[Scpg] What's next? An award to Monsanto for putting up solar panels on its roof?
John Valenzuela
johnvalenzuela at hotmail.com
Fri Sep 11 02:50:40 PDT 2009
The basic question is then:
Is it good for a 'bad' business to do something good?
Is it good that WALMART is demanding all it's suppliers reduce product packaging by 50%, reducing landfill (see Adam Werbach's work there) while they displace local small businesses and don't support their workers well? I would say yes, and no.
How about some background on the Santa Barbara County Green Business Program. And what are the standards for certification?
The current Green Business Program of Santa Barbara County (GBPSBC) evolved out of the former
Green Award Consortium, which from 1994 to 2007, gave 5 awards to local organizations every year to honor exceptional environmental commitment or innovation. The original consortium consisted of the following organizations.
* Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District
* Santa Barbara County Public Works Department, Resource Recovery & Waste Management Division
* Santa Barbara County Public Works Department, Water Agency
* Santa Barbara County Association of Governments, Traffic Solutions
* Community Environmental Council
4 County governmental agencies and one environmental non-profit
Now the current GBPSBC has the following goals and objectives:
* To promote environmental ethics in Santa Barbara County by preventing and reducing the pollution of the air, water, and soil;
* To reduce consumption of our natural resources and minimize exposure to toxics;
* To help businesses integrate environmental practices into their operations in a sustainable as well as profitable manner; and
* To foster positive relationships among governmental agencies, the business community, and the public;
The goal will be to certify from 10 to 50 businesses each year as "green" businesses.
Wow, that's alot of businesses. I guess the standards can't be too strict!
See the restaurant standards from the SB County's Green Business Certification Program here:
http://www.greenbizsbc/gbp-restaurant-guidebookv2.pdf
Here is a Summary:
1. General Standards for all Businesses
Compliance Checks (health standards, stormwater, wastewater, air quality, Fire regulations)
Green Business Awareness
All above Manditory to do business in Santa Barbara County
Recertifications
2.Solid Wate Reduction and Recycling
General Waste Management, Hazardous Waste Management, Paper Waste Reduction, Other Waste Reduction
3. Environmentally Preferable Purchasing,
General Purchasing, Recyled Content Purchasing
4 Energy Conservation
Energy Mangement, Energy Conservation,
5 Water Conservation
Water Management, Water Conservation, Landscape and Irrigation
6. Pollution Prevention
General Pollution Prevention, Kitchen and Food Prep Areas, Chemical Pollution Prevention, Air Emissions Reductions
-end of summary
The details of these standards are pretty mild, nothing too radical or innovative. Cutting edge, it is not- but compared to what? What are the standards for other communities?
The reality of the actual 'greeness' of this green business program is reflected in this greatly expanded list of it's partners, made up of County and City Governments; water, and waste Agencies; Energy Utility, and Waste Corporations; and Chambers of Commerce. It still includes only one environmental nonprofit:
* City of Buellton
* City of Carpinteria
* Carpinteria Sanitary District
* Carpinteria Valley Chamber of Commerce
* Carpinteria Valley Water District
* Community Environmental Council
* Golden State Water Company
* City of Goleta
* Goleta Sanitary District
* Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce
* Goleta Water District
* Goleta West Sanitary District
* MarBorg Industries
* Montecito Sanitary District
* Pacific Gas & Electric
* City of Santa Barbara
* Santa Barbara County Energy Watch
* County of Santa Barbara Waste Reduction
* County of Santa Barbara Water Agency
* Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District
* Santa Barbara Region Chamber of Commerce
* City of Santa Maria
* Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce
* City of Solvang
* Solvang Chamber of Commerce
* South County Energy Efficiency Partnership
* Southern California Edison
* Southern California Gas Company
* Summerland Sanitary District
* Traffic Solutions
* Waste Management
You can see how the lonely environmental non-profit is now outnumbered by so many other interests. Yes, that's the Community Environmental Council, a great community based organization, now focused exclusively on eliminating the use of fossil fuels. See their web page (Resources to green your life, Business) that makes 8 suggestions for local businesses, including a mention of that waterless urinal now found at MacDonald's:
http://www.cecsb.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=121&Itemid=106
If there is a Green Business Program in the community, and the local MacD's successfully went through the process, and now is getting certified as a green business by those basic standards, big deal. Complaining about it not being green enough seems a waste to me. 'Green' has been compromised long ago, like 'Natural' was before that. Are we petitioning for higher standards for all green business certification? Do we raise the bar by creating our own, more stringent certification standards, that perhaps not many can really acheive?
This is happening with LEED standard for Green Building design (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, created by the US Green Bulding Council) taken to the next level of sustainability with 'The Living Building Challenge' created by the Cascadia Region Green Building Council.
see: http://www.ilbi.org/the-standard/version-1-3
Another example is organic farm certification. The National Organic Standards, which are being co-opted by the USDA and industry, are now just one in a variety of other standards that are now being recognized: Demeter Certification of Biodynamic Farming Methods, national standards by 'Certified Naturally Grown', or on a more local scale near Missoula MT. is 'Homegrown Standards', see: http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/100/
For me it comes down to: just being a 'Santa Barbara Co. Certified Green Business' isn't good enough, is it? But I suppose any greening is better than none. We certainly do need to address all the deeper problems: environmental, worker rights, and other community/social/health issues. The reality is that WALMART and MacD's are very successful businesses because they effectively serve the raw consumer demands (and addictions) for more and more cheap stuff. . . with true costs differed to other people, other places, and into the future. Now, people are starting to wake up and demand better choices.
My solution orientation: Let's continue to give folks better alternatives to the big boxes/fast food outlets by co-creating things, places and events which are more beautiful, delicious, healthy, diverse, efficient, productive, locally appropriate, profitable. . . emerging from, and building, better community.
Cornucopia Kitchen Gardens and Food Forests
John Valenzuela
Permaculture Services
Horticulturist, Consultant, Educator-
California, Hawai'i
phone: (415) 246-8834
e-mail: johnvalenzuela at hotmail.com
From: LBUZZELL at aol.com
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:42:30 -0400
To: Scpg at arashi.com
Subject: [Scpg] What's next? An award to Monsanto for putting up solar panels on its roof?
Green Program Certifies Five Local Businesses
[including McDonald's]
http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/article/090909_green_program_certifies_five_local_businesses/
By Frances Gilliland
The businesses are recognized for saving resources
while saving money
The Green Business Program of Santa Barbara
County announced Wednesday the certification of five local businesses,
including Movegreen in
Goleta, Santa Barbara Airbus in Goleta, Le Reve Organic Day
Spa in Santa Barbara, Silvergreens Restaurant on Chapala Street in
Santa Barbara and McDonald’s on State Street in Santa
Barbara.
The Green Business Program is a countywide effort partnering local
governments, special districts, nonprofits, utilities, chambers of commerce and
waste haulers. It offers certification for businesses in the office/retail,
restaurant, automotive and lodging sectors. In the coming year, other business
types will be added to the program.
The Green Business Program certifies businesses that go above and beyond
complying with applicable regulations and required measures to implement
additional actions in areas such as waste reduction and recycling,
environmentally preferable purchasing, energy efficiency and conservation, water
conservation, air pollution prevention and transportation using a checklist
tailored to their industry type.
The program is free, voluntary and offers assistance and incentives,
including an official Green Business certification decal and free promotion upon
completion of the required and recommended actions. The goal of the program is
to help businesses become models of sustainability, while saving money and
enhancing the environment.
“This group of businesses represents a wide range of outstanding locally
owned enterprises,” program director Frances Gilliland said. “From green
building and water conservation to biodiesel-powered trucks and educational
campaigns for customers, these companies are benefiting our community and saving
money at the same time.”
Movegreen Inc.
“The Green Business certification is great because it reinforces and supports
our business ideals and what we have fought so hard to create,” partner Patrick
Wilkinson said. “It has also helped refine our company and establish goals for
future improvements in our business services and practices.”
Movegreen is a full-service moving company in Goleta. All of Movegreen’s
trucks are new and run on B20 biodiesel, a blended fuel made of 20 percent
biodiesel and 80 percent petrodiesel. To reduce the waste of cardboard boxes and
packing supplies, such as newsprint and bubble wrap, Movegreen reuses and
recycles all packaging materials. It also offers reusable plastic containers to
eliminate the use of cardboard boxes.
Movegreen has teamed up with All Green Recycling to offer free
e-waste recycling and has partnered with the international nonprofit Trees for The
Future to plant 10 trees with every move. The company also purchases carbon
credits through CarbonFund.org to offset its greenhouse
gas emissions from the tailpipes of their trucks and the electricity consumed by
its office.
Movegreen also offers its employees innovative incentives for using
alternative methods of transportation, including a $25 rebate on the cost of a
bike purchased to commute to work.
Santa Barbara Airbus
“The program adds a new dimension to our company mission statement: ‘Improve
our customers’ lives and our community through passenger transportation
services,’” administrative manager Margaret Clemency said. “The entire staff has
embraced the challenge and new responsibilities with a zeal that delivers
benefits far exceeding the costs.”
Santa Barbara Airbus, based in Goleta, is
a transportation company that provides day trips, charters and scheduled service
to LAX and other regional destinations. Each full bus or van takes cars off the
roads, thereby reducing traffic and vehicle emissions.
The staff has embraced the Green Business Program by implementing measures in
all areas of their operations. An Eco-Power Brush is used to decrease water use
when washing the buses, and biodegradable soap also is used. In addition, the
staff can earn cash rewards for using alternate forms of transportation, and
Airbus participates in Traffic Solutions programs to
provide Emergency Ride Home services to employees who ride-share.
To encourage employees to ride bicycles to work, Airbus provides on-site bike
storage and shower and locker facilities. The company actively works to reduce
the amount of paper it uses and has redesigned its day-trip calendar from a
10-page glossy newsletter to a two-sided leaflet. Airbus employees are required
to recycle everything possible, including scrap metal, and they run a recycling
program for passengers.
Le Reve Organic Day Spa & Boutique
“The benefits of becoming a certified Green Business include the obvious as
far as saving money on utilities, and then the bigger benefits like being able
to spread the word, be part of a like-minded community, educate and having that
great feeling of being pro active and making a difference at Le Reve, in our
homes and in our world,” owner Shannon Neels said.
Le Reve was founded on the
philosophy of choosing organic and biodynamic products. It offers a range of
skin-care products and services, and the staff is dedicated to green purchasing,
including all paper products used in the spa and in promotional materials.
The spa has switched to compostable water cups, and is continuously looking
for new and better containers and packaging. Employees recycle all possible
materials, and have recycling bins inside the spa to make recycling easy for
clients and staff. As they update and remodel their space, they are using
FSC-certified wood as well as salvaged materials. Le Reve employees are
encouraged to bike, carpool, bus or walk to work and can earn one paid vacation
day per year by achieving goals set forth in the transportation program.
Silvergreens, 791 Chapala St.
“Even though completing the certification was a great milestone for us as a
company and restaurant, there are always areas to improve and learn more about
making economically sound choices and sustainable business practices,” operating
partner Brian Rocha said. “The Green Business Program helps in being this local
resource for us, and that support serves as a great asset to our team.”
Silvergreens is a locally owned restaurant with a goal “to be involved,
contribute and give back to our community.” The restaurant was designed to Built
Green Santa Barbara standards, and achieved its highest certification rating of
three stars.
The restaurant’s tabletops are made from local, reclaimed wood from fallen
trees. Much of the food-service equipment and appliances are Energy Star certified,
and Silvergreens utilizes lighting systems that are energy efficient. The
restaurant also has eliminated the use of Styrofoam to-go containers, uses
biodegradable products and features organic coffee from local coffee roaster Green Star
Coffee.
Management also developed a Commuter Benefit Package for their associates,
featuring a prize raffle for those who use alternative transportation and
offering pre-purchased bus passes to employees who choose to ride the bus to
work.
McDonald’s, 3940 State St.
“Many small efforts can make a big impact, and we are proud of the results we
have achieved through our partnership with the Green Business Program,” owner
David Peterson said. “Our staff is learning at work what they can do in their
personal lives to continue to make a difference, and we hope to set an example
for other businesses in our community.”
Peterson and his staff have upgraded many fixtures in the restrooms,
including installing waterless urinals, and have upgraded the irrigation system,
thereby realizing significant monthly water savings. Energy-saving measures
include installing new, energy-efficient hand dryers and an Energy Star ice
machine. New recycling containers have been placed in front of and behind the
counter. Used cooking oil is collected by a local company to be converted to
biodiesel. Employees also now participate in a ride-sharing program that
includes raffle prizes for those who don’t drive alone to work.
Click here for
more information and to view a list of all certified Green Businesses.
— Frances Gilliland is program director of the Green Business Program of Santa Barbara
County.
http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/article/090909_green_program_certifies_five_local_businesses/
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