In the run up to the Green Economy Conference next month in British Columbia hosted by PowerUP Canada, Tzeporah Berman of Zero Carbon Canada takes on the number of environmental challenges facing the country.  From the largest global warming protest in North America, to the Cape Wind project off of Cape Cod, she writes on the difficulties in building a new generation of environmentalism.

Kohlberg, Kravis & Roberts (KKR) just announced a pilot program with the Environmental Defense Fund that yielded an initial $16 million in savings in three of its portfolio companies.  By reducing truck fuel usage (US Foodservice), cutting paper consumption (Primedia), and using more recycled feedstocks (Sealy), the companies were able to generate significant savings in their operations. One of the promising things about the KKR effort is that the firm plans to apply its results across its diverse portfolio companies.

Yesterday, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told Congress that oil companies should not receive massive governmental subsidies because they contribute significantly to global warming.   Secretary Geithner said, “We don’t believe it makes sense to significantly subsidize the production and use of sources of energy that are dramatically going to add to our climate change. We don’t think that’s good economic policy and we think changing those incentives is good for the country.”

As reported in Green Biz, one in three global suppliers believes climate change poses no risk to their operations despite the increasing amount of attention being paid to supply chain greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, nearly three dozen companies — including Johnson & Johnson, P&G, Johnson Controls, Boeing, and Dell — called on thousands of their major suppliers to disclose emissions and reduction strategies through the Carbon Disclosure Project.

Legislation on the management of electronic waste, signed into effect this week by China’s cabinet, mandates the establishment of centralized funding for enlargement and improvement of safe electronic recycling facilities in China.

Grant Draper, at FD Element in New York