustment measures would become trade barriers that negatively impact the shared international goals of increasing income and reducing harmful impacts to the environment.

Environmentalists, economists, business leaders and policy makers may differ in their beliefs regarding the potential for free trade policies to successfully address increasing global GHG emissions. However, the consensus seems to be that climate change and free trade are intricately linked and that there is a critical need to address both arenas when shaping a new, clean energy economy.

Earlier this week, a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences confirmed that refrigerant chemicals known as “F-gases” pose a greater threat to global climate change than was previously thought. The paper, which was authored by a team of scientists from NOAA, EPA, Dupont and the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, estimates that the growth of F-gas emissions due to increased cooling needs represents a grave enough threat that it may undo nearly half of the efforts to stabilize greenhouse gas emissions as a means to combat global climate change.

Found in everyday products such as refrigerators, insulation foams and air conditioning units (including units in homes, building and cars), fluorocarbons were designed by chemical engineers to trap heat in modern cooling appliances. In this light, hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) are the quintessential greenhouse gases. The intention behind the design of HFCs was to combat the impact of cooling chemicals such as Freon on the depletion of the ozone layer, and they were developed before the impact of human-induced climate change was widely understood.

The environmental impact of F-gases
F-gases are roughly 20,000 times more potent in contributing to global warming than carbon dioxide, and the IPCC has determined that the accumulation of these gases in our atmosphere was responsible for roughly 17% of human-caused global warming in 2005. The NAS study stipulates that the usage of HFCs is on the rise with increased consumption in developing nations. Specifically, the NAS study projects that these chemicals could be heating the atmosphere with an impact equivalent to that of seven or eight billon tons of carbon dioxide.

The market opportunities
So that’s the bad news. The good news is that the recent findings open new opportunities for businesses to emerge with innovative product alternatives and new service offerings such as retrofitting of existing equipment, appropriate disposal services and consultation for finding alternative product options.

One such example is an HFC-free refrigerant technology known as Greenfreeze, which was developed by Greenpeace in 1992. Companies such as Whirlpool, Samsung and Electrolux now have roughly 300 million HFC-free refrigeration units being used worldwide. This number of units is estimated to have removed 43,000 pounds of fluorocarbons from our atmosphere, which is equivalent to the pollution contribution of 10 million automobiles. However, due to concerns over the flammability of Greenfreeze’s hydrocarbon system, the EPA has not certified the technology for use in the United States.

Nonetheless, the U.S. market for this type of technology is quickly emerging. Last year, Greenpeace came to an agreement with the EPA that allowed them to test 2,000 Greenfreeze freezers in Ben & Jerry’s retail stores in Boston, Washington D.C. and Vermont. In October of 2008, General Electric petitioned the EPA for approval to sell its new Monogram line of refrigerators, which use isobutane as the refrigerant and hopes to launch the new line to the United States in 2010. Allowing for product alternatives to enter the market directly combats the impact that increased emissions of HFCs may have on global climate change.

Support for substituting harmful fluorinated gases reaches much farther than just Ben & Jerry’s, Greenpeace and GE. Refrigerants Naturally is a corporate initiative to reduce the use of F-gasses such as CFCs, HCFCs and HFCs. Its sponsors include IKEA, McDonalds’s, Coca-Cola and the United Nations Environmental Programme. The European Union also currently has plans to phase out HFCs in new automotive air conditioning systems in the coming years. All these signs indicate that there is strong international support to curtail the impact the f-gases will ultimately have on heating the Earth’s atmosphere.

The opportunities for policy development
In addition to federal approval for product alternatives, it is also critical that we adopt policies to regulate the emissions of these harmful chemicals. Existing treaties such as the Montreal Protocol represent opportunities for national governments to limit the emissions of what is a significant and now a documented threat to the health of our planet. Whether or not regulation of HFCs will make it into the American Clean Energy and Security Act and the upcoming climate negotiations in Copenhagen remains to be seen.

For years, Patagonia has established itself as one of the strongest leaders of sustainability within the business community. Although it’s a well-deserved reputation, there are a number of innovative strategies behind why Patagonia’s industry leading reputation is so widespread. From their product catalogs, which serve as environmental education materials to their product labeling strategy that touts organic and reused materials, Patagonia clearly knows the value in communicating their message through innovative and effective channels.

The Tin Shed, Patagonia’s latest sustainability communication tool is no exception. The Tin Shed is an interactive web application that combines the stories and dispatches of Patagonia’s sustainability ambassadors from around the world. The “tin shed” is a reference to Patagonia’s origins which was an old shed that Yvon Chouinard began forging his pitons in. Today, Patagonia’s virtual tin shed serves as the platform from which the company integrates the breadth and depth of their environmental and human sustainability initiatives.

The Tin Shed provides site visitors with easy access to exploring the wide variety of Patagonia’s environmental efforts ranging from community relief in regions affected by natural disasters and political struggle to the journeys of surf mavericks fueled by waste vegetable oil. Additional highlights include Patagonia’s work to establish wildlife corridors for threatened species as well as their advocacy for the protection of endangered marine mammals. When it comes to providing access to a company’s philanthropic work and building a passionate and loyal customer base around their values, we can all take a page from Patagonia’s sustainability playbook.

Patagonia has built an outstanding and justified reputation founded on the company’s guiding principles that inform their business practices. Patagonia has taken the core values of their mission and has applied them to product design and manufacturing, employee programs as well as customer service. Additionally, Patagonia demonstrates their environmental and social commitment through a high impact outreach effort that supports an elaborate network of company ambassadors.

Patagonia’s history is rooted in the 1960’s California counterculture that embraced environmentalism and today, the company has been able to retain these core values while also maintaining a dedication to running a profitable company. At Patagonia, there’s no question whether or not the company is about affecting social change or making profit; it’s clear that company is about both. Fortunately for Chouinard, the two go hand in hand. The full story of Patagonia and Chouinard’s approach to business management are detailed in Chouinard’s biographical book, “Let My People Go Surfing” which has become a cult favorite among aspiring and established sustainable business leaders.

Patagonia has an impressive list of environmental and social sustainability programs. After reviewing the list, I’m not sure what’s most impressive; the breadth of their activities, their ability to adhere to a strong environmental commitment while maintaining profits or, their ability to communicate and leverage the company values towards growing and ensuring a loyal customer base. The question I am left is, “Is Patagonia’s success founded in their ability to connect with an audience that shares their values or, is it found in their ability to shape and inform the values and interests of their expanding customer base through their innovative approaches to product marketing?”

A full listing of Patagonia’s sustainability programs can be found here.

Earlier this week, Volvo introduced a new model that integrates a lug-in lithium battery and a diesel engine, which Volvo plans to make available by 2012. When compared to Volvo’s earlier plan to have a hybrid vehicle available in 2012, the new plug-in model represents a more aggressive move on Volvo’s behalf.

Notably, this move could position Volvo as the world’s first provider of a plug-in diesel model. Although the technical specifications are a work in progress, the company says that the new plug-in will emit less than 50 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer. When compared to the average emissions rate of roughly 90 g/km found among most European subcompacts, Volvo’s 2012 plug-in is a big leap in automotive efficiency.

Other manufacturers have touted plans for upcoming hybrid vehicles however; none have presented plans for a plug-in component to their diesel engine models. The usage of a lithium-ion battery will likely drive up the costs of Volvo’s plug-in model. Chances are that in order for this model to be a cost-effective option for consumers, a tax incentive for low-emissions vehicles will be required. With goals of offering a product that allows drivers to cover longer distances with a manageable recharge time (5 hours), Volvo believe the new model is a response to market needs.

In order to deliver the new technology, Volvo has partnered with Vattenfall, a Swedish electric utility company. The partnership has resulted in the development of an automotive battery that will provide drivers with the ability to run on battery power for up to 50 kilometers. The structure of the partnership is such that Volvo Car Corporation (a subsidiary of Ford) will manufacture the vehicles and Vattenfall will develop the charging systems that supply the cars with the necessary electricity. Touting at-home fill ups and reduced fuel costs, and reduced environmental impacts, Volvo believes that the new plug-in model is a purchase option that the market is eager for.

In addition to finalizing the technical specifications of the lithium-ion battery technology, Volvo is also finalizing the safety specifications of the vehicle in order to comply with current European safety regulations.

The company’s CEO, Stephan Odell has stated that, “I would go so far as to say that the plug-in electrical hybrid we will launch in 2012 will be a true dream car. With the innovative solution we will offer, the car owner will be able to drive a thoroughly enjoyable car packed with Volvo’s renowned high safety and genuine driving pleasure.”

A major new player in the energy management software arena named, Hara began selling their software-as-a-service offering on Monday. With a $6 million investment from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Hara has launched with a promise to enable customers to reduce the cost of doing business through monitoring and managing their consumption of natural resources.

Started by alumni of SAP and Oracle, Hara launched with a number of municipal and corporate customers already on board, including Coca Cola Co. and the city of Palo Alto. Whether it’s through a cap-and-trade regime or a direct tax, if congress passes legislation to put a price on greenhouse gas emissions, businesses will need this exact type of enterprise software for managing their carbon emissions.

Based out of Menlo Park, California, Hara’s software calculates how much energy and water a company is consuming as well as how much carbon and other waste are being generated. The customer is able to realize financial savings through acting upon the forecasting data that Hara’s software provides. Tracking progress towards goals, creating an audit trail and developing an environmental record are added benefits of Hara’s new energy management software.

The city of Palo Alto has been using all four available modules in Hara’s software and now expects to save roughly $600,000 per year through reductions in gas and electricity consumption. Although software pricing is not available at this time, the city of Palo Alto has indicated that they paid $24,000 for their annual subscription.

Through a pilot project, Coca-Cola has been working with Hara to leverage their software tools for tracking the greenhouse gas emissions for 1,000 facilities throughout the world. It is believed that the use of Hara’s software influenced Coca-Cola’s cost-driven decision to replace crude oil with natural gas at it’s facilities in South Africa. The Hara software has also been supporting Coca-Cola’s U.S. based work to revamp their lighting systems.

Although Hara has launched with an impressive offering, this is an already competitive space that is quickly gaining traction. Hara has plenty of competitors in this space including, ClearStandards, Adura Technologies and Enviance (there’s many others). Additionally, Cisco, IBM and SAP have all indicated plans to support enterprise solutions for energy and resource consumption accounting.

Despite the competition, a demanding market is growing. The likely passage of legislation, which places a price on carbon emissions, indicates that a company like Hara has an exciting future that we should all pay close attention to in the coming months.

Earlier this year, Google announced the development of a gadget called Google PowerMeter which delivers personal electricity usage data to consumers on their individual computers. This effort took a big step forward on Wednesday of this week when Google announced a list of eight initial electric utilities that will serve as partners.

United by a common interest in connecting their customers with personal consumption data, the diverse list of partners includes utilities from India, Canada and the United States. The partnering utilities range in size from small providers to ones with millions of customers.

The full list of partnering utilities is as follows:
* San Diego Gas & Electric® (California)
* TXU Energy (Texas)
* JEA (Florida)
* Reliance Energy (India)
* Wisconsin Public Service Corporation (Wisconsin)
* White River Valley Electric Cooperative (Missouri)
* Toronto Hydro–Electric System Limited (Canada)
* Glasgow EPB (Kentucky)

One of the larger utilities, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) has been partnering with Google throughout the past year and now has plans to install over 200,000 smart meters this year. By 2011, SDG&E estimates that they will have their entire territory of 1.4 million customers equipped with smart meters. According to a New York Times post, San Diego Gas & Electric has indicated that their smart meter customers should be able to access their energy usage data via the Google PowerMeter before the end of this year.

Google is not the only tech company working hard to bring energy data to customers via the Internet. As a smart energy grid evolves, so will energy management applications the applications that deliver usage data into the hands of the customers. By doing so, it is estimated that customers can reduce their energy usage by 5% – 10%.

In addition to listing the eight utility partners, Google also announced their partnership with smart meter maker, Itron. Although Google and others in the field of home energy management have discussed whether or not they actually require partnerships with utilities and smart meters in order to deliver these data services, it certainly helps Google’s efforts to have solidified the partnerships. The Google partnership is helping Itron as well, as indicated by Itron shares being up about 3.7% on Wednesday.

There a number of players in this field and more will emerge as partnerships such as these are formed. However, as usual, Google appears to be taking the lead.

On Wednesday, The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) released a first draft of a treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol (1997) which is set to expire in 2012. This new 53 page document is considered to be the basis for the agreements to be made in the international climate talks scheduled for December 7th-18th in Copenhagen.

The key-differentiating factor between this document and the original Kyoto Protocol is that the newly proposed treaty calls for significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by both, developed and developing nations. Bridging this gap should satisfy the historical Kyoto opposition from both sides, which plagued the original framework since it’s inception. Under the Bush administration, opposition to Kyoto was founded in the notion that due to output volume of GHG emissions, developing nations should be included in the framework. Conversely, opposition from developing nations was founded in the argument that as the leaders in per capita pollution of CO2, the industrialized nations should hold the primary burden of emissions reductions.

With revised emission reductions for both developed and developing countries, the UNFCCC’s latest draft attempts to satisfy the needs of all involved parties. The head of the UNFCCC, Yvo de Boer indicates that the release of the new draft marks, “an important point on our road.” The document contains a nearly complete list of industrialized nations’ commitments to cut emissions after 2012, which allows for cross-national comparisons of reduction goals. The intent is that information sharing of this type will encourage the creation of more ambitious goals on behalf of participating nations.

According to the newly proposed treaty, emerging countries such as China and India would commit to targeting reductions of GHG emissions to 15% – 30% of 2000 levels by 2020. If agreed upon, this commitment would represent a first-ever international agreement for developing nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Under the newly proposed framework, developed nations would target carbon emissions reductions to 75% – 95% of 1990 levels by 2050.

With only 200 days remaining until the final December talks in Copenhagen, this document represents the promise of a comprehensive and shared set of agreements to sign-off on in Copenhagen. That being said, there is still more work to be done on the proposed treaty between now and December. In June, governments will meet in Bonn, Germany to debate the details of the new draft. Specifically, the Bonn talks will examine the various proposals for establishing emissions limits and the allocation of funding and penalty payments.

Currently, the draft treaty has indicated that a nation’s population trends, access to technology and economic trends will be considered. The new document also proposes that funding priorities be placed on regions with glaciers, regions affected by desertification as well as low-lying areas that are at high risk of flooding.

In addition to setting revised targets for emissions cuts, the draft document also describes detailed mechanisms for financing, technology development and capacity building initiatives in the fight against climate change.

Earlier this week, Boeing released it’s 2009 Environmental Report which highlights 2008 reductions in energy and water consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. On the more innovative side, the Boeing report describes biofuel demonstration flights held over the past year which document the technical feasibility of using biofuels in commercial jetliners. The demonstration flights represent a significant step toward a long-term vision of sustainable fuel solutions for the aviation industry.

In addition to biofuel advancements, a Boeing subsidiary, Spectrolab achieved a new solar cell world record with 40.7% efficiency in converting sunlight to electricity. The 2009 Environmental Report provides a clear indication that the company is pioneering innovative technologies that will realize even greater efficiencies in the coming year.

A true industry leader, Boeing is the world’s largest manufacturer of commercial jetliners and military aircraft combined. Boeing’s foray into sustainable fuels signals an emerging trend within the aviation industry that result in mainstream standards in a few short years.

Boeing worked a number of commercial airlines on the demonstration flights which required no modifications to the airplanes or engines.

• On Dec. 30th, 2008, Air New Zealand conducted the first sustainable biofuels flight using jatropha as a fuel source (flown with a 50/50 mix with traditional jet fuel).
• On Jan. 7th, 2009, Continental Airlines became the first U.S. carrier to conduct a biofuels test flight and also the first to use algae as a fuel source.
• On Jan. 30th, 2009, Japan Airlines became the first airline to use the energy crop camelina as a fuel source. The 90 minute flight relied upon a fuel mix of camelina, algae and jatropha mixed with conventional jet fuel.

Results from these test flights will be incorporated into Boeing’s strategy development as they work towards their target goal of a 15% improvement in fuel efficiency in each new-generation aircraft. Documentation of the demonstration flights is an encouraging signal that the possibility of non-fossil fuel flights is closer than most would imagine.

Additionally, the demonstration test flight results are intended to contribute to the effort to certify the algae-based fuels through the ASTM. The greater goal of this effort is to eventually alter the current jet fuel specification requirements which state that jet fuel must be derived from petroleum-based source material.

Driven by both, environmental and economic incentives, the widespread use of biofuels in the aviation industry represents a significant savings for airlines. With increasing fuel costs, biofuels represent a fuel source that in a matter of years will be price competitive with today’s fossil fuel costs. According to a recent article in Fast Company, jet fuel is the airlines’ largest and most volatile expense, representing 25% – 40% of total operating costs. Estimates indicate that commercial quantities of algae oil can be produced in three years and that this supply can be produced domestically. Experts agree that assuming projected increases in fuel prices takes place, algae-based biofuels will in fact, be price competitive. If not, we’ll likely see a program of government subsidies to introduce the new biofuels into the marketplace.

Until now, the aviation industry has been slow to demonstrate initiatives to reduce the environmental impact of their products and services. In addition to reductions in fuel consumptions, Boeing is now pioneering more sustainable technologies that address environmental noise pollution and reduced energy needs for their operations. In this regard, the aviation industry has begun to show greater progress on the environmental front than the shipping and cruise line industries, which contribute twice as much as the aviation industry does to climate change.

In addition to advancements in developing feasible biofuel sources, Boeing has also collaborated with leading airlines and environmental organizations to form the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group. The goal of this group is to accelerate the development and commercialization of innovative sustainable aviation fuels. Outcomes from this group are expected to include reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from the aviation industry and to securie the industry’s exposure to volatile oil prices.