In Business, Creating Sustainable Enterprises & Communities

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENTS

In Business, November-December, 2004, Vol. 26, No. 6, p. 8

CAR SHARING IN 2005 OFFERED IN THE TWIN CITIES
From Philipp Muessig of the Minnesota Sustainable Communities Network comes news that public and private transportation options have widened in the Twin Cities with the decision to begin the state's first

hourly car rental service - hOurCar. The St. Paul-based Neighborhood Energy Consortium (NEC) has approved a spring launch with six fuel-efficient Toyota Priuses, to be located in St. Paul's Lowertown and Minneapolis' Loring Park and Uptown neighborhoods.
“Car sharing - now in approximately 20 U.S. cities - is a neighborhood-based mobility service that allows members to use cars parked in neighborhood locations when needed and to pay based on how much they drive. Members save money by not paying the fixed costs of a private vehicle, which sits idle much of a typical 24-hour period. All the hassles of car ownership, including parking, are handled by the car sharing service, “writes the Network Newsletter.
The Office of Environmental Assistance (OEA) feasibility funding for hOurCar leveraged $355,000 in federal, state, county and foundation funding. With the addition of NEC internal funds, hOurCar is close to meeting its initial start-up funds, after which this state-of-the-art service becomes economically sustaining at approximately 500 members.
For more information visit www.hourcar.org/news.html.

TOP TEN GREEN BUILDING PRODUCTS LISTED IN DIRECTORY
The editors at BuildingGreen, Inc. have come up with selections of the top ten green building products for 2004. “Reflected in our list this year is energy,” says Alex Wilson. “Two of our winning products convert sunlight into usable energy: one a glazing panel that generates electricity; the other a solar water-heating collector that relies on an advanced, high-tech design.” There's also a pressure-assisted toilet flushing mechanism that uses just one gallon per flush, almost 40 percent less than the federal standard for toilets (they actually outperform many 1.6 gallon-per-flush models). The products for 2004 include the following:
ECO I Paver from E. P. Henry; TimberSIL nontoxic pressure-treated wood from Timber Treatment Technologies, LLC; FSC-Certified Framing Lumber and Plywood from Potlatch Corporation; Ethos Carpet-Cushion Backing from Tandus - C&A Floorcoverings; EcoVeil TPO Interior Shade Screening from MechoShade Systems, Inc.; Photovol Glass PV Glazing Panels from MSK Corporation; Winston Series CPC Solar Water Heating Collector from Solargenix; EcoSpace Elevator From KONE; FlushMate IV from Sloan Valve Company.
Products are selected by Environmental Building News edited by Wilson. For more details, visit: www.BuildingGreen.com.

FOUR GREEN BUSINESSES WIN WRI COMPETITION IN MEXICO
A company that restores previously unusable land for aquaculture, another that helps replenish water supplies, a third that sells Mexico's first organic chicken and a fourth that uses sustainable technology to produce tortillas have been announced as winners of the World Resource Institute's (WRI) New Ventures Investor Forum in Mexico. A Washington, D.C.-based environmental think tank, WRI convenes the forum twice a year in Latin America to provide entrepreneurs with a venue to showcase their businesses and to facilitate the transfer of venture capital to sustainable enterprises. The winners announced in late November are:
- Aires de Campo creates a specialized and alternative commercial channel for organic products, based on sustainable exchange, with innovative advantages for both producers and consumers. It currently sells over 120 products, including Mexico's first organic chicken, in 11 “BioCenters,” or small stores, in Mexico.
- AquaConsult Internacional promotes the diversification of Mexican aquaculture in a way that helps improve the profitability for producers while using previously unusable lands through the production of a sustainable crop of specialized algae.
- EcoCreto Internacional is a leader in permeable concrete, which helps replenish underlying aquifers and deters runoff. The wide acceptance of EcoCreto will help reduce the increasing water scarcity for people and ecosystems.
- Nixma is the leading company is Mexico for a new technology to produce corn flour dough for tortillas that dramatically reduces water inputs and eliminates residues common in traditional methods.
“All of our finalists at this forum have the potential to drastically change their industries. We can be inspired by the innovation and dedication of our entrepreneurs to produce goods and services, through viable business models, that are forward-thinking for populations and our environment,” said Luiz Ros, director of WRI's New Ventures program.
During the November 18-19 forum at the Hotel W, the other finalists named were AdobeTerra, Bioplaneta, Energía MP, Nova Energía, and Sustenta Soluciones. In addition, Dr. Herbert Kohler, chief environmental officer of DaimlerChrysler, delivered the forum's November 18 keynote speech.
New Ventures started working in Mexico in 2004
to create tools to foster the development of sustainable enterprises. After four years of operation, New Ventures entrepreneurs have attracted more than $10 million in investments. New Ventures Mexico is a collaborative program of the Mexican Nature Conservation Fund and WRI.

LOCAL CURRENCY IN PENNSYLVANIA REPORTS STEADY GROWTH
A recent issue of In Business (July-August, 2004, p. 24) featured a report by Susan Witt and Christopher Lindstrom on “Local Currencies in The 21st Century.” They described how the concept originated and how it is being implemented in North America, and throughout the world. A recent issue of the Sustainable Business Network Newsletter, prepared by Merrian Fuller, reports on latest developments at the Valley Forge (Pennsylvania) Time Bank in Chester County which now has 35 members and is growing quickly.
A “kitchen cabinet” of a dozen diverse community leaders is actively enjoining institutions such as Orion, Kimberton Waldorf School, Altair Cohousing, Spring City revitalization, and the Northside (Phoenixville) Community to grow the idea. Exchanges vary from massage to resume writing, road pick up to brochure layout, and the group already has a wealth of stories and social successes to recount. Members receive Time Dollars for signing up, attending meetings, and holding orientations as well as performing individual exchanges. For more information, e-mail Margo Ketchum, TimeDollar@verizon.net.

SNACK FOOD MAKER COMES UP WITH “OUTSIDE THE BOX” PACKAGING
Nature's Path Foods of Blaine, Washington will be using new packaging called “EnviroBox” which reduces its volume by 10 percent. According to CEO Arran Stephens, the new system for its organic cereal products will have annual benefits of: More than 700, 000 gallons of clean water saved; More than 500,000 Kwh of electrical power; More than 75 tons of paperboard eliminated; and a reduction of more than 300 tractor trailer trips. For more details, visit www.naturespath.com.

NEW BOOK FOCUSES ON SUSTAINABLE CORPORATE MODELS
In her new book, Cause for Success, Christine Arena describes 10 companies “that put profits second and came in first.” Her list names the following: Interface, BP, Exiba, Stonyfield Farm, Avon, Timberland, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, The Body Shop, Grameen Bank and Hewlett-Packard. In her epilogue, Arena makes these observations:
“Ultimately, everyone working in the corporate world, regardless of vocation, has two choices. We can ignore twenty-first-century demands and continue with business as usual. Or we can evolve. We can operate in response to the knowledge that presents itself everywhere around us. We can embrace a new, more realistic mind-set and welcome its implications. Like any species or ecosystem, we must adapt to the new conditions or ultimately we will fail.
“Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and The Body Shop reveal why this change is necessary, while Interface and BP demonstrate how the transformation can come to pass. Avon, Timberland, and Hewlett-Packard are taking some of the plentiful routes available, while the Grameen Bank, Eziba, Stonyfield Farm characterize the pinnacle of twenty-first century businesses' achievements. Beyond sharing a similar vision and mission, these high-purpose companies also share a great sense of urgency. They are desperate to encourage a widespread corporate awakening. They view the maturing of compassion as crucial to corporate survival, and they offer you their opinions, experiences, and tactics in hopes of inspiring you to follow their lead.”
Cause for Success ($14.95) is published by New World Library of Novato, California. (www.newworldlibrary.com)

INVESTMENTS FROM POWER COMPANIES IN JAPAN HELP LAUNCH RENEWABLE ENERGY FUNDS
Investments from Japan's Chubu Electric Power Co., Hokkaido Electric Power Co., Mitsubishi Corporation and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) have created the Global-Asia Clean Energy Services Fund - Asia's first fund for energy service companies (ESCOs) and clean energy projects. As explained by the Japan for Sustainability electronic newsletter, an ESCO is a special type of company that provides services to boost energy efficiency through equipment improvements and guarantees the energy efficiency, receiving returns based on the customers' reduced energy costs.