Regency Centers has a creative idea for going green: switching to solar in cooperation with its retailers.

The company has installed its first solar energy system at the Shops at Saugus. The 18,740-square-foot photovoltaic array, built with 1,064 rooftop panels, will generate an estimated 250 KW of renewable energy annually. That’s 65% of the annual energy requirements of the center’s Trader Joe’s.

The center was chosen to launch this initiative because it’s in Massachusetts, where Regency has access to both federal and state incentives for green energy, including the Massachusetts Solar Renewable Energy Credit program. But the particularly handy thing about the solar initiative is that it helps retailers meet their own green goals.

“This project is a win-win scenario for Regency, Trader Joe’s and the environment. The Saugus solar system allows Regency to generate income from an unused portion of the shopping center roof, while meeting a majority of the energy needs for Trader Joe’s,” said Scott Prigge, senior vice president of national property operations for Regency Centers.

“The Saugus solar installation serves as a model for Regency to provide other retailers with eco-friendly energy options in other centers,” added Chris Widmayer, vice president of investments with Regency Centers.

What fun is spending time and money on really cool sustainability projects if you can’t tell anyone about them? The projects are still as important, but it’s really more fun to share.

That’s what Queen Victoria Market gets to do this week with its Sustainability Tour. It’s part of Melbourne’s extremely cool Sustainable Living Festival that’s taking place across the latter half of this month.

The tour highlights all the things the Market has done to ensure it can run with a minimal environmental impact. It will cover the Solar Panel Project that sees 1,328 solar panels covering the Market Sheds, and the Water Harvesting Project that provides an alternative water source for flushing the heavily patronized Queen Street Public Toilets. There will also be information given about the work being done to continually improve the waste management and recycling at the Market, as well as the initiative to phase out the use of plastic bags by the Market Traders.

The tour wraps up with a look at all the benefits of organic produce, followed by a practical demonstration with an organic morning tea. Practical, and sure to be delicious.

River Oaks Shopping Center is going all out for heart health. Throughout February, it’s taking part in a public art installation that draws attention to the 48 American women who die each hour from cardiovascular disease and stroke. 48 red dress silhouettes will be displayed throughout the center as monuments to that loss and reminders of what’s at stake.

Shoppers who want to act on that awareness can save their pennies until the end of the month: on February 29th, they’ll be able to buy a Heart Card for $40. They can use it to save up to 30% on purchases from participating retailers.

Not only that, but the first 500 shoppers to partake in the card will secure themselves a seat at the Heart Card kick-off event, the 3rd annual River Oaks Fashion Show and After Party. It will be an evening of fun, fashion and shopping, with snacks, spirits and exclusive shopping deals.

All proceeds from the card will benefit the American Heart Association.

Let’s chase away the winter doldrums with a bit of good news. Tanger Outlet Center in Tilton, NH, has tallied up donations from its 2011 PinkStyle campaign and has made a whopping $46,790.87 donation to LRGHealthcare in support of its breast cancer treatments.

“It takes all of us working together with a common focus and determination to beat this terrible disease,” stated Steven B. Tanger, President and Chief Executive Officer for Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc. “I am proud of our Tanger Team members in Tilton for their continued hard work in fighting breast cancer and I thank our shoppers for supporting Tanger’s mission to find a cure.”

Not only did Tanger Tilton raise funds for LRGHealthcare, it also donated $8,430 to Tanger’s national donation to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation to support their mission to find a cure.

The funds the center raised came from its TangerStyle Pink Cards and Powerful Pink Card (the former offered discounts at many retailers, while the latter offered deeper discounts and a chance to win fabulous prizes ranging from a spa vacation to a new pink iPad). Funds were also gathered at the Annual Fit For Families 5K Run/Walk, with over 450 individuals and nearly 40 businesses participating.

We can’t overstate the importance of knowing a good thing when you see it. It’s where new ideas come from, and how great things can come together from humble beginnings.

The folks at Centrepoint, a nonprofit supporting homeless youth, certainly knew how to spot something good. They saw a video of Luminites busking at Leicester Square, a video that had a certain viral appeal.

It was a perfect fit for Centrepoint, looking for a way to boost its charity appeal over the holidays. The nonprofit hopes to raise £300,000 for homeless young people, and finding this group seemed just perfect. The members of Luminites are young, creative and very talented, and not far beyond the dangers of poverty — one member was once homeless, and a few of them busked to support themselves before their time in the band.

So Centrepoint approached the band to record a single for the holidays, and a video to go with it. The video is below, and the single is available on iTunes. The money raised through the sales of the single will go towards the fundraising goal.

So far the single, a cover of Streets of London, has been very well received. Here’s hoping it gets the attention it deserves. That would mean a happy Christmas for so many.