Green Business

Shop Sustainably This Black Friday

scleaver — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 14:27:32 -0500

Recession or not, this year’s Black Friday promises to include the usual long lines at 4:00 AM at your favorite department store, piles of coupons, and rock-bottom prices. But, whether or not you’re heading out the door early, late, or not at all, on the day after Thanksgiving, it’s official and inevitable: the holiday shopping season has begun.

If you’re interested in protesting consumerism this year, you can observe Adbusters' Buy Nothing Day instead of working off your Turkey Day feast via shopping. But, as Sarah Kuck discussed on WorldChanging.com, especially in this economy, wanting to live with less, can be a challenge. Perhaps the best thing you can do this holiday season, rather than give up shoppin entirely, is to shop local. Supporting local, independent businesses, and buying locally produced items, keeps money in your community, supports small businesses, and keeps the market going for locally products well into the new year.

As you head into the holiday shopping season, what are your local shopping tips?

Image from WorldChanging.com.

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.

Where Beauty Meets Sustainability

ellen — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0400

The other day I subscribed to Reactions a blog that was recommended to me by a friend. It is written by the graphic design firm MSLK, a local company (Long Island City) with an obvious feeling for sustainability. It makes me laugh and injects some much-needed inspiration that sustainable design doesn't have to look like it's off "the bottom shelf of the health food store" (that quote is unattributed because I can't for the life of me remember where I read it - but so often apropos).

Lately I have been feeling that "green-ness" (is that a word) has been taking over all other aspects of design. We recently toyed with the idea of applying for LEED certification for one of our projects and I started getting completely wound up in the minutia of the green details and losing sight of the importance of aesthetic and experiential aspects of the project . Talk about losing the forest for the trees!

Kudos to this firm for sharing!

Charge it to the Earth

jkraft — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 17:21:26 -0400

For a conscious consumer, there is no end to the ethical dilemmas of credit cards. Not only do they facilitate the massive over-consumption that our nation is criticized for, but they are tools of self-destruction for insatiable shoppers caught in the trap of predatory lending practices. And then there are the ecological effects of the millions of plastic PVC cards produced each year, and the massive paper waste that credit card bills create. But now there are some eco-friendly and socially-conscious options for those of us who choose to charge.

Some banks are offering cards that allow customers to earn points that can be redeemed for donations to charitable environmental organizations. With the HSBC ecosmart MasterCard you can choose to contribute to the Earthwatch Institute, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, the Arbor Day Foundation, or Wind Power Renewable Choice.

“Affinity Cards” are dedicated to a specific nonprofit organization whose logo is featured on the front of the card. The charity gets about half a percentage of the total purchases you make on the card, which can add up and become a profitable revenue stream. MBNA even offers a PVC-free WWF card, but (bummer!) only in Europe so far. Wells Fargo now offers a credit card that allows customers to contribute their earned points to invest in a corresponding amount of kilowatt hours produced by renewable energy projects. But if pure altruism isn’t what you’re after, some cards offer discounts on eco-friendly products in addition to charity contributions.

In Europe, many credit card companies see carbon offsets as the new airline miles. Instead of earning free trips, you can earn your green halo with a GreenCard, which neutralizes your carbon emissions by contributing to CO2 reduction initiatives like forest replanting. The greenhouse gas outputs of all of your combined purchases are calculated using a complicated algorithm, and then appropriate offsets are purchased in your name. These cards also help you understand which of your purchases are more carbon-creating, so you can analyze your statement for ways to shrink your carbon footprint.

But taking on a new card isn’t always the best choice for all of us, depending on our credit ratings, so we can still go green by signing up to receive only electronic statements.

Which College Is the Greenest?

scleaver — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 08:00:00 -0400

As if choosing a campus wasn’t hard enough, this year The Princeton Review is adding green ratings to some of their college guides. The green rating score is a composite of factors from building and transportation policies, recycling, food sourcing, and environmental courses offered.

Campuses have been going green for a while now. The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education has a rating system for schools. The Worldwatch Institute outlines campus greening initiatives on its web site. And, the Sustainable Endowments Institute puts out the College Sustainability Report Card that grades 200 schools that have large endowments according to how they spend those endowments in ways that benefit the environment.

These new scorecards aren’t going unnoticed. As the Christian Science Monitor reported, according to a Princeton Review survey, 60 percent of college applicants and their parents say that the green factor would affect their application decision. Proponents claim that going green, especially with buildings, could lower costs in the long run and fit into the leadership role of universities. But, others, like Richard Vedder at the American Enterprise Institute, are concerned that going green could raise already high costs.

Photo from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry Green Campus Initiative.

Wal-Mart The Locavore

scleaver — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 10:49:11 -0400

Hold onto your shopping carts—Wal-Mart has picked up on the locavore trend and is now touting locally grown produce in its stores. According to the The Associated Press, the company will spend $400 million this year on produce grown within state boundaries. Apparently, Wal-Mart is implementing a local-food buying program that, they say, “reflects our ever-important goal to provide consumers with quality, affordable, home-grown agricultural selections.”

But, as The Ethicurean reported, that’s not the only goal. Wal-Mart gains the same benefits that the rest of us do from buying local—reduced fuel expenses. According to The Ethicurean’s recent post: “Indeed, Wal-Mart’s Checkout blog last week bragged that by optimizing the 12 million pounds of peaches it sources from 18 different states and distributing the product locally, ‘Wal-Mart saved 672,000 food miles and 112,000 gallons of diesel fuel…[equaling] more than $1.4 million.’”

Still, as Wal-Mart extends their purchasing power into local markets, familiar concerns are popping up: will the company squeeze out small local farms by buying in bulk from larger producers? And, will they pay a fair price for the produce? They’re already known for pressuring suppliers for the lowest price. On the other hand, what other store has the influence of Wal-Mart to educate consumers about seasonal foods and the price benefits of eating local?

What do you think? Is Wal-Mart’s expansion into local farms a net concern or a net benefit?

Photo from Wal-Mart's Sustainable Food Program page where you can learn more about their local food commitment.

Eliminating Capitalism?

jkraft — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 08:16:42 -0400

Archaeologists from the future might think that the most valuable product from contemporary society is our garbage. The Egyptians and Incans horded gold in royal tombs, and we horde our plastic refuse in giant landfills! But what if we could literally turn our garbage into gold? What if we could create products, services and energy from the stuff we discard? 16 billion tons of annual waste in America could be put to work for us and for the earth.

Terracycle makes products out of garbage. Everything you can imagine—from old fax machines to soda bottles to moldy orange peels are re-blended, re-fashioned and made into home, garden and office goods.

Their first, and flagship product is Terracycle Plant Food™-- . a nutritious fertilizer. It’s made entirely from organic waste materials fed to worms. When the worms chow down, their, for lack of a better term, poo is then boiled, bubbled and treated to make a rich plant super-fuel. It’s packaged in soda bottles taken from schools and offices around the country—a perfect re-use. Instead of melting down and recycling the plastic bottles, they simply adapted their filling machines to accommodate multiple sized bottles. Terracycle is the only company in the US to do this, but they won’t be the last. Re-using old containers makes economic sense and extends the life of the original plastic. Since its inception in 2001, the company has been profitable, probably because they have cut out an entire side of the typical business balance sheet—no raw materials expense.

Along with plant pots made of the plastic from old electronics, school backpacks made of used juice-paks and trash cans made from crushed computers, Terracycle co-founders Co-founders Tom Szaky and Jon Beyer are developing a fire log made from 100% waste byproduct. In the production of bio-diesel, a lot of unutilized glycerin is collected, and it’s a fantastically combustible material that doesn’t produce particulate matter or other pollutants when it burns. Combined with wood chips and shredded milk cartons, and wrapped in old newspapers—this garbage will light up the night, producing 2-3 times more heat than traditional firewood.

Your Rubbish is Someone's Gold

jkraft — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:00:00 -0400

Even though you don't want that lumpy old chair from Grandma's country house anymore, someone else might!

As any city-dweller knows, sometimes all you have to do to get rid of something is to put it out on the street where, sometimes seconds later, some opportunistic neighbor harvests your old stuff for their own use.

And they would probably be willing to pay something for your discards, too. Last year, eBay users sold and bought $52 billion worth of goods! Craigslist isn't far behind for greasing the wheels of the second-hand economy, one that is local and helps people connect in person. If you haven't set up an account on eBay, it's quick and simple and you can be selling your old items within minutes.

Of course the old-fashioned yard sale can be a quick way to liquidate your junk, and if you pad your stock with some new flashy items bought for cheap at places like Target and Costco, your customers are likely to linger and poke through all of the offerings, increasing your end-of-day profits. Wrap their purchases in leftover newspaper and used plastic bags and use the opportunity to praise them for buying secondhand-- it's the greenest way to shop. Anything left over from your sale can be taken to GoodWill or other charity shops for which you can take a big tax write-off (make sure to keep your donation receipt).

And the next time you need to buy a couch, a new coat or some knicknacks for Grandma's birthday, first check out the thrift stores and yard sales in your area before running to Macy's-- you may just find a hidden gold-mine!

Is Kiwi Fruit the Fuel of the Future?

scleaver — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0400

What’s small, fuzzy on the outside, green on the inside, and may be filling our gas tanks as well as decorating our fruit salads?

You guessed it, the kiwi fruit.

New research out of New Zealand adds kiwi fruit to the list of potential biofuels. Two companies, Scion and Zespri Innovation, are working on ways to turn the 14.5 to 15.6 million trays of kiwifruit waste produced each year into biofuels and other products, including adhesives and bioplastics, according to the New Zealand Herald. If the project pans out, kiwi refineries would be near existing kiwi processing plants and would be similar to wineries.

New Zealanders, like David Roberts, chairman of the Green Growers Association, are excited about the prospects. “The Green Growers Association has been asking for a long time for research into [a] way of using reject fruit and turning it into bio-gas makes sense,” he told the New Zealand Herald.

Here are more fun kiwi facts: the fruit is already known for its laxative, blood thining, and meat tenderizing properties.

Photo from the New Zealand Herald.

Questioning Carbon Offsets

jkraft — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 21:48:14 -0400

As everyone knows, greenhouse gases are causing Earth’s climate to change and warm, which will have catastrophic results if we do not take action now. Although the US is only 4.5 percent of the world's population, it's responsible for 25 percent of global greenhouse emissions. So as Americans, we are more responsible for reducing these emissions than other world citizens.

The concept of “offsetting carbon” lets you underwrite activities that actively reduce global CO2 emissions, thereby balancing out your personal emissions. Typically, there are four ways that they do this: 1) Carbon offsets support renewable energy projects in solar, wind and biofuel technology. 2) they promote energy efficiency in housing, lighting, heating, etc... 3) They sequester carbon using the natural photsynthesis of trees and the preservation of endangered green spaces. 4) They buy up carbon credits on the global market so that companies that are legally required to reduce their emissions are forced to do so.

In other words, because some enlightened nations have actually signed the Kyoto protocol, they are legally bound to reduce their carbon emissions by certain dates. Companies that aren’t able to meet these Kyoto emissions targets can still pollute, as long as they buy the surplus carbon credits that less-polluting companies are offering on the carbon market. But if all the carbon credits have been bought by individuals, then the companies won't be able to offset their pollution, and they'll have to develop new emissions-reduction strategies.

Some of the best offset copmanies combine poverty reduction with climate protection. For example, a 4.5 megawatt biomass power project in Malavalli, India, produces electricity with agricultural waste that used to be burned off or just left on the fields to decay. The project created 500 new fulltime jobs. And despite the ick factor, Terrapass sequesters methane—another greenhouse gas-- from dairy farms by capturing its release from manure and making fuel out of it.

Critics have likened carbon offsets to a papal indulgence, and one British parody website, Cheat Neutral likens carbon offsets to trying to deny an extramarital affair. If you just buy enough fidelity credits, they snarkily advocate, then you can cheat on your partner until the (methane-burping) cows come home. But despite its drawbacks, carbon offsetting is making a real difference in funding clean energy projects that might not have gotten off the ground otherwise.

So check them out yourself: the leaders in the field include the aforementioned Terra Pass, Live Neutral, and NativeEnergy, which is a Native American-owned company that develops farmer-owned, nonprofit renewable energy projects. Across the pond, Germany's AtmosFair, Oxford-based Climate Care and the Dutch GreenSeat are doing the most brisk business among the dozens of offsetting companies.