business

10 Products that Get a Tree Planted

HunterGreen — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 23:20:04 -0400

“Going Green” has turned into big business for many. With the world consciousness becoming more aware of our destructive direction as a society, more businesses are turning to eco-friendly solutions to not only help the world, but also to help their reputation.

This article at We Heart World talks about buying products from companies that plant trees when you make some sort of purchase. It is an excellent way for people to do just a little more for the environment by supporting these companies in their initiative.

It shouldn't always be about price and convenience. We have the power to show confidence and consideration to those companies who are trying to make a difference.

Here are links to the companies in the article that DO make a difference. If you have any interest in buying the types of products that they sell, please stop by and compare. All things being equal, it makes sense to do the secondary things that make a difference such as showing your support with your purchases.

Computers: Dell

Plant a Tree for Me

Connectivity: IOGEAR

Road to a Million Trees

Maternity T-Shirt: UnButtonedMaternity

Plant a Tree Mommy

Surfboards: Loose Fit Surf Shop

Surf and Trees Campaign

Boots: Blundstone

Plant yourself in Blundstones. Plant a tree in Canada

Soap: JustNeem

Neem Tree

Shaving Oil: Pacific Shaving

Plants a tree for every bottle of shaving oil sold

Strollers: Baby Rain Inc.

Planting a tree for every stroller purchase.

Handbags: Ecoist

Plants a tree for every handbag

Books: Eco-Libris

Buy a book from them, they’ll plant a tree

Read more about businesses that help the environment on my blog.

Green Dreams

scleaver — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0400

A Harvard MBA, six-figure job as an investment banker, and TriBeCa apartment didn’t stop Torrey Reade, 56, from wanting to go back to basics, trading her city life for a 126-acre farm in southern New Jersey where she now raises beef cattle, lambs, and grows oats and vegetables.

Jonathan White was an engineer in Hoboken who made his own cheese on the side, in 1993 he turned his hobby into a career. And, in 2002, he started Bobolink Dairy in Vernon, where he raises his cows and makes his own cheese. In addition to cheese-making (and eating!) White was interested in changing dairy farming. “It’s been a very long time since anyone had questioned the very tenets of dairy farming,” he told the New York Times.

Reade and White aren’t the only ones, as The New York Times reported, of the 9,924 farms in New Jersey, 25 are run by people who’ve come to farming from other jobs, and that number is increasing, especially young people who are interested in organic farming. It’s a risky business, though, leaving the corporate world and putting savings into a farm that produces little to no return on investment. But, the peace and quiet, and joy of turning hobbies and interests into full-fledged businesses outweigh the financial risk. How far would you go to make your green dream come true?

Photo of a cow from Bobolink Dairy.

City Farmers Cash In

scleaver — Fri, 16 May 2008 10:31:06 -0400

Gardens are popping up where you’d least expect them—under elevated train tracks, in partially torn-down factories, on balconies, and behind rows of apartment buildings. And, these aren’t just home gardeners growing tomatoes for the occasional marinara sauce, they’re real enterprises and can make a pretty penny.

As The New York Times reported on May 7, the urban agriculture movement that’s sprung up in New York City with farmers who grow plants in small neighborhood plots and sell the harvest to neighbors, local restaurants, or at farmers markets is growing fast. The trend is old news in some cities. Prime example: Detroit, where gardens have taken over abandoned lots and partially destroyed factory buildings.

And, like I mentioned, there's money to be made in urban ag. The Added Value Community Farm was constructed on an abandoned three-acre basketball court started in 2003, and last year, the high school students who work the Brooklyn farm sold $25,000 worth of arugula, heirloom tomatoes, and Asian greens to local restaurants, community supported agriculture organizations, and farmers markets. In Detroit, gardens with the Garden Resource Program Collaborative have set up shop in Eastern Market. In Philadelphia, a non-profit grew $67,000 of lettuce, carrots, and radishes in densely packed plots. Finally, in Milwaukee, Growing Power operates a one-acre farm that includes greenhouses and pens of animals, they grossed more than $220,000 last year.

There is a definite need for fresh, affordable produce for low-income residents in urban areas, something that’s often easier said than done (Even with urban ag, Detroit is still considered a food desert, with few local produce options for many residents).

Interested in starting an urban farm? It could be as easy as setting up shop on your back balcony or finding just the right plot of land. Here are resources to get you started:

1. Learn about the nitty-gritty of farming, from seeds to market: The Detroit Garden Resource Program Collaborative, Milwaukee or Chicago’s Growing Power, and Just Food in New York all offer training. For a more formal education, The Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems at the University of California, Santa Cruz offers a six-month course.

2. Remember, it’s more than a farm, it’s a business. Here’s how to write an Urban Farm Business Plan.

3. Keep up with the Urban Farm Project to see how other farmers are working the land.

4. Read gardening blogs like This Garden is Illegal and A Gardening Year for another type of education, and some camaraderie.

Urban gardens have a unique set of problems and solutions:

1. Soil contaminated with lead or other contaminants? Build raised compost beds to keep your plants out of the muck that can be urban soil.

2. Got too many wildlife friends? Marigolds deter squirrels, and avoid planting crops that rodents enjoy, like corn.

3. If you’re planting on a balcony, don’t mix sun and shade plants, make sure your balcony can handle the weight, and put tall plants in back, surrounded by shorter plants. To maximize water, try an Earth Box.

4. Connect with other gardeners at Garden Web.

Photo Credit: Denver Urban Gardens.

The Golden Green Arches?

scleaver — Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Green is so hot right now that even the Golden Arches have jumped on board. “As much as people are cynical about the fast-food industry, there is a push now for sustainability,” Rob Wallace, vice president of communications for Keep America Beautiful, told Plenty Magazine online. Sure, it’s good PR, but it’s also good for the environment, so well done consumers!

Some green fast food initiatives:

Chipotle serves naturally raised chicken and you eat it with 90% recycled material napkins or take it home in 35% recycled bags. (Read more about how wonderful Chipotle is in an April blog post HERE.)

Smart Cups, made with a “plastic biopolymer derived from corn” and from “fibers grown and harvested according to the guidelines from the Sustainable Forestry Initiative” that will break down when thrown away (unlike petroleum-based cup liners that will stay around forever after you’re finished with it) are being used in fast food restaurants.

McDonald's touts a sustainability purchasing plan on its web site that includes buying from sustainable fisheries, working to preserve the Amazon rainforest, and requiring that land based agricultural companies go by an environmental scorecard.

In Boston, the Grille Zone was the first fast food restaurant to be certified by the Green Restaurant Association. They recycle, reduce, and reuse most all their materials to save on trash. See if there’s a green-certified fast food place near you at DineGreen.com.

Whether you’re building burgers or stuffing burritos, no doubt sustainable fast food is a trend I’d like supersized, and yes, I’ll have fries with that.

Photo from Pebbles from Paradise blog.

Something Old, Something New, Something Green

ckane — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 01:00:00 -0400

InsideBayArea.com just published the world's one-thousandth article titled "Nice Day for a Green Wedding." But while the title wasn't anything new (nor is this posts' title, for that matter), the article did hep me to an Oakland businesswoman who works to restore vintage dresses to wedding-quality pieces: Robin Densten of Recapture Designs. Since vintage is the route I want to go with my wedding dress, I investigated futher.

"Most gowns are made with precious materials and laces that are difficult to find in today's market, Densten says on her site. "My goal is to re-create a dress to fit and flatter your figure and your style while preserving the beauty and integrity of the materials."

A-men! Because of the one-of-a-kind aspect of vintage clothing, it's rare that the item you love will fit perfectly when you find it. And who knows how do alter and deal with antique laces anymore? Apparently, this gal Robin does. She also works with vintage materials (bits of your mom's gown, or something your grandmother made, say) to make the other accoutrements for weddings, should you choose to include those in your affair: wedding albums, veils, garters, ring pillows (reusable as sachets), and keepsake boxes for storing bridal jewelry or to give as bridesmaid gifts.

I have many miles to go before planning these aspects of my own wedding, but I just got really excited about it, thanks to Robin's cool business.

Top 10 Green Jobs

Julia — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 01:00:00 -0400

The following list comes from E Magazine’s article called “Ten Great Green Opportunities”, where they came up with a list of professions that are ready and waiting to be all greened up. Something catches your eye? Well jump right in and start creating new policies for the field!

1. Travel and Hospitality- Tourism is the largest business sector in the world economy. Ecotourism is growing at three times the rate of the tourism sector itself, and demanding more knowledgeable workers committed to sustainability.

2. Planning and Land Use- Local governments are increasingly interested in how they can reduce their communities’ carbon footprint, and turning to city planning professionals for direction.

3. Health and Medicine- According to a survey conducted in 2002 by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), 36 percent of U.S. adults use some form of alternative care.

4. Energy and Renewables- Renewable energy careers have the potential to re-establish America’s lost middle class. Renewable energy requires more manpower than fossil fuel—wind power creates 2.77 jobs for every megawatt produced, solar PV creates 7.24 jobs per megawatt.

5. Legal Careers- When a power plant is polluting more than its fair share, or an imperiled mammal needs recognition under the Endangered Species Act, environmental law groups go to court and fight the good fight.

6. Information Technology- In the nonprofit sector, IT work may not require extensive training. For global organizations like the Internet is a valuable tool. Be open to starting with little to no pay. It will give you the experience you need to be able to be hired by those few organizations and businesses that can afford to provide the salary that you want.

7. Green Learning- Over the past few years, sustainability coordinators—a job position that didn’t even exist a few years ago—have been joining the ranks of educational institutions looking to “go green.” Though there aren’t many schools offering degrees in sustainability, that’s beginning to change.

8. Design and Construction- Green builders already have a competitive advantage over traditional builders, according to Ashley Katz, communications coordinator for the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). And that advantage will continue to grow as sustainable, energy-efficient building practices become the norm.

9. Corporate Social Responsibility- With companies working to establish guidelines for social responsibility, the word “corporation” could sill take on new meaning in the 21st century. To make corporations more responsive to environmental, human rights and health issues, corporate responsibility advocates start from business’ bottom line and work their way up.

10. Food and Farming- According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, land used for organic crops increased from 48,000 acres in 1997 to 122,000 acres in 2005. That increase has opened doors, especially for students seeking a hands-on experience on a working farm. Some manage organic farms without actually owning the land, leasing it through a land trust. And the market for organic food has opened channels well beyond the local farm stands.

Zap Car Corp Called on the Carpet

khallgeisler — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 01:00:00 -0400

The latest issue of Wired magazine features an article about Zap Corporation, which has built or imported electric and fuel-efficient gasoline vehicles since the mid-1990s. Or, at least, has promised to build or import these cars. Turns out their track record might not be so great.

The article, "Hype Machine," is in Wired's April 2008 print issue. The gist of the story is that Zap has let down franchisees with inflated sales expectations while at the same time letting down consumers by not delivering the cars its PR department announced with such fanfare. Of the eight models Zap has said it would sell, including the Smart ForTwo, only two are currently available from the company. (The Smart deal went to the Penske Group last year.)

To be fair, the ZAP-X and Alias models listed by Wired were recent announcements; it would be a miracle for any company to churn out an electric SUV (like the ZAP-X) a year after making the idea public. Just ask Chevy and its Volt. Or ask Telsa, who announced the roadster in the summer of 2006 and, after much hubbub, finally fired up the factory this year on March 17, to the joy of speed and Earth lovers alike. As gas prices climb, any emerging-technology company would do well to learn Zap's lesson, via Wired, to not promise the sky then deliver dirt.

There are a few disgruntled dealers in Wired's article, and it seems they have every right to be, having complaints like vanishing profits after out-of-pocket battery upgrades to get the cars to deliver the speed and charge the company said they would. These dealers wanted to believe Zap was the way of the future as badly as Zap did.

On the other hand, I recently wrote an article for the New York Times on EV dealerships having to forge a market where previously none existed. I spoke with three EV dealerships for the piece, including the shop with the highest Zap sales in the country, Ecomotion of Portland, Oregon. None of the dealers that I spoke with had anything ill to say of Zap when I spoke with them, though it wasn't the focus of my article. All three dealerships sold Zap vehicles, but all three also had EVs by other manufacturers, like Zenn, Miles, and Myers, on the showroom floor.

Any business that lets people down regularly needs to be called on the carpet. The problem is if all EVs get painted with that same brush, a scenario brought up by several people in the article. Not all battery-powered cars are manufactured by squirrely, pie-in-the-sky outfits. But the personalities at the cutting edge of new markets are likely to be big talkers and risk takers. We can't let that make us afraid to let go of the gas pedal and embrace alternative fuels.

Green is the New Gold – in the Real Estate Market

susan — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 16:18:23 -0500

There’s only one way to survive in a housing market that’s in the toilet – you’ve got to channel Gypsy Rose Lee, yessir – “You gotta have a gimmick.”

So if you’re a real estate agent, you don’t have to just sit there and watch your commissions evaporate as if global warming had already hit. No, you can call yourself eco-friendly, take an Eco-Broker course, and specialize in selling green homes.

That’s what’s happening, according to the a recent Wall Street Journal article, How Green Is My Realtor:

“In a bid to stand out in a sagging housing market, an increasing number of real estate agents are marketing themselves as eco-friendly -- connecting environmentally conscious buyers to ‘green’ homes and helping sellers make their homes more eco-sensitive.”

As gimmicks go, I’ve gotta say, I like this one.

Eco Brokers Look for the Green

Brokers are advising sellers on improvements they can make in their homes to green them up – improving insulation, adding solar panels. And not only are they finding eco-buyers the green features more and more people want – they are also able to advise the buyers on how to go about fixing up houses that are not yet environmentally-equipped with fixes that will save energy, water, money and even improve air quality.

Banks Are Also Looking for the Green – With Eco-Friendly Mortgages

And here’s another gimmick I like – banks, too, are going green. They are offering great deals on mortgages -- discounts or bigger loans -- to people who are buying eco-friendly houses or making energy-efficient improvements to their houses. The excellent Wall Street Journal article, by Sara Schaeffer Munoz, says that Bank of America Corp. will give you $1000 credit toward closing fees with mortgages on homes that meet the government’s Energy Star Program.

Do we need any more evidence that Green is the new gold – when it comes to marketing in the year 2008?

HERE ARE SOME USEFUL GREEN REAL ESTATE AND GREEN MORTGAGE RESOURCES

Eco Broker International: Offers eco-courses for realtors.

Green Key Real Estate in San Francisco

Indigo Financial Group, based in Lansing, Mich.: Handling eco-friendly mortgages in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee and Alabama.

The National Association of Homebuilders: Developing a green building standard along with works with the International Code Council.

U.S. Green Building Council: A nonprofit that rates commercial buildings on energy and eco matters.

The Graduation Pledge

Julia — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Last year, I served as the Sustainability Chair for the Student Government Association at my college. We came up with all sorts of really cool ideas to implement on our campus that semester, but the one I was most intrigued by was the Graduation Pledge.

The Graduation Pledge alliance states, “I _____ pledge to explore and take into account the social and environmental consequences of any job I consider and will try to improve these aspects of any organization for which I work.”

By making the pledge, students decide for themselves what it means to be socially and environmentally conscious. It is such a great way to incorporate this idea of carrying the green torch onto wherever you land in the next 5, 10, 20, 40 years. The Graduation Pledge serves as a reminder that you made an oath to protect the earth when you left school.

Students at over a hundred schools across the country are using the Pledge to demonstrate their commitment to the environment. Liberal Arts colleges, state universities, private research universities, grad schools, high schools, and even some schools outside the U.S. (the pledge has made it all the way to Taiwan!) are just some of the institutions that have adapted the Pledge into their graduation rituals.

Each year, more than one million students enter the workforce. If even a small percentage of those students inquired about or attempted to change the ethical practices of their employers, they could potentially make a really positive and significant progression toward what we want to see out of so many corporations in and out of the United States.

The website, www.graduationpledge.com, offers a lot of information on how to go green after graduation, how to find meaningful and socially responsible jobs, and how to investigate potential employers and their code of ethics.

This is such a cool idea. I’ve become really enthusiastic about promoting The Graduation Pledge, and I’m hoping to get it implemented at my college within the next year. I encourage all of you to check out the website. It would be a difficult idea for your school administrators to deny. Good luck!