Green Remediation

As part of its mission to protect human health and the environment, we are dedicated to developing and promoting innovations and cleanup strategies that restore contaminated sites to productive use, reduce associated costs, and promote environmental stewardship.

We use the practice of “green remediation” and implements strategies that consider all environmental effects of remedy implementation for contaminated sites and incorporates options to maximize the net environmental benefit of cleanup actions.

We strive for cleanup programs that use natural resources and energy efficiently, reduce negative impacts on the environment, minimize or eliminate pollution at its source, and reduce waste to the greatest extent possible in accordance with strategic plans for compliance and environmental stewardship.

We support EC’s and EPA’s regulatory programs and initiatives and actively supports site remediation and revitalization that result in beneficial reuse such as commercial operations, industrial facilities, housing, green-space, and renewable energy development.

We examine new opportunities to integrate sustainable practices into the decision-making processes and implementation strategies that carry forward to reuse strategies. In doing so, we recognizes that incorporation of sustainability principles can help increase the environmental, economic, and social benefits of cleanup.

Green remediation reduces the demand placed on the environment during cleanup actions, otherwise known as the “footprint” of remediation, and avoids the potential for collateral environmental damage. The potential footprint encompasses impacts long known to affect environmental media:

• Air pollution caused by toxic or priority pollutants such as particulate matter and lead; 
• Water cycle imbalance within local and regional hydro-logic regimes; 
• Soil erosion and nutrient depletion as well as subsurface geochemical changes;
• Ecological diversity and population reductions; 
• Emission of carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O), methane (CH4), and other greenhouse gases.

Opportunities to increase sustainability exist throughout the investigation, design, construction, operation, and monitoring phases of site remediation regardless of the selected cleanup remedy. As our eco-innovation and clean cleanup technologies continue to advance and new customized solutions evolve, our green remediation strategies offer significant potential for increasing the net benefit of cleanup, saving project costs, and expanding the universe of long-term property use or reuse options without compromising cleanup goals.

Energy Efficiency

CEC Energy Efficiency Working Group is broadening the approach to Energy Efficiency to be more transformative in its relationship with businesses and address the deeper and more systemic issues of energy and sustainability. The challenge, according to the leading energy efficiency experts, is to achieve the right balance of short term gains of on energy efficiency with longer term strategic goals of sustainability. The sustainability factors can be overlooked but are critical to a companies efforts for future success.

In most businesses, efficiency improvements help cut costs and lead to additional growth, so while a company may be improving its efficiency, its absolute greenhouse gas emissions for example may stay flat or even increase. By only focusing on energy efficiency, there may be unintended consequences and fundamental solutions to the deeper problems will likely be missed. The automotive industry is a prime example, because while internal combustion engines have become more and more efficient, we have seen rapid growth in the automotive industry leading to a further commitment to technologies which may not be sustainable in the long run for car based transportation systems. Clearly, efficiency is not the only key to sustainability, and therefore it is vital to understand the the big picture of mobility, efficiency and sustainability.

Example of Sustainability and Energy Efficiency in Buildings

Buildings are large consumers of energy, with large cost components. Companies who do not consider building energy costs are missing significant savings in annual operating costs and opportunities to increase property values. Additional value includes a positive impact to the environment and improvement of employee morale through more comfortable working environments.

There are emerging signals that the businesses want to develop more coordinated, forward-looking, and sustainable business strategies to save energy in buildings. Businesses communities, and ecosystems everywhere depend on energy to survive and prosper. Global demand for energy continues to grow, while many energy sources are showing signs of stress. Companies that understand the trends shaping the global business environment will be better positioned to identify new market opportunities, mitigate risk, develop sustainable energy strategies, and create shareholder value.

CEC has developed a portfolio of energy efficiency innovations to help you better understand and guide your own organization's relationship to energy efficiency in buildings. Businesses can take advantage of this portfolio of speed-to-market solutions to overcome a variety of financial and operational obstacles which impede the progress. CEC’s experts deliver innovations and resources to quantify solutions and overcome obstacles.

CEC portfolio of energy efficiency in buildings seeks to uncover efficiencies in lighting, heating and cooling systems, and computer equipment that will help the host companies to save in net operational costs, cut the kilowatt hours of energy use per year, and avoid greenhouse gas emissions. Companies report that they are implementing solutions representing over 50% of the energy savings recommended by the CEC innovators and experts.

Sustainable Mobility and Transport Working Group.

CEC Partner Projects (click here)

Ready to get involved?

CEC matches innovators and experts with business leaders and policy makers that need to develop practical, actionable energy efficiency plans using green and clean technology innovations. These eco-innovators and experts across industries and continents will help identify technologies, analyze savings opportunities and develop detailed investment and implementation plans that help organizations cut costs and reduce emissions. These experts work with senior level business leaders reviewing financial and operational records and sharing actionable knowledge and results.

To learn more, contact CEC Working Group Administrator.