Press

LA Times

April 30, 2012

Which hotel chain has the smallest carbon footprint?

Brighter Planet's new analysis ranks Vagabond Inns as the most carbon- and energy-efficient US hotel chain.
Green Lodging News

April 30, 2012

Brighter Planet takes look at entire US lodging industry's energy, carbon efficiency

Using data on 46,000 U.S. hotels provided by Northstar Travel Media, and building energy data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, sustainability technology company Brighter Planet has applied its own lodging model to determine the best and worst performing hotel chains when it comes to energy efficiency and carbon footprints.
Marketplace

April 30, 2012

Marketplace Morning Report

American Public Media's Marketplace covers Brighter Planet's hotel sustainability report, in print and on the airwaves.
April 30, 2012

Budget-friendly hotel chains also have the smallest carbon footprints

According to a new analysis by sustainability company Brighter Planet, budget and mid-range hotels tend to produce the least carbon per room.
April 26, 2012

Websites Can Show Carbon Footprint of Products or Services by Adding One Line of Code

Brighter Planet, an award-winning technology company focusing on apps and sustainability web tools for businesses and consumers, has developed a tool that allows any website to display the carbon and energy footprint of products or services by simply inserting one line of code and without having to modify the site.
Young Upstarts

April 25, 2012

Calculating Energy and Carbon on your Website

Young Upstarts covers Brighter Planet's new Prospect service that automatically embeds sustainability analytics in websites.
LA Times

March 23, 2012

How much pollution does your flight produce?

The LA Times on Careplane, Brighter Planet's carbon labeling app for airfare shoppers.
SYS-CON

March 07, 2012

Do these 10 things to improve thought leadership

Brighter Planet, Stonyfield Farms, and TOMS Shoes identified as thought leaders on social entrepreneurship.
Mashable

February 08, 2012

What digital non-profits can learn from companies like Google

Brighter Planet cited alongside Kiva and Google as exemplary developer of scalable socially-transformative technology.
Triple Pundit

December 14, 2011

Three Emerging Trends in Employee Engagement

The results of Brighter Planet's new study suggest three surprising trends that sustainability practitioners should take note of.
GreenBiz

December 14, 2011

Sustainability, Employees, and Social Media: 4 Keys to Success

Recent studies highlight key success factors for employee sustainability programs
November 30, 2011

Schoolwork gives birth to environmental app, company

The Free Press chronicles Brighter Planet's growth and recent EPA award
November 17, 2011

A Phone App for Switching Out Your Light Bulbs

NY Times Green covers Brighter Planet's Hootroot app and its recent award from the EPA
US EPA

November 10, 2011

Brighter Planet wins National EPA Award

Hootroot, developed by Brighter Planet, was given the overall runner-up award in EPA’s Apps for the Environment challenge, which encourages the development of innovative environmental applications.
Ecopreneurist

November 07, 2011

Hootroot’s ‘Green Your Route’ Travel App Wins EPA Innovation Award

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has named the pioneering Hootroot travel app a top winner in the agency’s Apps for the Environment Challenge.
MarketWatch

September 21, 2011

Engine Yard Grows Its Cloud Ecosystem With Engine Yard Platform Services

Cloud partners including Brighter Planet expand Engine Yard platform as a service (PaaS) with apps and services
July 11, 2011

Save Money: Fly Fuel-Efficient

Brighter Planet examined the carbon footprint of dozens of airlines worldwide based on five key drivers: fuel efficiency, passenger load, flight distance, freight load and seating density. (Local copy)
Gadling

July 05, 2011

Carbon footprint study results we can do something with

After studying more than 9 billion airline passenger departures, Brighter Planet found huge energy efficiency variables on different flights on the same routes. (Local copy)
Business Travel News

June 30, 2011

Study Finds Tenfold Variance In Carbon Footprint Of Flights

After studying more than 9 billion airline passenger departures, carbon accounting and offset firm Brighter Planet determined that "energy efficiency per passenger mile varies tenfold across the entire industry," said CEO Patti Prairie. (Local copy)
Where To Go Next!

June 29, 2011

Going Green: The Best And The Worst Airlines For Travelers

Brighter Planet used an advanced energy and carbon model to analyze more than 9 billion passenger departures and more than 12 trillion passenger-miles flown over a period of over 10 years to rank the airlines (Local copy)
Creative Loafing

June 29, 2011

Top 20 most carbon-efficient airlines: Who's number 1?

But have you ever considered "greening" your airline travel? (Local copy)
Green Answers

June 29, 2011

The Greenest Airlines: Who’s The Most Fuel-Efficient, And Why?

The study found that fuel efficiency varies greatly among airlines and aircraft, a conclusion drawn by analyzing five influential factors. (Local copy)
AOL Travel News

June 28, 2011

Eco-Friendly Flying: How To Reduce Your Carbon Footprint In The Skies

BrighterPlanet.com has released their list of the most and least efficient airlines around the world. Which begs the question, how do ordinary citizens make their flights greener? (Local copy)
NativeEnergy

June 07, 2011

NativeEnergy announces Wewoka biogas project

Brighter Planet is a charter supporter of an innovative landfill gas-to-energy carbon offset project in rural Oklahoma.
May 13, 2011

MasterCard, Brighter Planet Carbon Calculator Tracks Business Travel

MasterCard and Brighter Planet announced a program, MasterCard Carbon Emissions Reporting, designed to make the carbon emissions analysis process easier and more accurate.
PC World

May 13, 2011

MasterCard to Help Track Emissions With New Service

MasterCard WorldWide and Brighter Planet on Thursday announced a program to help companies go green.
May 12, 2011

MasterCard’s First-of-a-Kind Initiative to Measure Your Carbon Footprint

Because a world without climate change is priceless, MasterCard has teamed up with Brighter Planet to offer corporate customers carbon footprint reports. (Local copy)
EarthTimes

September 01, 2010

GOOD Acquires Brighter Planet's Wowcrowd

GOOD has acquired Wowcrowd, a crowdsourcing fund allocation web app developed by Brighter Planet
April 21, 2010

Reducing Emissions, and a Guilty Conscience

We tested five online carbon-offset retailers that deal with individual consumers, using their carbon calculators to assess our emissions footprint and choosing offsets in different increments.
April 12, 2010

Best of Green: Brighter Planet named "Best Small Business"

It's not an easy thing coming up with a single standout when it comes to small green business. But Brighter Planet's products, projects and services stood out this year.
April 06, 2010

Brighter Planet, Founded in Vermont, Sees Brighter Future in Bay Area

It’s another win for the Bay Area’s formidable social networking cluster. Brighter Planet, a provider of online and offline products that aim to help people and businesses reduce their carbon footprints, is downsizing its Vermont offices and expanding in San Francisco, company CEO Pattie Prairie says.
March 25, 2010

Brighter Planet wins Social Innovation Award for Strategic Philanthropy

Martin Smith, founder and CEO of Justmeans, said: "We wanted to showcase companies that are innovating us out of the challenges that face us today." Award-winners "are not those (companies and organizations) trying to mitigate their social and environmental impact," Smith said, "but more are creating the processes, systems, programs, and initiatives that we hope will be replicated across their industries and across business over the coming years."
February 26, 2010

Two Simple Steps to Really Reducing Your Carbon Foodprint

The idea of trying to reduce the carbon footprint of your diet is almost yesterday's news in the green community, as is talking about eating locally, minimizing food miles, reducing the amount of meat you eat. But a new report from Brighter Planet breaks the issue down in a very digestible way. While most of its conclusions are inline with what we've been advising all along, there are some surprises.
November 11, 2009

Brighter Planet Survey Leads to New Model of Offset Sales and Environmentalism

A majority of Americans are concerned about climate change and want to help fight it. The future of consumer carbon offsets may well be to continue finding ways to forge a combination of the economic efficiency of offsets as commodities, and the grassroots social capital of community-powered campaigns.
October 10, 2009

It's a Brighter Planet

When Bank of America teamed up with US-based Brighter Planet, an independent environmental services company, in late 2007 to launch ethical credit and debit cards, there was much optimism that the products could make a difference in tackling climate change. Douglas Blakey examines progress to date. (Local copy)
August 25, 2009

INTERVIEW: Patti Prairie, CEO of BrighterPlanet.com on how social networks and their new site help fight climate change

COD interviews Patti Prairie about the relaunch of brighterplanet.com, the uniqueness of the carbon calculator, and why offsets are not just useful, but critical.
August 14, 2009

Brighter Planet Brings the Social Web to Carbon Footprints

There are hundreds of carbon footprint calculators available on the Internet, but most of them just ask you to input information about your lifestyle in exchange for a footprint rating. If you're lucky, the calculator might offer tips on CO2 reduction and provide links to carbon offset Web sites. Brighter Planet's new site brings social media into the mix, making carbon footprint measurement an activity to share with friends.
August 13, 2009

Save the Environment By Storing Your CO2 in Plastic Bags (Video)

So, what about just storing excess CO2 in plastic bags in our homes? Wouldn't that be better than releasing it into the atmosphere? No, not convinced? See what you think about this crazy idea after checking out this video from Brighter Planet. Um, yes. There's an easier way. In particular, three easier ways come to mind immediately.
August 11, 2009

Brighterplanet.com Relaunches; Site Helps Consumers Take Charge of Carbon Footprint (And Save Money, Too!)

The First Social-Network-Ready Web Service for Measuring, Tracking, and Sharing Environmental Efforts A free, fun, and easy-to-use web utility, the new brighterplanet.com brings some order and control to what can be a difficult process — tweaking one's lifestyle to minimize the amount of carbon pollution produced.
August 09, 2009

Carbon Conscious

Brighter Planet, a Middlebury environmental firm, has launched a free online carbon footprint calculator that computes how an individual contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. The carbon calculator also suggests ways people can reduce their emissions. There's more awareness today of global warming and greenhouse gas emissions but like going on a diet it's often difficult for people to get a handle on the problem.
July 27, 2009

Web tool measures carbon footprints

“The new clean-energy economy is bringing together tools of the digital age with new tools for reducing dirty-energy use,” Isham said. “With luck, Brighter Planet’s new carbon calculator — along with other features still in the planning stage — will be on the forefront of this promising economic transition.”
July 23, 2009

10 Ways To Save Money And Be Green

Debunking the Myth That It Costs Money to Reduce Emissions
July 14, 2009

A New Way To Borrow Green

July 14, 2009 -- Launched in early 2008, Brighter Planet issues credit- and-debit-cards that let borrowers pile up points that don't go toward cheap airline tickets, but to help fund environmentally friendly projects.
June 11, 2009

Brighter Planet featured as one of two examples of green businesses in Vermont

The Pew Charitable Trust released a report on the Clean Energy Economy in Vermont
June 07, 2009

The Chatter

"There's almost a grass-roots quality to it." Patti Prairie, chief executive of Brighter Planet, which has been blogging, Tweeting, friending on Facebook and initiating viral marketing campaigns intended to help consumers reduce their carbon footprints.
June 05, 2009

Unique Ways Entrepreneurs Are Raising Money

"Instead of getting miles, we're helping people invest in clean energy," Patti Prairie says.
June 04, 2009

Small Businesses Are Taking Tentative Steps Toward Online Networking

For more than a year, the Brighter Planet team has been blogging, Tweeting, friending on Facebook and initiating viral marketing campaigns intended to help consumers reduce their carbon footprints.
May 07, 2009

Brighter Planet Rolls Out Social Web App to Lower Carbon Footprints

Vermont’s Brighter Planet has spent the last few years building a business around providing products and services that help people and businesses cut down on their carbon emissions without breaking the bank.
April 08, 2009

EarthTweet Turns Twitterers into Earth Day Advocates

EarthTweet is a new tweet-a-thon being held by BrighterPlanet that encourages Twitter users to do good things for Mother Nature in honor of Earth Day, then tweet about it with #earthtweet.
April 07, 2009

The Climate Project Partners with Brighter Planet on Tweet-a-Thon
March 30, 2009

Web professional Ian Wilker has been hired as the new Community Manager at Brighter Planet

Asheville, North Carolina Web professional Ian Wilker let us know this week that he has been hired as the new Community Manager at Brighter Planet, a company that "offers innovative products and services to help create a sustainable future for the planet and its people". Wilker says to expect an amazing new web app from the company soon.
The Trumbull Times

March 12, 2009

Something green: From invitations, a mended gown to backyard weddings

Bridezilla, meet Mother Nature.
March 12, 2009

Outlook bright for start-up

"We're really optimistic that people are starting to understand more and more that they can save money and help the environment by paying attention to their carbon footprint," says Carolyn Barnwell of Brighter Planet.
February 13, 2009

How Will Carbon Offsets Fare During The Downturn?

In order to win consumer’s trust in offset projects, Prairie recommends offset companies to be transparent about what their projects are, what standards they adhere to and how they are performing.
February 11, 2009

Will Carbon Offsets Survive the Downturn?

To get through the recession, consumers are scrimping and saving, which posits an environmental catch-22...since we have less to spend, we may not be as likely to put money towards extras like carbon offsets.
February 10, 2009

Fostering Green Energy

What the article Dark Days for Green Energy doesn’t acknowledge is the critical importance of building consumer and business demand for green energy to reinvigorate the market.
January 14, 2009

What Environmental Leaders Can Learn from Obama's Mastery of Social Media

What does Obama’s election have in common with the environment? Four things: conviction that change was needed, use of the Internet to mobilize the masses, young people at the nexus, and a community to create a revolution.
November 17, 2008

An Eco-Stimulus Package for Our Economy

Even in a recession, green businesses leaders have the unique opportunity to do well for the environment, provide a valuable service for their customers, and make a profit for their shareholders.
October 21, 2008

Climate Matters Video Contest Winners Announced

and inspiring they are.
October 21, 2008

Video Winners Warn on Warming

Winners have been chosen in an online video contest aimed at inspiring the next president, Congress and the public to take meaningful action on human-caused climate change.