Lawsuits, though often unpleasant in nature, are set in place so that individuals and companies stay within the law. When individuals or companies, don’t live up to promised expectations, they’re made accountable. Unless of course you’re Whirlpool and you’re tired of getting sued for not actually living up to the Energy Star label.

Whirlpool wants Congress to ban class action lawsuits over Energy Star labels after government testing showed that many products that carried the label, didn’t meet the requirements.

Energy Star has seen its share of enforcement problems and a host of consumer products that didn’t live up to the name, and as a result, Whirlpool has faced an onslaught of legal action. A bill introduced to Congress aims to change all that. The legislation would prohibit class action lawsuits if the EPA came up with a remedy instead, like reimbursing consumers, for example, when the Energy Star label wasn’t up to snuff.

But consumer advocates and trial lawyers see major problems with the legislation. The bill was introduced by Representative Robert Latta (R-OH) a Congressman with a few Whirlpool factories in his district and Peter Welch(D-VT), a member of the Alliance to Save Energy, of which Whirlpool is a member.

“By eliminating consumers’ access to the civil justice system, corporations will not be held accountable in court for swindling customers,” said Sarah Jones, a spokeswoman for the trial lawyers’ organization, the American Association for Justice.

Energy Star was created in 1992 to identify consumer products like refrigerators, televisions, dishwashers, and light bulbs that used less energy, but the organization has run into some problems of late. Most recently, Consumer Reports outlined some glitches in Energy Star refrigerators. They found that refrigerators that carried the label generally used 20 percent more electricity than the label said. Engineers performed tests on the appliances and found that they performed worse than some refrigerators that didn’t carry the label.

LG, Samsung, and Whirlpool have all been sued as a result of their lack of label compliance. Consumer Reports is also advocating against the law.

“E.P.A. and D.O.E. can’t be out there all the time,” she said to The New York Times. “Consumers need that backstop of the courts to get redress.” Class-action suits, she said, are appropriate in cases where “it’s lots of small injuries,” like an appliance that will use a few extra dollars’ worth of electricity every year.

Energy Star has been a blessing for those that want their homes to reflect their concern with energy efficiency and these lawsuits make companies accountable for their products.

Related on EcoSalon

Are Energy Star Labels Legit?

Behind the Label: Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs

Green Rides and Energy Rules

Image: Goedeker’s

The post Whirlpool Doesn’t Live Up to Energy Star Labels, Wants Congress to Ban Consumers’ Right to Sue appeared first on EcoSalon.

St. Patricks’ Day this week turned cities green literally – from landmarks to libations. But how green have major metro areas around the U.S. been throughout the year? The American Cities Business Journal group has released a new study on the matter.

Their inaugural Green Cities Index examined 43 U.S. cities, and ranked them based on 20 criteria encompassing residents’ environmental behavior, cities’ use or abuse of land and water, and presence of a variety of environment related projects and industries. The Green Cities Index 2010 survey results have been hot in the blogosphere ever since, with bloggers and residents bragging or bummed about their scores.

Portland topped the Green Cities Index 2010, with San Francisco in a close second place, Honolulu at third followed by Austin and Boston. The new study’s rankings fell in line with related studies by the Natural Resources Defense Council, and by Popular Science. But not exactly.

Surprising Strengths

Green Cities Index 2010 gave areas lacking environmental credibility overall some surprising points. Houston, one of the most traffic-choked cities in the U.S., held the top spot for Energy Star rated facilities, saving it from a much lower score.

Meanwhile, Albany ranked in the top ten on this list, though traditional manufacturing plants have caused severe pollution there for years. The city’s high score was influenced by Albany’s top score for “green jobs.”

At least the presence of more green jobs per capita in the area indicates the promise of a sea change.

It ain’t easy being green…

How important are green aspects of a city to the quality of life there? We think entirely important. That’s why we’re surprised that Green Cities Index 2010 chart topper Portland did not rank so highly in a separate happiness survey, the Gallup Healthways Well-Being Index which was released last month. The happiness study examined 162 cities, and Portland came in at 59. (That compares indirectly to 16th place on a 43-city list like Green Cities.)

Greensboro, North Carolina which came in dead last on the Green Cities Index, with the worst ranking for sprawl and its result, carbon emissions per capita, ranked 97th on the well-being index, which would put it at about 25th on a list of 43.

While there’s no apples-to-apples comparison between the studies, it’s worth asking: why aren’t the greenest cities always the happiest? Where does your city rank, and how happy are you?

Basic reading:

“A few hundred miles up the Ohio River from Cincinnati, Pittsburgh sits as a shining example of sustainability. After decades of working to clean its smoky skies and polluted waterways, the Steel City also has become a model for green building and sustainable design…” – A news feature discussing the reasons why Cincinnati Business Journal decided to launch its Green Cities Index

“Nine of the 10 cities that fare best on ‘life evaluation,’ assessments of life now and expectations in five years, boast a major university, a big military installation or a state Capitol – institutions that presumably provide some insulation from recession.” – A news feature breaking down a Gallup study of how happy people are in American cities, via USA Today

“If you want to be good to the environment, stay away from it…” From a 2009 study on Suburban vs. City living by Edward L. Glaeser

“No Northwest city is yet close to the destination of sustainability: carbon neutrality; widely shared prosperity; stable populations in strong communities; educational and economic opportunity for all; hyper-efficient use of natural resources; zero-pollution industries; and low-stuff, high-satisfaction lives.” – a different assessment of green cities from the Vancouver, B.C. news site, The Tyee

Further Resources:

News from OregonLive.com about the lack of trees in an otherwise green city, Portland: “Green Portland Isn’t Green Enough”

An Environmental Protection Agency air quality report

For contrast, a news report on air quality in Islamabad

A Greenbang.com story about London’s aim to imitate Copenhagen, Europe’s greenest city

A blog post calling for public transit support in Nashville, and referencing its low ranking on Green Cities Index 2010

Image Credit: Keith Skelton

This is the latest installment of EcoMeme, a column featuring eco news, tech and trends by EcoSalon writer and columnist Lora Kolodny.

The post EcoMeme: Green City, Happy City? appeared first on EcoSalon.

Wal-Mart is taking big steps to give a measurable definition as to how green their products are with an initiative to put eco-labels on everything in their stores worldwide, from t-shirts to bicycles.

The idea is to give products a simple, standard rating that allows everyday shoppers to determine at a glance how sustainable a product is, similar to a nutritional label on food.

Understandably, this is a huge endeavor and many wonder if the megachain will be able to accomplish it. If it succeeds, this will change the future of retail forever and have an amazing impact on the culture of purchasing on the cheap.

Coral Rose, founder of Eco-Innovations and a former buyer at Wal-Mart, is a recognized sustainability strategist and eco-educator. A featured speaker and panelist on the subject of sustainable textiles, she’s also a member of the University of Delaware’s Department of Fashion and Apparel Studies Advisory Board (the first University graduate program in Socially Responsible and Sustainable Apparel Business).

Her own blog, Sustainable Action Leadership, is one of the most widely-read websites on sustainable textiles.

I caught up with her recently to see what she had to say about the proposed Wal-Mart green ratings system.

As a former buyer, and the first Wal-Mart associate to implement sustainable fabrics for the Sam’s Club division of Wal-Mart, what do you think about Wal-Marts new approach to figure out the full environmental costs of making their products and to create a green rating for shoppers?
Is this something they can actually make a reality?

Measuring the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of any one product is complex; measuring the LCA of 60,000 suppliers’ products (hundreds of thousands of actual products) is quite a bold goal. And then applying those LCA metrics to a label is quite a process. Labeling a product with a Sustainability Green Index will more than likely involve setting a standard with benchmarks for quantifiable and verifiable thresholds and then having that standard certified by a third party. That looks like where this might be heading.

Wal-Mart’s Sustainability Index is in its infancy, with many of these core details still yet undetermined; that was the purpose for the multi-stakeholder group meeting last week in Bentonville. This will be a methodical multi-stakeholder initiative, with a phased approach. There will be clear metrics that will measure successes and opportunities; this will allow Wal-Mart to move forward with thoughtful velocity. The Sustainability Consortium jointly administered by the University of Arkansas and the University of Arizona will facilitate the process. My belief is that this is a project that will be phased in over the next few years.

I have been engaged in several industry-wide multi-stakeholder standards and labeling initiatives (third party-certified). The average timing for a process like this from conception to shelf is usually two to three years. We may see a few products hit the shelves earlier than that. We saw the Private Brand divisions presentation of “Great Value Sour Cream” during the meeting. Sustainable value process and product improvements were realized as they took a deep dive into dairy products.

Do you feel this has the potential to alter retail as we know it in a positive way?

Wal-Mart is taking the lead for the creation of a “global”sustainability/green index by which a product’s environmental and social impacts are measured – that in and of itself is ground-breaking.

The scalability that Wal-Mart brings to the table is one of gigantic global proportions. The fact is that Wal-Mart just might make the term LCA an everyday term understood and used by consumers. Now that would be quite a feat for such complex subject matter.

Measuring the environmental impacts of products is not a new concept: Patagonia with Footprint Chronicles, Timberland with their Green Index and Nike’s Nike Considered. All these companies have all been working on supply chain efficiencies and sustainability, while delivering a quality product to their consumers for  the better part of the last decade. So some consumers are familiar with this type of labeling already. Wal-Mart is taking a concept that exists today on a smaller scale to the masses.

What do you suspect will be some of their challenges?

There are many opportunities. One particular dual opportunity will be to create a user-friendly LCA product tool for merchants and suppliers. And on the consumer side, to create a label that encompasses those metrics for that product in the form of an easy-to-digest label. As simplified as the Energy Star label, but with scientific metrics certified by a third party.

Wal-Mart often gets a bad rap. You said in your piece in Future Fashion White Pages regarding buying for Wal-Mart, “I realized that by buying organic cotton instead of conventional cotton, my colleagues and I could improve the quality of life of millions of people. After that insight, how could I not do something?”

How has Wal-Mart evolved with a similar vision?

The core question when we first started this effort in 2004 was: Can you increase the value of a product and increase the sustainability of the value (supply) chain while keeping the product cost neutral?

The decision to buy organic cotton was a solid (values-driven) business decision. The goal was to source a product that was a better value for our member at price parity, thereby giving our members a better sustainable product for the same price as that of a conventional item. I would offer the member a product that was better in value, better environmentally and socially without compromising their expectation of a great quality product. The result was a product that outsold (by a large margin) any other product on the floor at that time.

Today, Wal-Mart is digging deep into the value chain to deliver on “Save More, Live Better.” A Sustainability Index will support and improve the lives of millions of people all around the world.

Do you feel you have you any part in the foundation of what they’re building from today?

From the onset, sustainability was always an internal and external collaborative team effort. Many “innovative and critical thinker” associates who formed the original Sustainable Value Networks continue to be at the forefront of this effort that we are hearing about now.

You said (in an interview posted on your blog) that supply chain transparency is “one of the basic tenets or “˜rules of engagement’ for any 21st-century business model.”

How are big box stores prepping themselves for having complete transparency with their shoppers and does that make them vulnerable?

Complete supply chain transparency is at the core of any LCA effort. Wal-Mart’s first large effort at giving consumers a glimpse into the supply chain has been the Love Earth Jewelry Line. The Sustainability Index will take the concept of transparency to an entirely new level.

Do you see this as a trend, this adherence to being responsible or just the way things have to and will be in the future when it comes to retail?

Business is changing rapidly. Fair Trade products, which define social responsibility, are a key barometer for measuring consumer’s adoption practices for responsibly-produced products. Despite a global recession, worldwide sales of Fair Trade products grew by 22% in 2008.

Today, the majority of products’ social and environmental impacts are hidden from our view – that is, the effects of a product’s social and environmental impacts (life cycle) before it hits the shelves and consumers’ hands. The average consumer is unaware of the global impacts of their decisions. Hidden from their sight is what lies upstream; all the impacts of growing, processing, manufacturing and transporting raw materials and component parts. Twentieth-century business practices have taught these professionals to focus only on what is downstream (production to consumer). Wal-Mart is now taking us into the 21st Century.

See Coral Rose’s post on “Looking Upstream: A New View of 21st Century Business Practices”.

Image: NNECAPA

The post Wal-Mart’s Green Labeling: the Challenges Ahead appeared first on EcoSalon.