We've already covered a few examples of retailers that focus on green supplies for do-it-yourself home improvement, and recently one of our spotters alerted us to another that just opened in Manhattan: Green Depot, a store that aims to make green building and living solutions "accessible, affordable and gratifying."

Green Depot has been selling sustainable building products and services through its showrooms since 2005, but it was not until earlier this month that it opened its new, flagship retail store in Manhattan. Located in the Bowery, the 3,500-square-foot store is designed to demonstrate high-performance green materials in action, and is itself on track to be a platinum LEED-certified space. A light booth made of recycled resin materials, for example, helps shoppers compare light bulbs and paint colours in a controlled setting, while the zero-VOC paint bar serves up a line of paints free of volatile organic chemicals. The store's private-label cleaning line, meanwhile, is available for sale by the ounce, encouraging customers to refill and reuse their own plastic and glass containers. Aiming to cut through the "greenwashing" that's frequently applied to less-than-entirely-green products and stores, Green Depot also uses a system of five simple icons to make the "green" label explicit for consumers: "air quality," "local," "social responsibility," "energy" and "conservation," indicating just what aspect of greenness each product addresses.

Green Depot bears no relation to Home Depot, but it does promise to help spread a whole new world of eco-credentials to the green-minded masses. Time to jump in with a contender in your neck of the eco-iconic woods....? (Related: Pop-up cafe is a monument to sustainability.)

Website: www.greendepot.com
Contact: contactus@greendepot.com

Spotted by: Elliot Marchant

The fact that Green Irene, Green Grannies and Green Groove have all graced our pages in just a few short weeks recently is a fair indication of today's increasing focus on sustainability. Now joining that list is Climate Culture, a virtual world that combines guidance, community and games to help consumers reduce their energy consumption.

Centered around a patent-pending carbon footprint calculator, Climate Culture offers users personalized advice on the amount of carbon, energy, dollars and other resources they expend through hundreds of lifestyle choices and daily actions. The site's Personal Energy Advisor tool uses regionally specific datasets that reflect the types of energy generated, temperatures, incoming solar radiation, energy prices and other factors determined by ZIP code to power many of its personalized calculations. Users who join the free site begin by entering some basic information to calculate their current carbon footprint, and then choosing an avatar. They then find themselves on a virtual island that reflects their current level of energy consumption. The Reduction Center guides users to make changes in their lifestyle that will reduce their carbon footprint, such as installing a tankless water heater or using CFLs instead of traditional lightbulbs. For every reduction they make, users earn points that give them higher social status in the community along with access to more and more features in the site's online store for customizing their avatar and their world. Users can also earn points by helping friends green their lifestyles and by challenging others in real-world carbon-reduction contests. In addition, a variety of multiuser games can be used to earn points as well: each time a user plays or wins, one of Climate Culture's corporate sponsors donates money to offset 10 pounds of carbon dioxide.

Climate Culture is reportedly planning a pilot project in Connecticut through which it aims to help whole towns become more energy-efficient, according to a report in Matter Network. Its business model, the report suggests, involves having residential energy savings certified by the state and then selling them as Renewable Energy Certificates to energy suppliers.

New York-based Climate Culture currently supports users only in the US, with support for Canadian users coming soon. One to partner with in an area near you....? (Related: Rewarding consumers for driving less.)

Website: www.climateculture.com
Contact: info@climateculture.com

Spotted by: Bella Laird

As if the emissions reduction and gas savings weren't enough to entice people to carpool, NuRide rewards users for doing their bit. After registering with NuRide, members can connect with neighbours, friends and coworkers to organize ride shares and log their non-driving efforts. Akin to frequent flyer miles for mindful commuters, members earn points every time they share a ride, cycle into town or skip their commute by telecommuting. Regular NuRide users can receive around USD 350 per year in rewards, which can be exchanged for retailer discounts, gift cards, and tickets to shows and attractions

The service addresses safety issues by only accepting users with email addresses issued by reputable employers, schools or universities. Users can specify particular criteria for those they wish to share with, and can blacklist people they don't want to ride with. Proving that carsharing can achieve critical mass, Nuride has almost 40,000 users, who have been rewarded with over USD 1.5 million in return for cutting out 2 million car trips.

Since members specify their trip origin, destination, travel preferences and vehicle information, sponsors—the companies that provide rewards—can target highly specific sets of consumers, both nationally and locally. NuRide currently operates in eight regions in the US, with many other areas left to be serviced. For more inspiration: our sister site's latest trend briefing includes an introduction to eco generosity.

Website: www.nuride.com
Contact: www.nuride.com/nuride/public/p_contact.jsp

Reducing energy consumption is clearly a global imperative, but before one can reduce it helps to know how much one is already consuming. Targeting the 40 million "smart meters" now in use worldwide—and the 100 million more soon to be added—Google is testing a new gadget that will take the information such devices collect and make it more easily accessible to the consumer.

Many smart meters don't display consumption information to the user, but Google's PowerMeter prototype—now in closed beta—is designed to receive such information and provide access to it via the user's iGoogle homepage. Aiming to help users make better energy decisions, the technology taps Google's scalable, secure IT architecture and the iGoogle gadget platform to show consumers their energy use in near real-time, including an analysis of how much energy is used by different household appliances and activities. Google vows to keep all data under the user's control, and it says it hopes to work with as many utility companies as possible to deliver the technology for free to anyone with a smart meter.

Finding alternative energy sources may be the gold rush of our era, but helping the world wean itself from nonrenewable energy is just as important—and potentially just as rewarding. Google is currently seeking utilities and device manufacturers to partner with; one to get in on early? (Related: Visualising energy use.)

Website: www.google.org/powermeter
Contact: www.google.org/powermeter/contactus.html

Spotted by: Tommi Pelkonen

Breaking a bad habit is never easy, but a little support can help. Much like Green Thing, which we wrote about back in 2007, Green Groove is a site that aims to help consumers create and stick to a plan to eliminate their unsustainable ways and embrace new, greener habits.

Green Groove's goal is to help consumers make "a phased withdrawal on catastrophic climate change." Toward that end, the Idaho-based site invites visitors to take three initial steps to create their own, personal withdrawal plan. First, they choose their desired plan type, length and level of difficulty, including whether it's just a personal plan or one that incorporates a household or family. Next, the site guides visitors to select specific weekly goals in four categories: auto, diet, home and lifestyle. Within the "home" category, for example, weekly goals might include replacing one old lightbulb with a compact fluorescent, or hang-drying at least one load of laundry. Third, visitors are then invited to put their weekly goals into the order they'd like to follow in accomplishing them, thereby creating their step-by-step action plan. A downloadable "Goal Tracker" widget is available both for Mac and PC, as are "Green Groove Participant" and "Green Groove Certified" website badges for those who are in the midst of or have finished their plans.

With all the many external demands on consumers' time and attention today, the need for support in making lifestyle changes seems greater than ever. Deliver that help in bite-sized portions, and you may just win some lasting support yourself! (Related: Nagging service for dieters — A public incentive to stick to one's goals.)

Website: www.greengroove.org
Contact: support@greengroove.org

Spotted by: Phillip Farris