WASHINGTON, D.C. -- With Energy Secretary Steven Chu by his side, U.S. President Barack Obama detailed stricter new lighting standards and promised the swift release of $346 million in Recovery Act funds to boost energy efficiency in new and existing commercial buildings and homes.

TRENTON, N.J. -- The partnership signals a new direction for TerraCycle, which will be sourcing used vinyl billboard materials that Yak Bag is turning into durable, waterproof backpacks, messenger bags, totes and more.

NAPLES, Fla. -- The biorefinery will be built on 24 acres at Dow’s site in Freeport, Texas, where it will use carbon dioxide produced at a nearby Dow manufacturing facility. Algenol applied for $25 million in stimulus funds to cover half the project's costs.

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM -- The Carbon Trust expanded eligibility of an interest-free loan program that will dole out £100m (US$165.6 million) over the next two years to help small- and medium-sized businesses replace old and inefficient equipment and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Berkeley firm Scientific Conservation Inc. broadly goes to market today with its SCIwatch software-as-a-service solution -- a first in Automated Continuous Commissioning that its creators say enables building owners and operators to cut as much as 25 percent of annual energy spending by tackling a condition called energy drift.

CHONGQING, CHINA -- The company expects the plant, located in western China in the city of Chongqing, will use 22 percent less water and 23 percent less energy than other PepsiCo plants in the country.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed a sweeping climate change bill today that will significantly change the way Americans use and produce energy. The American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES), which passed on a 219-212 vote, now moves to the Senate, where experts predict another battle.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- In a survey of almost 2,000 employees, the company found that, in addition to increasing job satisfaction among teleworking employees, Cisco saved $277 million as a result of its flexible work program.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- These big-name consumer brands published their annual corporate responsibility reports this week highlighting progress they’ve made: Verizon improved its carbon intensity and fleet fuel consumption, while Molson Coors Brewing Co. reduced absolute emissions, water use, waste and energy use in 2008. For the first time, absolute water use shrank while overall production volume grew for bottler Coca Cola Hellenic.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A new regulation adopted today will force more than a dozen California landfills to design and install equipment that captures methane gas created by decomposing solid waste.

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill. -- The company has contracted with Lime Energy to upgrade 286 sites nationwide, and expects to save $3 million per year in energy costs when the project is complete.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Grant competitions opened today for $500 million in Recovery Act funds for training programs that will help retool the U.S. workforce for a clean energy economy.

NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Environmental Defense Fund and food service firm Restaurant Associates have released a set of Green Dining Best Practices covering everything from purchasing to the operation of corporate cafeterias that has already helped two major firms save thousands of dollars.

OTTAWA, CANADA -- The $1 billion Pulp and Paper Green Transformation Program also attempts to level the playing field between Canada’s pulp and paper industry and its U.S. competitors. U.S. mills now enjoy a tax break critics say gives them an unfair advantage over their Canadian rivals.

DEERFIELD, Ill. -- Water conservation, energy efficiency, retrofits and other eco-friendly initiatives yielded Baxter International Inc. a total of $11.9 million in environmental income, savings and cost avoidance for 2008, the diversified healthcare products firm said in its latest sustainability report.

AUGUSTA, Maine -- Under a new Maine law, producers of compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) will be required to provide or fund free CFL collection and recycling programs for household CFLs.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- The company announced today the creation of the Green Sigma Coalition to integrate IBM’s Green Sigma consulting service with the products and services of several big-name partners. A second project will take aim at the development of tomorrow’s lithium-ion batteries.

MUNICH, -- Siemens estimates that it will receive $21 billion in new orders as a result of stimulus programs from countries around the world, and expects about 40 percent of those orders to come from wind turbines, building efficiency systems and other green technology.