WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy today released a spreadsheet calculator that will estimate the number of jobs likely to be created by state or municipal energy efficiency projects.

LAKE MARY, Fla. -- Eco-friendly exterior wall coatings that incorporate heat reflective technology helped a Florida office building earn a LEED-Gold green rating and won the project recognition from an industry magazine.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Citing a need for increasing the number of women eligible for jobs in a growing green economy, the Wal-Mart Foundation is partnering with the Business and Professional Women's Foundation to provide green job training for women.

DENVER, Colo. -- A Chipotle Mexican Grill in Illinois with its own wind turbine and a 2,500-gallon underground water cistern to harvest rainwater was certified by the U.S. Green Building Council at the organization's highest rating.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- Networking giant Cisco has rolled out its Building Mediator -- the firm's bid to connect and control smart buildings and their automation systems in order to better manage energy.

NISKAYUNA, N.Y. -- General Electric, the world's largest industrial company, will work with the Department of Defense in a $2 million project to transform the Twentynine Palms facility, the world's largest Marine Corps base, into a model smart microgrid system.

TORONTO, CANADA -- Fairmont Hotels & Resorts are adding eco-friendly IT strategies to the company's Green Partnership environmental program and developing power management, procurement and recycling plans for their facilities.

CYPRESS, Calif. -- Since the passage of the stimulus legislation in February, a number of firms providing energy efficiency products and services have positioned their offerings in terms of their potential to qualify for tax credits under the Recovery Act. Mitsubishi's U.S. operations is among the latest company to do so, listing a diverse array of products.

NORCROSS, Ga. -- Pioneer in cradle-to-cradle benchmarking William McDonough, Rocky Mountain Institute Cofounder, Chairman and Chief Scientist Amory Lovins, U.S. President Barack Obama, global architectural firm HOK, Turner Construction Co. and modular carpet manufacturer Interface Inc. are among the role models named this year by the DesignIntelligence Sustainable Design Survey.

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. -- The Association for Retail Environments (A.R.E.) singled out REI's LEED-Gold certified store last week for its holistic design aesthetics and functionality, naming it the Project of the Year in its inaugural Sustainability Awards. A North Face store in Boise, Idaho, and the Founding Farmers restaurant in Washington, D.C., tied for second place.

GENEVA, -- Efforts by the world's leading cement companies slowed the rate of growth of carbon dioxide emissions from the industry's manufacturing process even while production climbed by 53 percent, according to a new report by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s Cement Sustainability Initiative.

NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Retailers that put green practices to work at their facilities can save tens of millions of dollars a year by managing resources and waste more aggressively, according to SSA & Company.

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.

SPRINGFIELD, Ore. -- Symantec’s Oregon facility has been certified as a green building with a gold rating under Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards. It's the second time that the firm has earned the ranking for one of its sites.

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.

CHICAGO, Ill. -- The owners of Sears Tower plan to ratchet up the efficiency strategies at the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, cut electricity use by 80 percent and construct a net-zero energy luxury hotel next door.

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.