In Business, Creating Sustainable Enterprises & Communities

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENTS

In Business, March/April, 2004, Vol. 26, No. 2, p. 8

GREEN GAZELLE COMPANIES GAIN MORE RECOGNITION
The Green Gazelles Project is a creation of the Center for Small Business and the Environment (www.greengazelles.org) which is directed by Byron Kennard and based in Washington, D.C. Green Gazelles are examples of fast-growing entrepreneurial small businesses that blend profitability,

environmental improvement, and job creation into a dynamic strategy for economic development, explains Kennard. “We want to encourage other entrepreneurs to emulate their example,” adds Kennard who keeps coming up with ways to get the word out. For Earth Day 2004, for example, Kennard arranged for Phil Catron of NaturaLawn of America, Inc. to present a statement in the Rayburn Building to the House Committee on Small Business. Catron - who has been featured several times in In Business - told the committee, how his organic-based lawn care franchise system launched in 1987 is now the “fourth largest lawn care service provider in the U.S. - serving over 45,000 consumers and generating revenues in excess of $24 million.”
Other Green Gazelle examples publicized by Kennard are: IdleAire Technologies Corporation which provides fuel-saving and pollution-preventing services to trucks (and drivers) at 15 sites from Alabama to Texas; EvCo Research which applies waterproof coatings to paper, cartons and cardboard made from recycled soft drink bottles; Aquapoint of New Bedford, Massachusetts providing decentralized wastewater treatment systems for residential and commercial applications where traditional sewers are not available; Correct Building Products of Biddleford, Maine - manufacturer of CorrectDeck made from recycled hardwood sawdust and polypropylene; KTM Industries of Lansing, Michigan, makers of biodegradable packaging material called Green Cell.

SALT LAKE CITY “PUSHES” GREEN BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Latest publicity for Mayor Rocky Anderson's campaign to recognize businesses with environmentally friendly practices came last month from a Salt Lake Tribune article on how the Salt Lake Brewing Co. makes glass plates and glasses from “recycled beer bottles” and bread from its spent brewery grain.” There's so much value to having businesses that can adopt practices outside of the past paradigm and show that responsible practices pay off economically,” says Lisa Romney, the city's environmental affairs coordinator.
To gain “e2 certification,” businesses complete audits of their practices and set goals to improve energy efficiency, reduce waste, increase recycling and conserve water. Companies may also choose to purchase wind power through Utah Power's Blue Sky Program to offset their consumption of fossil fuels.
Meanwhile, at the Squatters Pub Brewery, which is owned by Salt Lake Brewing, Peter Cole and Jeff Polychronis explain they have always budgeted for social responsibility since they opened in 1989. They point out that their company can best give back to the community by implementing practices that reduce impacts on natural resources. “If we as a business community do not increase our sustainability, we'll be running out of water, clean air, energy ... We'll be talking about how to survive, not how to make money.”

PROVIDING LIVABLE WAGES TO COFFEE GROWERS
A company founded by Ron Marinaro - Rocamojo, Inc. of Woodland, Hills California - makes healthy coffee/soy beverages and also helps coffee growers around Oaxaca, Mexico. His firm buys its beans from Growers First which deals with farmers made up of indigenous Mixe and Zapotec Indians. Growers First offers fair prices to farmers while also implementing medical, social and economic relief programs. The organization markets coffee to roasters, retailers and fundraisers providing direct payment to the farmers.
Rocamojo Inc. exclusively purchases its coffee from Growers First - combining 50 percent certified organic roasted coffee and 50 percent certified organic roasted soy. Rocamojo has been named one of the ten best selling coffee substitute companies, marketing its products in about 2,000 natural and gourmet stores that include Whole Foods, Wild Oats and Vons. For more information, visit: www.rocamojo.com.

SOLAR BUILDING IN THE TWIN CITIES
A guidebook with descriptions of businesses and buildings illustrating solar hot water systems, photovoltaics, etc. has been produced by the Minnesota Renewable Energy Society with such information as:
Solar Saver Townhomes by Minneapolis builder Awsumb and Associates, featuring passive solar design, high-efficiency appliances, and solar shingles that cut house energy purchases by 40 percent. www.solarsaverhomes.com.
Solar Midwest's office and warehouse, mostly daylit by skylights and cooled by solar-powered attic fans. The daylighting cuts office energy use by 85 percent and warehouse energy use by 68 percent. www.solarmidwest.com.
Science House (the Environmental Education Center) at the Science Museum of Minnesota, designed to operate as a zero-emissions building, producing all its energy needs on an annual basis through building integrated photovoltaic laminate. www.smm.org/eec.
More information about these solar technologies, including financial incentives for Minnesotans who install them, is available at www.solarminnesota.org - the web site of Solar Minnesota.

NATURAL DAYLIGHT, OTHER GREEN FEATURES EARN PPL CENTER HIGH HONORS
The U.S. Green Building Council awarded its “gold” rating to the developers of the PPL Center in downtown Allentown, Pennsylvania for its extensive use of natural daylight to cut down on electric lighting; two plant filled winter gardens that improve indoor air quality; bicycle storage facilities for employees who bike to work; and recycled construction materials used in the building. Twenty-five buildings in the U.S. and Canada have achieved the gold rating; 17 of them were developed by government agencies or schools. The PPL Center was the first one that was privately developed.

WHITE WAVE USES WIND POWER TO PRODUCE SOYMILK
The container of the White Wave yogurt had this message: “Silk is now powered by wind! It's clean. It's renewable. It just makes sense.”
On its website, the company explains that all electricity used to produce Silk Soymilk and other White Wave soy products will come from wind power. “The amount of wind energy we're purchasing will prevent 16,000 tons of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere,” say company executives. “Our purchase has the same effect as eliminating emissions of 3,200 cars or planting over 4,400 acres of trees.” Total amount of electricity that could be generated from wind in the U.S. has been estimated at 10,777 billion kWh annually - three times the electricity generated in the U.S. today.

SUPPLYING GREEN PRINT AND PAPER
From Macy Guppy, a member of the Portland, Oregon BALLE Network and owner of GoodWorks Public Relations Co., comes this report:
Environmental Paper & Print was launched nine years ago by Allen King to supply Portland-area nongovernmental organizations the “right kind” of paper and print services. The company uses the combined purchasing power of local supportive groups to buy recycled paper in large lots. “We want the sustainable marketplace to be seen as a real player in these markets,” King says.
As a member of the regional Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) chapter, Environmental Paper & Print uses local printers and suppliers as business vendors. More than 99 percent of the firm's printing is done on recycled paper, using soy-based inks. The company office uses green renewable energy from wind and other sources.
The rapidly growing Sustainable Business Networking Group meets biweekly. Members share business leads, educate each other about sustainability trends and network with each other for sustainable services.