Green Plus

Lube Stop Receives Green Plus™ Certification

Lube Stop — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 16:33:42 +0000

Company is the First Quick Oil Change Company in the Country to Achieve Certification

(Berea, Ohio – September 1, 2010) Lube Stop receives Green Plus™ Certification from the Institute of Sustainable Development for its innovative and sustainable business, environmental, and community-focused practices. Lube Stop is the first quick oil change company in United States and the second company in Ohio to achieve Green Plus Certification.

Green Plus Certification is a rigorous certification and education program that certifies small businesses and nonprofit organizations in the areas of triple bottom line sustainability. The points-based certification process includes an 86-question online diagnostic survey, a customized evaluation and planning process, thorough document review and verification, and a site audit.

“Lube Stop’s innovations – which save money and protect its hometown environment – have made it one of the first auto-related businesses in the country to achieve Green Plus Certification,” said Chris Carmody, executive director of the Institute for Sustainable Development. “Lube Stop is a national leader in demonstrating how doing the right thing by one’s community and environment is also good business,” Carmody concluded.

Lube Stop began the Green Plus certification process in January 2010 and achieved certification in seven months. The company adopted several new sustainability practices based on the diagnostic survey results and the requirements of the certification process. Specifically, a company-wide recycling program was developed with Republic Services and Allied Waste eliminating 75% of the company’s waste stream, several practices were implemented at the new corporate headquarters including low-VOC paint and Interface flooring, and 30% post-consumer recycled paper was adopted company-wide at no additional cost.

“According to a 2009 Grail Research report, 93% of consumers find a company’s sustainability practices important to their purchasing decision,” said Tom Morley, president of Lube Stop. “Green Plus is the standard for small business sustainability recognition and certification, a certification that will grow increasingly important as more and more small businesses try to position themselves as ‘green.’”

About Green Plus: The Green Plus™ program helps educate and certify small businesses and nonprofit organizations in the areas of triple bottom line sustainability (people, planet, and performance). As the flagship program of the Institute for Sustainable Development, Green Plus™ focuses on an organization’s policies and procedures and therefore applies to businesses across sectors and industries. Green Plus is the official small and medium sized enterprise sustainability program of the American Chamber of Commerce Executives comprised of 1,300 members nationally.

About The Lube Stop, Inc.:  Lube Stop helped revolutionize the oil change concept in 1985. Today, Lube Stop is Ohio’s largest independent quick oil change company, operating 37 Lube Stop locations in Cleveland, Akron, and Canton, and services more than 25,000 customers a month. Lube Stop is now spearheading the adoption of sustainable business practices within the industry and is the first quick oil change company to establish a formal sustainability program and to offer a re-refined oil change service which it trademarked as EcoGuard®. Visit LubeStop.com to learn more.

Banks, Insurance companies, backing away from environmentally risky business

Chris Carmody — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:57:27 +0000

Consumers are demanding ‘green’ products from what they consider to be responsible companies. Large buyers (notably Wal-Mart), are demanding higher environmental standards from their suppliers in order to reduce costs and socially responsible business practices to burnish their image and avoid bad press. Now banks and insurance companies are giving companies another reason to go green and sustainable: Liability.

In Lenders Back Off of Environmental Risks, Tom Zeller Jr. writes for the New York Times, “After years of legal entanglements arising from environmental messes and increased scrutiny of banks that finance the dirtiest industries, several large commercial lenders are taking a stand on industry practices that they regard as risky to their reputations and bottom lines.”

Zack Phillips of Business Insurance recently wrote about a parallel development: environmental law suits aimed specifically at company directors and officers: “At the same time, disclosure requirements related to greenhouse gas emissions are increasing, legal observers say. An Oct. 27 bulletin from the Securities and Exchange Commission reversed a previous agency rule and allows shareholders to request information about financial risks from social and environmental issues, including climate change.”

The bottom line? Just as customers and large buyers want to reward businesses for green and responsible behavior, banks and insurance companies do not want to be liable – financially or otherwise – for negative environmental and social practices.

Here’s a further excerpt from the New York Times piece discussing how Wells Fargo, Credit Suisse,Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citibank, Royal Bank of Canada and others are pulling back from businesses whose operations may be creating environmental hazards – and therefore liabilities – for lenders.

“In the most recent example, the banking giant Wells Fargo noted last month what it called “considerable attention and controversy” surrounding mountaintop removal mining, and said that its involvement with companies engaged in it was “limited and declining.”

The bank was a small player in the sector, representing about $78 million in bonds and loan financing for such companies from 2008 to April of this year, according to data compiled by the Rainforest Action Network, an environmental group tracking the issue.

But the policy shift by Wells Fargo follows others over the last two years, including moves by Credit Suisse,Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase,Bank of America and Citibank, to increase scrutiny of lending to companies involved in mountaintop removal — or to end the lending altogether.

HSBC, which is based in London, has curtailed its relationships with some producers of palm oil, which is often linked to deforestation in developing countries. The Dutch lender Rabobank has applied a nine-point checklist of conditions for would-be oil and gas borrowers that includes commitments to improve environmental performance and protect water quality.” For the full piece by Tom Zeller Jr. for the New York Times, please click here.

Institute for Sustainable Development

www.gogreenplus.org

Performance + People = Profit at Asheville’s Highland Brewing Co.

Green Plus — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 07:00:09 +0000

Green Plus isn’t only about environmental practices: It’s about combining planet + people + performance to bring about sustainable prosperity. Christopher Gergen and Stephen Martin cover how Asheville, N.C., based Highland Brewing Co.’s smart management keeps the beer rolling out and profits rolling in.

“The brewing business, though, can be brutal with its relentless competition, long hours and expensive capital investments. (Owner Oscar) Wong needed an edge. He found it by fully tapping into the individual talents of his people and, more important, getting them to work together. Though Highland has only 20 employees, its core team of leaders has stuck with the company since the late 1990s. Several of them started out as interns or entry-level workers before gradually moving into senior positions.

They learned about the importance of collaboration from day one through an experience all Highland employees share: short rotations through each of the company’s divisions. A new employee in accounting, for instance, will spend two or three weeks on the production floor.All employees steep themselves in the realities of inventory control, packaging and distribution.

“This is a small company,” Wong says. “It’s important to have them learn what goes on in the other groups, so they really understand the business and can pitch in if someone goes on vacation.”

Click here for the full article by Christopher Gergen and Stephen Martin for the News & Observer.

The Institute for Sustainable Development

www.gogreenplus.org

COSE Offers Cash Prizes (Up to $10,000) and Green Plus membership – in its ‘Power Up Your Small Business’ Challenge

Council of Smaller Enterprises and Greater Cleveland Partnership — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 07:00:11 +0000

Please click here for the full blog post by COSE’s Director of Energy Programs, Nicole Stika.

“I am curious….how much energy is your small business using and what have you done in the past 12 months to green it up? I know that increasing energy costs are among one of the top priorities and problems facing small business owners today. With short and long-term benefits implementing energy efficient business practices CAN and DO have a positive effect on your bottom line.

COSE is embarking on a piece of research that will outline opportunities for small businesses to implement energy efficiency programs that will provide returns greater than expenses in a relatively short time. In addition, it will bring to light gaps for further assistance in the marketplace.

But, here’s the more exciting news. COSE is launching its first Energy Efficiency Challenge specifically for small businesses. We believe that as the market begins to reward companies, large and small, for energy efficient practices, pressure for energy efficiency in B-to-B and B-to-C transactions will begin to increase. Providing the small business community with the tools and resources they need to ensure that they are ahead of the curve while managing a positive bottom line is critical. So, we want to reward small businesses for any energy efficiency project you may have taken on to reduce your energy and improve your bottom line.

I am pleased to say that we have some great prizes to give away too.

One grand prize winner will be awarded $10,000. Cash prizes will also be awarded for the following sectors: goods and services, office/retail and home-business. The grand prize winner may not also be a sector winner. In addition, winners will receive a free one year COSE membership and a free one year registration to Green Plus™. Green Plus is a green and sustainable certification and education program that is designed specifically for small and medium sized businesses. It gives employers affordable, practical support in succeeding financially while being good to their environment, employees and community.

The cash prizes are as follows:

$10,000 – overall prize winner

$2,500 – goods and services sector

$2,500 – office/retail sector

$1,500 – home business sector

So what are you waiting for? Nominate your company today and keep your fingers crossed that your name is called to the stage on October 20-21 at the 2010 COSE Small Business Conference to receive your award.

Posted by:Nicole Stika

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The Institute of Sustainable Development

www.gogreenplus.org

About the Next American City Challenge

Green Plus — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 17:59:23 +0000

How is your city addressing the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century? Is it developing transportation alternatives to the car? Is it rehabilitating vacant properties and preparing for demographic shifts and economic changes? Are you and your friends creating innovative ways to engage your fellow citizens and encourage others to experience your city?

Next American City, in association with IBM’s Smarter Cities Scan, invites you to join us in exploring the future of cities. For the next 30 days, we challenge you to tell us why your city deserves to be called the Next American City. Tell us why you live in the Next American City by responding to the following question:

How is your city sharing data, engaging its citizens and planning for demographic shifts and other challenges? You can submit a post right on the Tumblr site, send it via email to smartercities@tumblr.com, or if you have a Tumblr site, just tag it “nac” and we’ll reblog it from your site to the Smarter Cities Scan.

You can write about your own projects and ideas, or highlight the work of another individual or group. You can post video accounts of progress in your city, or upload photos of exciting spaces and events. From a creative personal project to a large-scale plan, we want to share your efforts to make your city better. The authors of the 3 most popular posts, based on the number of “likes” received, will win a free, year-long subscription to Next American City. The city that gets the most posts will be features in an article on our website.

A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2003, Next American City promotes socially and environmentally sustainable economic growth in America’s cities and examines how and why our built environment, economy, society, and culture are changing. We publish a quarterly magazine, maintain an website that is updated daily, coordinate an emerging urban leaders program, host events across the country, and advocate for issues central to the future of cities. To learn more, visit www.americancity.org.

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The Institute for Sustainable Development partners with Next American City and Partners for Livable Communities to recognize the Green Plus Sustainable City of the Year Award.

www.gogreenplus.org

Combined Heat and Power Investments Receive Tax Credits in North Carolina

Kirsten Hausman — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 14:28:41 +0000

“Investments in Combined Heat and Power (CHP) systems are now eligible for North Carolina’s 35 percent renewable energy tax credit for the first time, thanks to House Bill 1829 which was signed into law by Governor Perdue this month. This new incentive will help North Carolina citizens and businesses invest in more efficient and sustainable energy sources.”

“In the United States, most electricity is generated at a central utility power plant, and separate heating and cooling equipment is used on-site in homes and buildings. In contrast, CHP (also known as cogeneration) systems generate electricity and thermal energy in a single, integrated system. Heat that would be otherwise be rejected in traditional separate generation of electric energy, is captured with CHP and used for heating or cooling processes in industry or buildings. The total fuel efficiency of these integrated systems can reach 80 percent, much greater than the 35 percent average from separate systems. A CHP system can reduce the carbon emissions from power and heat generation
over 50 percent, with significant NOx and SOx emission reductions as well.”

Click here to read the rest of the article by Shannon Helm from the North Carolina Solar Center.

‘Social responsibility doesn’t have to hurt profits’

Green Plus — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 12:00:19 +0000

By Christopher Gergen and Stephen Martin for the News & Observer: “Today, there are sophisticated assessments to help entrepreneurs, consumers and investors alike measure how socially responsible a company really is. One tool is the Institute for Sustainable Development’s Green Plus program. Born out of UNC, Duke and local chambers of commerce, Green Plus has been adopted by more than 160 businesses in 12 states.” Please click here for the full story in the News & Observer.

The Institute for Sustainable Development

www.gogreenplus.org

Green Plus™ Connects Sustainability, Prosperity For Small Businesses and Communities

Chris Carmody — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 10:30:02 +0000




Green Plus™ works with Cleveland, Ohio, & the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center to Connect Sustainability with Economic Opportunity for small business in low wealth urban and rural communities
The Institute for Sustainable Development's mission is to democratize triple bottom line sustainability -- making it accessible to smaller employers and their communities -- and to foster a new generation of sustainability leaders. Through its Green Plus™ program, the Institute helps small businesses from across the geographic and economic spectrum - urban, suburban, and rural - improve their bottom lines and their communities.
In 2006, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill commissioned a business plan from Center for Sustainable Enterprise at the Kenan-Flagler School of Business to create Green Plus™ -- a scalable, affordable process to help smaller enterprises throughout the U.S. understand and benefit from triple bottom line sustainability. The Institute for Sustainable Development's early partners saw that very large organizations had resources to adopt and benefit from sustainable practices - but that most Americans work for smaller enterprises. The Institute for Sustainable Development partners with the American Chamber of Commerce Executives and universities throughout the country to offer smaller enterprises affordable access to sustainable business practice education.
The Institute is working with public and non-profit partners to extend economic opportunities to small businesses committed to sustainability through greater access to markets and capital. The City of Cleveland, the Greater Cleveland Partnership / Council of Smaller Enterprises, and the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center are the Institute’s principal partners in this effort.
Connecting Sustainability and Urban Economic Opportunity: The Cleveland Model
Cleveland, Ohio, once a symbol of the Rust Belt, is now a national leader in bringing sustainable principles into action to transform its region’s economy. Cleveland’s Mayor Frank Jackson holds an annual Sustainability Summit, involving all segments of the community in developing a vision for a more sustainable future. The oldest community foundation in the country – the Cleveland Foundation – has pioneered Evergreen Cooperatives – a sustainable, employee-owned business model. Cleveland organization Entrepreneurs for Sustainability (E4S) helps regional businesses become more sustainable while GreenCityBlueLake advances the discussion of sustainability at the community and policy levels.
 
The City of Cleveland’s procurement budget is in excess of $1 billion a year. Like many local governments, it purchases a wide array of goods and services – from construction to burial services.
In March, 2010, the City of Cleveland passed what is to believed to be the first-ever procurement law that economically rewards small businesses for their commitment to triple bottom line sustainability. While many cities and states have created have created purchasing preferences for green products or from local companies, Cleveland's ordinance is unique in the United States. Businesses completing the first stage of the Green Plus™ program - and thus demonstrating their commitment to good management, social, and environmental practices - receive extra points when bidding on contracts to provide the City with goods or services.
Part of the Institute’s mission is to democratize the triple bottom line – to bring understanding and benefits of sustainability to smaller enterprises and their communities regardless of their economic situation. Working with the Greater Cleveland Partnership / COSE and the City of Cleveland, the Institute seeks to help urban businesses in low wealth communities save money, improve their operations, and receive benefit in the form of advantage in bidding for city work.
The Institute partnered with the Council of Smaller Enterprises (COSE) to bring sustainability education to smaller enterprises throughout Ohio. The Greater Cleveland Partnership / COSE is a national leader in helping small business become energy efficient and more sustainable overall. In May 2010, COSE received a grant from the Ohio Department of Energy to award small businesses $250 rebates against energy audits for small businesses and $150 rebates against participation in the Green Plus™ program participation.
Businesses located in low wealth communities will be able to save money through a discounted energy audit, improve their operations overall through Green Plus participation and be economically rewarded for their efforts through bonus points in the pursuit of City contracts.
North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center Connects Sustainability and Micro lending for Small Businesses
In 2009, the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center engaged the Institute to design special Green Business Planning guides based on the Green Plus™ program for rural entrepreneurs and incumbent businesses as part of its Green Microenterprise Project. These workbooks are being shared - free of charge – with businesses in economically challenged rural counties throughout North Carolina. In addition to these workbooks, the NC Rural Center is putting 25 rural businesses through Green Plus™ on scholarship. At the end of the first stage of the Green Plus learning process, the businesses may be eligible for micro loans of up to $25,000.
What would success look like in this approach? A farmer might undertake a new capital investment to save water and also save his business money. An auto mechanic might implement other sustainable business lines that complement her existing business – installing a wind turbine, solar installation, or geothermal pump to save money and sell energy back to the grid – or add biodiesel engine conversion to his or her business mix.
Sustainability is often touted as a means for businesses to ‘do well by doing good’. The Institute, in partnership with public and non-profit institutions, seeks to build bridges beyond good works and savings through efficiency to replicable models to expand revenue, connecting small businesses, sustainable business practices, and economic opportunity. Large companies can realize enormous savings and customer goodwill through sustainable business practices. The Institute for Sustainable Development believes that smaller enterprises – including those in low wealth communities – can play a vital role in the revitalization of the U.S. economy through sustainable practices and economic recognition of their efforts.
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About the Institute for Sustainable Development
The non-profit was founded in the North Carolina Research Triangle in 2007 by a unique partnership of academic, business and philanthropic leaders. Early partners included Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro and Greater Durham Chambers of Commerce, and the Fenwick Foundation.
Institute founders recognized that while many large companies were integrating sustainability into their operations, saving money and improving their reputations, most Americans were employed by businesses with 50 or fewer people, and these smaller employers had neither the time nor the financial resources to pursue sustainability. In the fall of 2007, the Institute engaged the Center for Sustainable Enterprise at UNC Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School to develop a business plan to address this problem. This plan led to the development of Green Plus, a program that provides training, networking, and recognition for small businesses and non-profits working toward becoming more competitive and sustainable.
A vital part of Green Plus is providing real-life experiences to university students in the area of business and sustainability by connecting the students with real organizations engaged with these issues. The Institute trains interdisciplinary teams of graduate students and professionals to provide practical, affordable tools and assistance to help smaller enterprises and their communities become stronger, healthier, and more competitive. To date, over 160 small businesses and non-profits in 18 U.S. states have benefited from the Green Plus program.
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The Institute for Sustainable Development
www.gogreenplus.org

Free Webinar on Energy Measurement: The Key to Energy Success

Green Plus — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 20:54:10 +0000

Thursday, September 2, 2010 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM EDT

The Center for Sustainable Tourism presents the third webinar in our Renewable Energy in Tourism series. This free webinar will focus on energy measurement and benchmarking for the tourism industry and how monitoring your energy consumption better can lead to improved energy performance and cost reductions.

The webinar will feature two renewable energy guest experts:

John Meeks, President, Apple Blossom Insulators. Mr Meeks will be discussing general information on energy measurement and energy audits.
Colin and Deanna Crossman, Owner and Innkeeper, King’s Daughters Inn. Mr. and Ms. Crossman will be discussing how they measure energy use at their inn and energy management system.

Click here to register

Nominate yourself (or others) for the Triangle Business Journal Green Awards

Green Plus — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 14:00:42 +0000

Deadline: August 25, 2010

Triangle Business Journal’s Green Awards will honor those in the Triangle who make efforts to incorporate environmentally sustainable practices into their businesses and their communities. By doing so, they show others how to strengthen the environmental health of our region.

Triangle Business Journal will recognize individuals, businesses, government leaders and entities, and nonprofit organizations at an awards event on Tuesday, October 19, at the Embassy Suites in Cary. A special focus section will be published in Triangle Business Journal on Oct. 22.

Work or projects completed from June 2009 to June 2010 will be considered.

The two major categories are General Awards and Green Building Awards. To be considered, companies must have operations in at least one of 13 counties that comprise the Triangle region: Chatham, Durham, Franklin, Granville, Harnett, Johnston, Lee, Moore, Orange, Person, Vance, Wake, and Warren.