Panel Explores Green Business Solutions

For the small business owner at a loss about how to adopt greener business practices, the Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) Thursday held a panel entitled “Green Solutions For Small Businesses,” sponsored by Con Edison.

The panel was moderated by Debera Johnson, the director of Pratt Design Incubator for Sustainable Innovation, and the Academic Dean of Sustainability at Pratt. Panelists were Catherine Barton, founder of NYIRN’s (New York Industrial Retention Network) Spec it Green educational series and member of Green Depot’s advisory board; MaryEllen Etienne, managing director of Reuse Alliance New York; and Paul Mankiewicz, director of Gaia Institute.

Presentations by Johnson and the panelists were followed by a question and answer session. Some of the themes most emphasized by the group were investigating and thinking about the entire life of a product, reusing unwanted materials and investing in green technologies.

Johnson spoke about Pratt’s recently launched Center for Sustainable Design Studies (CSDS), which educates students about sustainable practices, provides innovation workshops and helps launch start-up businesses from alumni. One of those start-up businesses, Johnson said, creates household items out of discarded pieces of wood.

“This is a really interesting model, I think it’s relevant to every one of us in terms of rethinking the life cycle of products and services,” she explained. “We have to think about what happened before it got into my hand and what happens after it leaves my hand... it’s a really great decision making tool of how you bring products into your environment.”

Barton touched on this theme as well, giving the example of a company that supplied building materials for the Bank of America tower in Manhattan, which is on track to achieve LEED platinum certification. Because of this goal, the packaging from the building materials would have to be diverted from a landfill. In response, that company created reusable packaging crates that they now use exclusively. The $14 million they were spending to take care of the packaging waste turned into $2.5 million maintenance costs.

In addition to choosing products after examining their entire life cycle, it’s also important to make sure products are what they claim to be. Barton spoke about greenwashing and emphasized truthful business practices.

“Be clear and truthful, both with yourself and the people that you represent your products and services to about who your company is and what your goals are,” she said. “Really try, if possible not to overstate.” Many companies that produce green products sometimes use heightened language to describe them. A good way to weed out those products is to educate yourself about the different certification processes and labels. Barton explained that Greenseal, Rugmark, FSC, Greenguard, Energy Star, Watersense and LEED are all trustworthy labels.

Being aware and knowledgeable about the products you use in your business is good, but reusing those products and materials is even better. Etienne is the program director of an online service called NY Waste Match, where members post materials they don’t want anymore, giving it to someone else who might need it.

“Businesses find homes for things they no longer need,” she said. “It’s a very valuable thing for start-ups.” This “matchmaking” system, as she called it, is beneficial because it saves businesses money and diverts waste materials from landfills.

One NY Waste Match product is OROE, the Office of Recycling Outreach and Education, part of CENYC (the Council on the Environment of New York City). “We outfitted them with an entire office,” said Etienne.

“Always reuse first,” she added. “Where you can’t, try to find a place to recycle.”

Mankiewicz, as director of the Gaia Institute, works with the relationship between humans and the environment, developing soil for green roofs and increasing the number of community gardens and trees in the city. While new green technologies, such as green roofs and solar panels, are pricey right now, he said, “the horizon is good. The technology is just getting there... the more we build, the better off we are.”

Small businesses taking steps like these will have an impact on the environment. Diverting waste from landfills will reduce greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere, and increasing the city’s tree canopy and green spaces will also reduce emissions.

“It will drop the body temperature of the city,” Mankiewicz said. “We will see this almost immediately.”

“There are tremendous opportunities in the green economy,” Barton said. “I like to think of it as the triple bottom line: the social benefits, the environmental benefits and the economic benefits. I encourage you to look for conversations about sustainability because it’s really more than just the environment, it’s about the whole community.”

Photo above left to right: panel moderator Debera Johnson, director of Pratt’s Design Incubator for Sustainable Innovation; panelist MaryEllen Etienne, managing director of Reuse Alliance New York; Stuart Leffler, manager of Economic Development at Con Edison; and panelist Paul Mankiewicz, director of Gaia Institute.

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'New Views' Greenway Party a Success Despite Weather

Just got this from my friends over at the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative (BGI):

Over 200 supporters of the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway came together on June 18th at IKEA’s Erie Basin Park in Red Hook to celebrate the Greenway’s progress and to recognize three honorees, all of whom have been instrumental in moving the greenway forward this year.

New Views 2009, the annual benefit hosted by Brooklyn Greenway Initiative (BGI), was saved from the weather by quick action from the IKEA staff and BGI volunteers, who moved the entire event under the garage next to the new Greenway segment at Erie Basin Park. Rain and wind had ripped two tents and left standing water at the original event site two hours before it started.

Despite the weather, the evening was characterized by good humor. Jon Orcutt, Senior Policy Advisor to NYC DOT Commissioner Jeanette Sadik-Khan, introduced Christopher O. Ward, Executive Director of the Port Authority by saying, “I bet this is the first time Chris Ward was honored in a parking garage.” Mr. Ward, who during a prior tenure at the Port Authority was instrumental in helping the Greenway said, “I was involved in this project 15 years ago. I had no idea then that it would become as big as it has.” Mr. Ward and the Port Authority were recognized for making additional space available for the Greenway along Degraw and Van Brunt Streets.

Jeannette Nigro, Vice President for Economic Development of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce recognized IKEA Brooklyn and Mike Baker, Store Manager, on behalf of Carl Hum, the Chamber’s president. Ms. Nigro said, “We commend IKEA, Mike Baker, their entire team, the community residents who make up the IKEA staff, and Brooklyn Greenway Initiative for their investment in the Brooklyn waterfront, making it one of the most progressive green neighborhoods for residents and businesses in Brooklyn.” IKEA’s 6-acre Erie Basin Park, designed by landscape architect Lee Weintraub, includes a section of the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway.

Teresa Toro, Transportation Committee Chair of Community Board 1 and one of last year’s honorees, introduced Paul Steely White, Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives (TA). She said, “TA Brooklyn Committee members play a major role in the efforts to improve the Pulaski Bridge, to implement the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway in Greenpoint and Williamsburg, to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists, to promote best practices for sharing the streets to all users and to minimize cuts in transit services for communities with limited transit options.” Mr. White acknowledged BGI by saying, “If all of our community partners were like Brooklyn Greenway Initiative, we’d have it all done by now.”

New Views 2009 honorees received an autographed copy of Walking Brooklyn by Adrienne Onofri, as well as a complete kit for repairing bicycle flat tires donated by R&A Cycles. Recycle-a-Bicycle also donated a BMX bike that was raffled off at the end of the evening.

The Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway is now a NYC DOT project. Preliminary design and engineering is expected to begin this year using federal funding secured by Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez. When complete, the greenway will be a 14-mile continuous landscaped route with separate paths for pedestrians and cyclists. Funding for planning the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway is provided by the New York Department of State Division of Coastal Resources with funds provided under Title 11 of the Environmental Protection Fund. The NYS funding is sponsored by the Office of Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz.

BGI also announced the release of the second edition of A User’s Guide to the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway. Major funding for the greenway guide was provided by the J. M. Kaplan Fund, Independence Community Foundation, and Brownstoner. The guide is free and it can be requested by going to BGI’s website: www.brooklyngreenway.org.

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Climate Week NYC Coming in September

The Eagle received this press release:

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg; the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon; Steve Howard, CEO of The Climate Group; and Paul Dickinson, CEO of the Carbon Disclosure Project, today announced Climate Week NYC, a five-day program of events being held throughout New York City from September 21 – 25 that will address the urgent need for action on climate change.

The Climate Group, an international organization that brings governments and businesses together to tackle climate change, will serve as the secretariat for the Climate Week NYC activities, which will focus on carbon emission reduction, alternative energy, LED lighting and super grids. As a member of the HSBC Climate Partnership, The Climate Group works with New York and other world cities to accelerate low carbon development.

“This fall, our City will be honored not only to host the annual UN General Assembly, but also to enthusiastically support Climate Week NYC and the summit on climate change on September 22. The summit will spotlight the urgent need for action, both to slow the pace of climate change, and also to adapt to the environmental effects of global warming that are already underway,” said Mayor Bloomberg.

“We are far beyond the point of debate over whether climate change is real,” said Secretary-General Ban. “I have seen the impacts of climate change first-hand. I have met families whose crops have been withered by droughts. Billions of people are at risk. Never before has there been such universal acknowledgement that now is the time for decisive action. And just as we have collectively contributed to the creation of this problem, we must also collectively implement solutions. I commend the Climate Group for creating a dynamic platform through which the public, organizations and private business can participate in this process in a direct and meaningful way.”

The event will coincide with the opening of the United Nations General Assembly. Mr. Ban announced that he is inviting all world leaders for a one-day summit on global climate change on September 22, a day before the opening of the general debate of the UN General Assembly. Over a hundred leaders are expected to participate and provide political impetus and direction to the ongoing intergovernmental negotiations to reach agreement on a new climate deal in Copenhagen in December.

The United Nations Foundation is a vital member of the Climate Week NYC team, working to connect a diverse array of advocacy groups with their counterparts in the UN system in order to jointly push for a new climate deal in Copenhagen.

The Climate Group is launching a Web site, www.climateweeknyc.org, that will be updated regularly with details on descriptions, locations and times of events, and information on how the public can participate or attend. Some events will be coordinated directly by The Climate Group, while others will be organized by other partner organizations. Organizations that wish to have their events partnered with Climate Week NYC can call can call Callum Grieve at 646.233.0552, or e-mail him at cgrieve@theclimategroup.org.

“Influential US partnerships and smarter choices will be critical to tackling global warming and setting the world on a pathway to a prosperous low carbon future,” said Steve Howard, CEO of The Climate Group. “As world leaders gather in New York, Climate Week NYC will let everyone know that the time for change is now.”

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Con Ed Power Breakfast This Week

This Thursday, June 25, at the Brooklyn Public Library's Business Library, Con Edison will sponsor a "Power Breakfast," in which a panel of environmental experts will discuss innovative and affordable business practices.

Panelists will be Catherine Barton, Spec it Green; MaryEllen Etienne, NYC Materials Exchange Development Program; Debera Johnson, Pratt Design Incubator for Sustainable Innovation; and Paul Mankiewicz, the Gaia Institute.

The breakfast will start at 8:30 and run until 10:30. To register, visit www.biz.brooklynpubliclibrary.org or call (718) 623-7000 and select option 4.

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A Reason to Recycle

For people skeptical of recycling, here's a message from an expert:

"There's a link between recycling and climate change. Everything that goes in a landfill is creating methane," says Julie Walsh, assistant director of the Council on the Environment of New York City (CENYC).

After carbon dioxide, methane is the greenhouse gas that has the highest impact on global warming. So when you choose to recycle, you know that diverting those materials from a landfill will help reduce global warming. Of course, it's always best to reduce your garbage.

"Recycling is good, but waste prevention is even better," Walsh noted.

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NYC Carbon Counter

Have you ever wondered just how much greenhouse gases are contributing to global warming? Crain's New York reports that a 70-foot-high billboard is outside Madison Square Garden and Penn Station, and will track in real time the growing amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The sign uses low-energy light, offset by carbon credits and is sponsored by Deutsche Bank.

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Coalition Convenes to Bring NYC to Fore of Emerging Green Economy

The Eagle received the following press release:

For over a year, more than 170 organizations have worked together to put forward a just and comprehensive workforce development strategy to prepare New Yorkers for green collar jobs. The multi-stakeholder campaign, the Green Collar Jobs Roundtable, met for its third convening Thursday to celebrate its work and launch the next phase of its dynamic process.

“We are very humbled by the great work done by so many important organizations invested in the future of our City,” said Joanne Derwin, Executive Director of Urban Agenda, convener of the Roundtable campaign. ”This was not only a truly grassroots process, but a unique undertaking, and the culmination of a lot of hard work over a sustained period of time. The breadth and depth of the process has helped identify several salient recommendations to ensure that all New Yorkers can benefit from the emerging green economy.”

The Roundtable process has tapped the collective knowledge of green employers, unions, workforce development providers, and environmental and environmental justice groups to chart a Green Jobs Roadmap — a blueprint that articulates specific, targeted steps to direct the City towards a comprehensive, coordinated, citywide strategy to train New Yorkers for green collar jobs. The Roadmap is due to be released in the fall, and will be shared with mayoral and city council candidates in the upcoming election.

“Just look at the size and diversity of this group,” said Ed Ott, Chair of the New York City Apollo Alliance, “we all share a common goal of creating good, green collar jobs that pay family sustaining wages, build sustainability, and create pathways out of poverty for all New Yorkers.”

“This is the moment to act," he added, "the Roundtable represents the best shot we have to show what’s right for workers and good for business, to talk about government’s role and bring communities’ voices to the table.”

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