st. louis green business challenge sustainable business ... · develop a sustainability policy...
TRANSCRIPT
April 11, 2012
St. Louis Green Business
Challenge
Sustainable Business
Advantage Program
Sustaining Sponsor
Contributing Sponsors
• Introductions
• Explaining the Sustainable Business Advantage Program
• Developing a Culture of Sustainability
• Energy Reduction Strategies
• Waste Reduction Strategies
• Closing Announcements
Agenda
4/11/2013 4
Sustainability Means Business
The Triple Bottom Line
4/11/2013 5
• Two in-depth seminars on integrating sustainability into operations
• Complete Menu of Sustainable Policies and Accomplishments by August 15
• Support from EarthWays Center Staff – ongoing by phone and email
• Join in special events with Green Business Challenge Network
– Energy Efficiency Seminar – May 30
– Green Products and Services EXPO - Sept 25
• Access to best practice resources
– Catalogued at www.stlouisgreenchallenge.com
• Recognition in Green Business Challenge Award Ceremony
Sustainable Business Advantage Program
• Site Management Policies
– Form a company-wide Green Team across all
company functions
– Complete a sustainability policy for your company
and share it with your employees, vendors, and
supply chain
– Establish a company-approved no-idling plan at
your dock and driveway
– Establish a company-approved no-smoking policy
for indoors and on campus or outside of building
Sustainability Policies
Form a Green Team • Benefits include:
– Broad-based stakeholder involvement
– Take advantage of employee interests and skills
– Divide up tasks
– Sustain processes and knowledge over time, and through
personnel changes
• Choose a champion to lead
• Secure management support
• Work with your facility or property manager
– Consider teaming up with neighboring businesses
Develop a Sustainability Policy
• Focus on your existing strengths
• Define priorities that work for your company now
– Look for potentials to grow your policy over time
• Secure company owner or CEO endorsement
• Incorporate sustainability guidelines into routine employee
training
• Craft a policy that motivates improvement
• Adapt models shared by Green Challenge companies
• Share your policy with your vendors and supply chain!
Establish a No-Idling Policy for your site
Exhaust from idling vehicles can accumulate and pose a health risk to employees, drivers, and the community at large. Consider issuing a no-idling policy for company vehicles and for any vehicle on company property.
Establish a Smoke-Free Workplace
– Distribute sustainability education materials or classes for
your employees at the workplace and at home
– Provide a sustainability education workshop or program
for staff
– Install pervious pavers, rain gardens or native landscaping
to reduce stormwater runoff and/or increase biodiversity
– Conduct a commuting audit and reduce the percentage of
employees commuting to work in single-occupancy
vehicles by 10% during Small Business Advantage
program timeframe.
– Complete a greenhouse gas inventory or carbon footprint
documentation for your company
Sustainable Accomplishments: Site
Encourage Employee Green Learning
– Distribute sustainability education materials or classes for your
employees at the workplace and at home
– Develop a “Green Tips” page on your company website
– Provide a sustainability education workshop or program for staff –
there are lots of good presentation options are available in our region
– many at no charge!
– EarthWays Center
– St. Louis Audubon Society - St. Louis Master Gardeners – St.
Louis Master Naturalists
– Trailnet - Ridefinders
– US Green Building Council Speakers’ Bureau
Encourage Employee Green Learning
– Engage in community-greening volunteer activities
• St. Louis Cardinals “4 A Greener Game
• St. Louis Earth Day – Recycling on the Go
• Operation Clean Stream – Missouri River Relief
• Forest ReLeaf of Missouri tree-planting and distribution
Make Your Company’s Site Water-Efficient
• Implement RainScaping measures:
– Pervious paving
– Rain garden or other constructed feature
– Native plant landscaping
• Benefits include:
– Reduced stormwater runoff & sewer bills
– Reduced landscape maintenance costs
– Increased biodiversity
New! from Missouri Botanical Garden
RainScaping Guide
Find a complete set of RainScaping planning resources at
www.mobot.org/rainscaping
Developed by Deer Creek Watershed Alliance - a project of Missouri Botanical Garden
Rain Gardens
Rain Barrels for Low-Tech, Low-Cost Water Conservation
. . . makes & sells
Rain Barrels from
reclaimed soda
syrup and car
wash soap
containers!
www.riverdesperes.org
River Des
Peres
Watershed
Coalition . . .
Green Infrastructure
Plant-Based Solutions
to the Problems of Paving
Hi-Tech Rainwater Conservation Parking Lots
Pervious
Concrete
Porous Asphalt
“Grass-Crete”
More
RainScaping
Options:
Pervious Paving
Native & Adapted Plants
www.grownative.org
Shaw Nature Reserve Native Plant Sale – First Weekend in May!
www.shawnature.org
Backyard Greening resources for habitat vitality
www.stlouisaudubon.org/BCH
Plant Natives – Remove Invasive Plants
Reduce Your Company’s Carbon Footprint
– Conduct a commuting audit and reduce the percentage of employees commuting to
work in single-occupancy vehicles by 10% during Advantage timeframe
Reduce Your Company’s Carbon Footprint
– Complete a greenhouse gas inventory or carbon
footprint documentation for your company
• www.epa.gov/climateleaders/smallbiz/footprint.html
• www.coolclimate.berkeley.edu/business-calculator
• www.empowermentinstitute.net
– The Low-Carbon Diet: Lose 1500 pounds in 30 days
• Global Reporting Initiative
• Energy Reduction Policies
– Establish a 10% company-approved energy
reduction plan
– Complete a lighting audit to identify energy
conservation potentials
– Develop a policy to purchase only ENERGY
STAR-rated computers, office equipment and
kitchen equipment
Sustainability Policies
• Demonstrate a 10% or greater reduction in
energy consumption from last year’s same
4-month time period
• Replace 10% of low-efficiency lighting with
high efficiency lighting such as compact
fluorescent or T-8 or LED lamps
• Make use of utility or other efficiency
incentives to improve business’ overall
energy efficiency
• Install on-site renewable energy or
purchase renewable energy credits
Sustainable Accomplishments - Energy
Energy $aving $trategies
From Chris Laughman of
• Waste Management Policies
– Establish a 10% company-approved waste reduction plan
– Complete a green purchasing policy addressing at least one of the
following: office paper, janitorial paper and cleaning supplies, or
catering services
Sustainability Policies
Green Purchasing – Model Guidelines Missouri Botanical Garden will give priority to purchases that meet at least
one of the criteria below. Purchases are encouraged to meet as many criteria
as possible:
• Purchases contain at least 10% post-consumer or 20% post-industrial material
• Purchases contain at least 50% rapidly renewable material (planted and harvested
in less than 10 years – see FSC website below for more information)
• Purchases contain at least 50% materials harvested and processed or extracted
and processed within 500 miles of the Garden
• The purchases consist of at least 50% Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified
paper products
• Batteries are rechargeable
• Office copy paper should always contain 100% post-consumer material.
• Janitorial paper products should always contain 100% post-consumer material
• Also consider chlorine free paper and batteries that have low levels or mercury
and heavy metals. Web-sites that may help identify products that meet these criteria include:
• The EPA Database - The Forest Stewardship Council – www.fsc.org
• Green Seal – www.greenseal.org – www.responsiblepurchasing.org
• Demonstrate a 10% or greater reduction in office paper landfill
waste (i.e. reduced use or consumption, increased recycling)
during the Small Business Advantage program timeframe
• Install recycling and/or composting collection sites throughout the
workplace
• Eliminate Styrofoam in your company’s kitchen supplies and work
with your office supply vendor to reduce styrofoam packaging.
• Eliminate plastic bottles for use in corporate meeting and events
and replace with refillable serving options ( pitchers & glasses)
• Convert to use of a minimum 30% recycled paper content for
office paper or janitorial paper products
Sustainable Accomplishments - Waste
The Original Solar Energy System - efficiently operated & maintained by PLANTS!
Sustainability Core Concept #1 – Nature As Knowledge Base
Sustainability Core Concept #2 – We Live in an Interconnected System of Systems
Sustainability Core Concept #3 – It All Goes Around & It All Comes Around
Zero Waste Sustainability Core Concept #4 – WASTE = FOOD
Sustainability Means Business
The Triple Bottom Line
4/11/2013 43
• Organize your Green Team
• Identify your company’s most efficient & effective options
• Contact EarthWays Center for support and advice
• [email protected] - 314-577-0246
• Attend May 30th Energy Efficiency Seminar with speakers:
– Ameren Act On Energy Incentive Program
– Laclede Gas Company Energy Incentives
– Graybar Lighting Savings Information
– St. Louis County SAVES Energy Efficiency Loan Program
• Refresher seminar TBD for late June-early July
Next Steps
Thank you for participating in the St. Louis Green Business Challenge Sustainable Business Advantage!