GREEN COMPANY PROFILES

In Business, November-December, 2005, Vol. 27, No. 6, p. 12

Innovative examples lead the way to ecobusiness acceleration.

HERE at In Business ever since our first issue was published in 1978, we have regularly carried profiles of firms - small, large and in-between - who have pioneered in offering customers an array of green products and services. Their ideas, concepts and accomplishments provide great insights for even more exciting opportunities. We'll provide some examples in these pages. If you'd like to see a more complete listing, please check the end of this article for instructions on how to obtain the list.
Typical of how green firms have grown is a program that originated 10 years ago in Alameda County, California. One specific objective is to reduce the county's output of hazardous waste; it now involves green business coordinators in such cities as Sacramento, Santa Cruz and Monterey. Alameda County coordinator Pamela Evans reports that there are about 180 businesses certified green in the county. “These firms see themselves as filling an environmentally preferable niche, and consumers want to know where they can spend 'green dollars.'” Peerless Coffee of Alameda County is one example. “Becoming certified has changed the way we produce, roast and package our coffee, and run our business,” states George Vukasin, Jr. who manages Peerless Coffee with his sister.

RECYCLING WORN-OUT CLOTHING INTO NEW GARMENTS
Michael Crooke, president and CEO of Patagonia, Inc. - a leading apparel company - is asking his customers to return worn-out clothing which can then be made into new garments. Patagonia clothing can be mailed back to its Ventura, California headquarters or taken to any of the firm's 20 retail stores. According to Crooke, energy use could be cut about 75 percent along with carbon dioxide emissions by recycling, compared with what it takes to make clothing from virgin materials. As planned, Patagonia will ship returned apparel to the Teijin Group, a fabric manufacturer in Japan which will then make new polyester fiber. More details are available from www.patagonia.com.

UNCONVENTIONAL TRAVEL COMPANY
Idyll, Ltd. in Media, Pennsylvania offers “UNTOUR” travel packages which turns over its profits to the Idyll Development foundation for the purpose of social investing. Owners Hal and Norma Taussig won an award from Paul Newman and John F. Kennedy, Jr. for having “The Most Generous Company in America” back in 1999. Last year, Untours generated $8 million in sales. Recent loans were made to Home Care Associates of Philadelphia; Landless Workers Movement of Brazil; ShoreBank, Rehab CDs of Chicago; and Intertribal Council on Utility Policy.
Clients who use the services of Idyll's Untours go into such unusual places as private apartments in out-of-the-way places like remote European villages to get immersed in the local culture. The goal is to “invite the unpredictable while experiencing a social mission.” Explains Ben Cohen, cofounder of Ben & Jerry's: “What makes the Taussigs a wonderful model is that it shows you can have a progressive business, and that people with progressive values can live out their values in a business environment. Hal combines real kindness and compassion with the practical business side.” After a series of small business woes that included cattle ranching in Colorado and untenured professorships in Kentucky, Taussig launched Idyll Untours in 1975 with a $5,000 loan from a friend. The first Untour in 1975 sent six clients to southern Switzerland; by 2000, some 5,000 Untourists went to more than a dozen European spots. Some 40 percent of their clients come back for more trips.

PAYING RESIDENTS TO RECYCLE
Using a combination of market oriented consumer incentives, high technology, strategic business relationships - and a bit of luck - Patrick FitzGerald and Ron Gonen are using their start-up company, RecycleBank LLC, to reinvent municipal recycling in America. The idea is simple enough: Give people credits for recycling that are “banked” for them, then let them convert those credits into discounts and coupons with stores in their communities. The more a family recycles, the more credits they earn.
In a pilot project they have been running in Philadelphia for the past year, RecycleBank doles out up to $5 in coupons for each ten pounds a household puts out for collection, up to $25 a month. Households can choose between discounts at neighborhood
convenience stores, restaurants, pharmacies, grocery stores, and even Starbucks. “It works for everyone,” Gonen said in a talk he gave last spring, “families get rewarded, businesses get free advertising and more foot traffic, and the municipality sees its recycling rate go up significantly.”

MAKING AND MARKETING CLEAN EMISSIONS CONTROL SYSTEMS
From a distance, writes Diane Greer, the structure atop the power plant roof at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge appears to be a piece of avant-garde art. Thirty, eight-foot tall triangles made of clear plastic tubing sit side by side, circulating a bubbling green liquid. Closer inspection reveals the tubes to be filled with water and the fastest growing plant on earth - algae.
This innovative mechanism, the brainchild of Dr. Isaac Berzin - the founder of GreenFuel Technologies Corporation - harnesses the algae's photosynthetic process to consume waste gases from the power plant, fueling the algae's growth and delivering cost-effective emissions control. Once a day, the algae is harvested and dried, generating a commercially valuable by-product, known as algae biomass, used to create products ranging from biofuels to animal feed. “Our system is essentially a tool that enables the industry to profit by reducing waste,” explains Berzin.
A single celled organism, algae, lies at the heart of the GreenFuel Technologies effort. During photosynthesis, algae utilize solar energy to consume carbon compounds, such as carbon dioxide (CO2). Berzin is leveraging this process to turn CO2, a greenhouse gas found in flue gases, into oxygen and food to fuel the algae's reproduction. Algae also break down another flue gas component, nitrogen oxides (NOx) - a precursor to smog - into nitrogen and oxygen. Nitrogen serves as a nutrient, promoting algae growth.
Algae are ideal for Berzin's application. The organisms reproduce rapidly, doubling in volume in a matter of hours. Algae thrive in extreme conditions, able to withstand high temperatures and live in water sources readily available near power plants, even untreated or brackish water. Algae biomass can be used to produce biodiesel, bioethanol and animal feed or burned to generate energy.

NEW VENTURES IN PHYTOREMEDIATION
The field of phytoremediation is being advanced by companies putting the concepts and research into action. Ecolotree, based in North Liberty, Iowa, has developed engineered tree systems to remove and contain pollutants. Its engineered forests have been installed over the past 15 years at landfills, industrial facilities, gas stations and fertilizer storage areas. The ECap is a crop system that reduces water percolation through the subsurface, e.g., of landfills or contaminated sites, thus containing contaminants from moving into groundwater. It consists of specially prepared soils planted with fast-growing, deep-rooting trees and understory grasses. Soil pores hold precipitation until plant roots can access the water.
Ecolotree's EBuffer uses poplar trees and understory grasses to filter sediments and pollutants from groundwater, surface water and irrigation water. The buffers can be installed in the form of a plantation, or placed as the final filter at streamside or around a site perimeter. The trees also can be managed for biomass yield and harvested for their energy value. According to the Ecolotree website (www. ecolo-tree.com), the company has installed over 60 caps and buffers around the country.
Edenspace Systems Corporation, based in Dulles, Virginia, was founded in 1998. Its phytoremediation products and services use plants to detect, concentrate and remove lead, arsenic, radionuclides, chlorides, hydrocarbons and other minerals in water and soil. It also focuses on plants with traits that improve yields of renewable energy sources such as ethanol. The company's patents relate to plant biosensing, phytoextraction, hyperaccumulation and rhizofiltration
Edenspace recently announced an expansion of a project it is doing with the Army Corps of Engineers to remove soil arsenic from residential properties in a neighborhood in Washington, D.C. In 2004, about 2,800 of the company's patented fern plants were installed in 14 test plots at three different sites.
According to information on Edenspace's website (www.edenspace .com), the ferns removed an average of 9 parts/million of soil arsenic across all sites from starting concentrations that ranged from 16 to 127 ppm. The new project scope will use about 10,000 ferns to be planted on up to 35 plots at 14 residential sites.
DIVERSIFICATION ON/AND/IN GRANOLA
The folks at GrandyOats are so very happy as sales this year are reported to be up 85 percent ... and “the low-carb diet fad that had threatened grain-based foods has fizzled.” Explains Aaron Anker, Chief Granola Officer (CGO) for the company: “The new FDA guidelines confirm what we have been touting - servings of whole grains like our nutritious granola are essential for a healthy diet. “ According to Anker (age 33) and his partner Nat Peirce (age 34), it took them four years to complete conversion of their entire line to all-organic.
Operating from a restored 100-year-old dairy barn in Brownfield, Maine, Grandy-Oats set up coop-erative purchasing partner-ships with other small busi-nesses (also acquiring a com- peting brand, thereby increasing purchasing power and gaining economies of scale.) They have also diversified to offer sales of bulk items to retailers, essentially the individual components of their granola blends sold in bulk bins. “We get our products to the stores often within 24 hours mostly using vacuum sealing to maintain quality,” adds Peirce. The firm has also introduced an Organic Trails line of trail mixes, and now has 10 employees. For more information, visit www.grandyoats.com.

BIOWILLIE (NELSON) SELLS BIODIESEL
“By working with innovative retailers like Stewart Spinks, we plan to establish a chain of BioWillie Refueling stations throughout the southeastern U.S.,” says legendary musician and biodiesel company owner Willie Nelson. The first truck stop on the Eastern Seaboard to carry a 20 percent biodiesel blend (B20) opened in early June, 2005. Willie Nelson Biodiesel Co., founded in December 2004, is owned by Nelson and three partners. BioWillie fuel is currently available at truck stops throughout Texas and will soon be available from Miami up to Rochester, New York. Biodiesel is available at more than 450 retail pumps and by more than 1,400 U.S. petroleum distributors.
As explained by the National Biodiesel Board, this is a clean-burning renewable alternative to diesel fuel. It can be made from various domestically produced feedstocks such as soybean oil or even used cooking grease. It can be blended with petroleum diesel fuel at any level or used by itself in the pure form of B100 and is applicable in any diesel engine with few or no modifications. Says Willie Nelson:
“Biodiesel is the future. All major automotive and truck manufacturers are struggling to find new ways to meet fuel emissions standards, and biodiesel is the most practical. We have it here at home. We have the product, and farmers can grow it.” And there are lots more sustainable companies like BioWillie ready to enter the marketplace.

ALL-IN-THE-FAMILY INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE
After some 12 years in business, the husband/wife team of David Wiesenberg and Carol Rueger can cautiously claim success with their company in Wooster, Ohio. In a recent issue of In Business, Gene Logsdon interviewed the owners of Wooster Book Company. “My lifestyle and profession are seamlessly merged,” says Carol. “I like what I'm doing. I can weave my social life into my workplace time. Since we own the business, we can create the tone in which the work takes place. That is very important; it keeps me motivated.”
David puts in about 60 hours a week but also does what might be called public relations work in after hours on various community boards and local projects. “It is important for a person in business to take an active and committed role in the community,” says David. “Actually that's not a bad idea for folks in general.”
Daughter Julia works as floor manager and product manager, and although son Nick is not employed by the store, he does maintenance work for free in his spare time.
The Wooster Book Company is a true independent, one- of- a- kind bookstore, but it is not exactly small. The store carries about 50,000 titles, “probably near as many as some Big Box mega-stores,” says David. “We just have fewer of each item.” They hire an equivalent of about 6 to 8 full time employees.
The business is remarkably diversified, certainly another key to its success. In addition to selling books, Wooster Book publishes a few titles every year. “These are typically regional, nonfiction books,” David points out. “We publish books we think will do well in the regional market, which we know well and which we can reach efficiently.” Located in the heart of the largest Amish community in the world, they have done well with books about Amish life. Books about nature in Ohio or by popular Ohio authors, like reprints of Louis Bromfields's books, have done well too. The company also works with authors who want to produce and finance their own books.
The Wiesenbergs started up the business in 1993 with $64,000 of their own money and $128,000 borrowed. They shopped the loan to several banks. “If I remember correctly, the best offer was one percent over prime,” says David. “The budget we made up for the first year came out just about to the penny.” He smiles. “Everyone was surprised.”
They paid off the loan in 1998. In 1999, they purchased the building they had been renting and the building next to it, and joined the two (through a 3-foot thick wall!), adding two-thirds more room to the original store.

AS BENEFICIAL INSECTS GROW, SO GROWS THE FAMILY BUSINESS
In 1959, Joe Junfin - an immigrant from Russia- launched a venture in South Texas because he wanted to help farmers learn how to use beneficial insects to control harmful insects in field crops. The business - Kunafin Insectary in Quemado, Texas - has steadily grown. According to Joe's son Frank who has taken over the business, more farmers and producers are using beneficial bugs successfully.
After working with insects since age 6, Frank Junfin has earned a degree in entomology from Texas A&M University in 1975. He also named the insectary Kunafin, which is the Russian spelling of the family name.
In 1978, the mass rearing facilities for the production of various species of fly parasites were established. Kunafin supplies fly parasites to cattle feedlots, dairy, poultry, horse, hog and kennel operations in the United States, Canada, and in Mexico, as well as beneficial insects for commercial-scale agricultural operations, greenhouses, and orchards. However, a growing interest on the part of home gardeners looking for environmentally-safe alternatives to pesticides prompted the Junfins to put together an economical, integrated program for small-scale use. In essence, Kunafin created a “benefits package” containing four groups of friendly insects - the ladybug, lacewing, trichogramma, and praying mantis - to debug yards and gardens.
The Junfins can be contacted at (830) 757-1181 or e-mail office@
kunafin.com. Visit www.kunafin.com.

CHOCOLATE COMPANY WITH A CONSERVATION MESSAGE
“It is the right time to grow the Endangered Species Chocolate Company, allowing us to reach more people with our conservation message,” says Jon Stocking, founder and president of the Talent, Oregon-based firm. Producing over five million chocolate bars in 2004, ESCC's aggressive plan for growth projects nearly 15 million bars plus other chocolate products. In 2004, ESCC grew 30 percent from gross sales of $3.4 million in 2003 - reaching nearly $5 million.
ESCC donates a minimum of 10 percent of its net profits to environmental organizations around the world. Since its founding in 1993, ESCC has donated more than $250,000 to organizations including: The Jane Goodall Institute, Defenders of Wildlife and the American Cetacean Society. Philanthropists Randy Deer and Wayne Zink, founders of the Back Home Again Foundation, an Indiana charitable 501 C (3) corporation, have formed a for-profit arm. DZ Enterprises, to partner with ESCC. The Midwest-based group is dedicated to the mission of ESCC. “It is time for business to take action and make financial decisions that benefit our environment,” says Zink, who adds, “As Jon Stocking aptly point out: 'What you do for a living can make a positive difference in this world both financially and spiritually.'”
A key in the success of ESCC's ability to dramatically increase its production over the next five years is the development of a 43,000 square foot LEED certified production and fulfillment facility - a move that will enable the company's aggressive growth to take place.

LITTLE REDS AND BLUE WRIGGLERS LEAD TO VERMICULTURE “EMPIRE”
Located in the small community of Douglas, Georgia, the Bear Creek Worm Farm is considered by many as the largest vermicomposting operation in the southeastern United States. Owned and operated by Jack and Lucy Brantley since 1992, the farm has been mainly producing red wiggler worms for the fishing bait market as well as many tons of earthworm castings for the nursery industry.
In addition to growing worms, Brantley has been processing some of the highest quality worm casting available in his part of the country. Understanding that it can take years to produce a substantial quantity of castings, Brantley waited almost 10 years before marketing castings from his farm in order to establish a viable stock and supply for demanding customers. Bear Creek Worm Farm currently stocks 5,000 to 6,000 tons of castings with more being produced each day. Brantley can be contacted at bearcreekworms@yahoo.com.

CAR SHARING COMPANIES REV UP IN NORTH AMERICA
If you drive less than 7,500 miles a year and don't need a car for work every day, car sharing can save you thousands of dollars annually. Car-sharing members reserve cars by the hour from their local “hub” and are billed monthly. Locations have a number of features that make them excellent - dense housing, mixed use development, good pedestrian culture and some parking scarcity. Businesses can use the service in place of company cars or mileage reimbursements. For details, check out: www.carsharing.net.
The idea first surfaced in the late 1980s in Switzerland and Germany, coming to North America via Quebec City in 1993. Based on December, 2004 data, there were 15 U.S. carsharing programs with more than 61,000 members and 11 Canadian programs with almost 11,000 members.
The network data provides these details on sponsoring organization, year launched, members and vehicles for the following cities:
Berkeley, California - City CarShare, 2001, 200 members, 10 vehicles; Boston, Massachusetts - ZipCar, 2000, 4,200, 131; Boulder, Colorado - Boulder Carshare, 2000, 30, 4; Calgary, Alberta - Calgary Alternative Trans. Co-op, 2000, 9, 2; Chicago, Illinois - I-Go-Cars, 2002, 750, 16; East Bay, California - City CarShare, 2002, 100, 4; Edmonton, Alberta - Carsharing Co-op. Edmonton, 2000, 9, 1; Montreal, Quebec - CommunAuto, 1995, 5,140, 238; New York, New York - ZipCar, 2002, 1,650, 53; San Francisco, California - City CarShare, 2001, 2,000, 60; Seattle, Washington - FlexCar, 2000, 13,000, 130; Washington, DC - ZipCar, 2001, 2,200, 41.
According to Lance Ayrault, CEO of Flexcar, the company - which continues to grow at a fast pace - has a total of approximately 30,000 members nationwide in Seattle, Los Angeles, Portland, San Diego, and Washington, D.C. Total number of vehicles available to members is about 350. Rates vary from $7/hour to $9/hour, depending upon specific vehicle to be used.
As of Jan. 1, 2005, ZipCar listed a total for all of its operations of 30,000 members and 400 vehicles. The company was founded by Rob Chase and Antje Danielson in 1999. Prospective members are required to obtain a qualifying card: In most cases, cards will arrive only two business days after application, with driving records checked, etc.

MAKING FURNITURE AND MORE OUT OF PLASTIC LUMBER
Beginning operations in 2003, Durable Plastic Design began production of low-maintenance 100 percent recycled plastic lumber under the brand name OrcaBoard. It was used to fabricate outdoor and garden products, including raised garden beds, planter boxes, Adirondack chairs, dock and pool boxes, commercial grade benches, and picnic tables. OrcaBoard is produced in standard lumber sizes that are easy to work with using standard tools and fasteners. Owners estimate the company will use 140,000 pounds of recycled plastic each month.
The company located near Seattle, Washington in King County worked with its Solid Waste Division which provided technical and marketing assistance to improve sales of recycled materials. Called LinkUp, the program is part of the county's strategy to reach a Zero Waste of Resources goal - and build sales for participating companies.

NETWORK FOR OLD APPLIANCES IN AUSTRIA
In 1999, two companies led by a group of long-term unemployed workers founded a network which today includes 43 companies in the Vienna area that repair everything from leather gloves to dishwashers. This year, Wienerzeitun reports that 73,000 items were repaired for more than 4,400 customers. One executive told Resource Recovery Forum that, “We must move away from the monopolistic repair services of manufacturing companies who declare every appliance over five years old to be unrepairable. We employ old professionals from various different trades, and use them to train young people,” explains Seep Eisenriegler. The popularity of the Repair and Service Centre means that this workforce is currently inundated with work. The high number of obsolete appliances coming into the centre, means that there is a constant supply of replacement parts that are no longer produced.

FURNITURE MAKER BUILDS WITH WHEAT STRAW AND SUNFLOWER HULLS TO REPLACE WOOD
Based in Long Lake, Minnesota, the Baltix Furniture, Inc. markets a line of furniture under the EcoBuzz line that is made from materials such as wheat straw, sunflower hulls, soy flour, recycled plastic containers, newsprint and aluminum. They call it “Attainable Sustainable Furniture.”
Actually, over 95 percent of the materials used in the extensive Baltix line are grown, extruded, milled or manufactured in the Midwest. EcoBuzz office furniture features workstations, filing systems (pedestal and lateral), bookshelves, tables and extensions, drafting and design units, partitions and dividers, and lockers. Another selling point stressed by Baltix is that no harmful adhesives, formaldehydes or VOCs are used in its manufacturing process.
The central product in the Baltix line is the BUZZ workstation that usually sits on casters for quick office reconfiguration. Aluminum extrusions are used to “frame” the panels which can slide in and out, then lock into place. According to Tom Heerman, company owner, the workstation is a configuration of panels with an EcoSurface that “may be the greenest desk product available in the market.” Everything that mounts on the panels shelves, monitor lift, surface extensions, CD clips, etc. - can be repositioned without a special tool.

Copyright 2007, The JG Press, Inc.