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.

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.

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.

WARSAW, -- Deloitte House, the first commercial structure in Poland to be certified as a green building by the European Commission, officially opened this month.

STAFFORD, Texas -- ECO by Cosentino, a line of countertops and surfaces made from 75 percent recycled material, has received Cradle to Cradle Silver certification from McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry.

BOOTLE, UNITED KINGDOM -- A new Asda supermarket in a Liverpool suburb that diverts 95 percent of its operational waste and slashes greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent has been awarded an "excellent" green rating from the British Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- National Gypsum Company, the second largest producer of gypsum wallboard in the U.S., went live this week with a "Green Site" that provides information on its plants, product content and certifications.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Two new reports on the impacts of moving to a low-carbon economy show putting money toward energy efficiency, building retrofits and renewable energy projects can create 1.7 million new jobs, significantly more than the same investment in fossil fuel industries.

MENLO PARK, Calif. -- HID Laboratories has officially launched its SmartPod Luminaires, a lighting solution that mates IT with high-tech design and energy efficient performance, the firm says.

DALLAS, Texas -- Advocates for the U.S. cement industry and environmentalists are facing off in hearings this week as federal regulators call for comment on new rules to limit emissions from the energy-intensive kilns that are core to the business.

Chicago, Ill. -- Business and residential customers participating in the Commonwealth Edison Company's energy efficiency programs saved more than $20 million in utility costs in the past year, the power company said.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- The Santa Clara, Calif.-based data center has become the first building in the city to earn a LEED-Gold certification.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- An audit by U.S. Department Energy's Office of the Inspector General of seven facilities, including DOE headquarters, concluded that better management of IT resources could have saved at least $1.6 million in energy costs in fiscal year 2008.