No doubt driven by recent initiatives from Wal-Mart to make suppliers more environmentally friendly, P&G has set forth a five year plan to generate $20 billion in sales from eco-friendly products. The packaged goods giant has already launched several concentrated detergents designed to work best in cold water and its Braun line of battery chargers and the first shaving products to be Energy Star certified.

Rather than preaching to consumers about being green, P&G is taking the stance that everyone can make a difference through minor changes in their everyday lives.

Story from MediaPost.

Former SAP executive Shai Agassi (pictured at right) is out to turn the automotive world on its ear and he’s got the financial backing to give it a solid run. With $200 million in other people’s money, Agassi is planning to roll out an electric recharge grid and battery exchange system for electric cars. From what I can gather, it sounds like those spots where you can swap the propane tank for your grill without going through the actual refueling process.

The major problem with electric cars is that the range cannot compete with gas powered cars and are thus a tough tell with consumers trained to expect 300-400 miles per tank. With Project Better Place (Is this just a pre-launch name?) users will have access to a sophisticated electrical grid of recharging stations and battery swaps.

Story from Business Week.

In an undercover report published in the The Observer, children as young as ten years old were found to be manufacturing Gap clothing for the holiday season. Often sold by their parents, these children are subjected to long hours, little or no pay, and working conditions mired in filth.

While it’s no secret that India is a hotbed of child labor, it is shocking that child labor contributes 20 percent of India’s GNP and that 55 million children aged 5 -14 are part of the underground system.

Gap is known to run a stringent vendor management system that prohibits child labor and released a statement condemning the actions of the subcontractor cited in the investigation.

Story from The Observer.

Who said the electric car is dead? Hybrids and diesels command the majority of the press, but electric car companies are plentiful. The one consistently generating the greatest amount of press is Tesla, but there are plenty of other players in the market. Take a look now, as most of these are unlikely to make it far in the exceptionally competitive car market.

• Tesla Motors
• Wrightspeed
• Fisker Automotive
• Zap
• Miles Automotive
• Zenn Motors
• AC Propulsion
• Phoenix Motorcars
• Aptera
• Porteon
• Lightning
• Reva
• Ultramotor
• Myers Motors
• Think
• Venture Vehicles

Article from CNET

Previously covered back in July, MakeMeSustainable is designed to connect ideals to actions. Emily Chang of eHub recently completed an email interview with MakeMeSustainable founder David Delcourt.

Complete session from eHub.

Okay, it’s not really free, but it can be if you want it to be. Or you could always skip dinner and volunteer to work as a server for the evening. Confused? The Karma Kitchen in Berkeley, CA is a fairly new restaurant that takes the notion of the gift economy one step further. Unlike similar establishments that rely on customers paying a “fair” amount for a meal, the Karma Kitchen even relies on volunteers to act as staff each weekend.

Diners are treated to a wonderful (according to the article, as I haven’t been there just yet) meal of mostly Indian cuisine and are then presented with an envelope into which you can put as little or as much as you like. Sounds like a lot of pressure to me.

Article from The Christian Science Monitor.

NBC is rolling out the green carpet next week, broadcasting 150 hours of green programming across multiple NBC properties. In addition to programming, NBC is building its west coast headquarters according to LEED standards.

Here is some of what you can expect on the various NBC properties next week:

• College Football Saturday: Following the Notre Dame football game, students will discuss capturing carbon emissions from power plants.
• Telemundo & the Sundance Channel will tackle various environmental issues.
• iVillage will show moms how to live a greener lifeestyle.

Story from MediaPost.

UPDATE: Visit the Green is Universal site for programming details.

If flipping your website to Google for a few million dollars hasn’t worked out, you may want to consider starting a solar company. Solar start-ups are raising capital like there’s no tomorrow and HelioVolt is the poster child for the latest flood of money flowing to clean energy companies.

The excitement over HelipVolt is driven by its proprietary manufacturing process for Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS). The material provides for a much cheaper alternative to silicon and has the potential to revolutionize the solar industry.

Press release from HelioVolt.

Governor Schwarzenegger drew a line in the sand six months ago when he decided the bureaucrats at the EPA needed a swift kick in order to grant a waiver for an emissions law passed by voters in 2005. The law mandates that cars sold in California meet emissions standards more stringent than those mandated by the Feds starting with the 2009 model year. In order for California to pass the law, the EPA must give the go-ahead and no such progress has been made.

Though the wildfires continue to burn in Southern California, it is expected that the suit will be filed next week.

Story from Reuters.

Coke is hooking up with Revolve Clothing for a line of apparel made from recycled polyethylene terephthalate, or RPET. The line is going to be available at the swanky Fred Segal store in West Hollywood, a sure sign that they will be a little taxing on the wallet. Regardless of price, it is good to see such a large player making an effort to use recycled materials and hopefully educate folks about the possibilities for uses or recycled materials.

Coke and other beverage marketers have recently come under fire as consumers have begun to question the waste associated with plastic bottles, particularly water. In the ultimate PR move, the licensing merchandising manager from Coke is positioning plastic bottles as a resource for future use, not waste. With only a small fraction of bottles actually being recycled, this is a bit of a stretch.

Story from AdAge.