CT Green Scene

Ruby Red Stilettos Gives CTGS a Boost

by Danielle Travali

photo: Mark Watkins

Via CT POST

On Thursday, Sept. 24, the Fairfield County chapter of Green Drinks, an international organization that encourages people in local communities to socialize and share their ideas for improving the environment, hosted a presentation at the Discovery Museum and Planetarium in Bridgeport. The last time I’d been to the Discovery Museum was for a Girl Scout field trip in the second grade. So, when a friend told me about the event, I decided to make an appearance and see what it was all about. I was especially excited that the evening would end with a light show in the planetarium, synchronized with the music of Irish rock band U2.

Heather Burns-DeMelo, founder of CT Green Scene who helmed the event along with the Connecticut Alliance for Sustainable Enterprise, described the evening’s theme as “Innovation in Developing Sustainable Solutions”—introducing new ways to save water and electricity, encouraging green habits and improving the condition of our earth. 

Wearing the well-known “Hello, My Name Is______” tags scrawled with their identities, friendly guests mingled and meandered on the first floor of the museum, nibbling on organic lemon curry brown rice and vegetable sushi from Health in a Hurry in Fairfield and sampling locally-produced organic beverages: wines such as “Live a Little” shiraz from Organic Vintages, local beer from Burnside, and organic agave-sweetened tea from Steaz.

Not only did I swirl my wine glass and tap my heels to the smooth, sophisticated tunes played by the Jazz Guild of Fairfield County, but I gleaned “green” tips and advice from sponsors and supporters of this affair.

Easy CFL Recycling

By Elizabeth G. Howard

OK, as good and decent greens, we try our hardest to hate the BIG BOX STORES that swallow up our open spaces and cause massive globalization and needless consumerism.

However, occasionally they do something useful that I encourage. In June of 2008, Home Depot, the nation's second largest retailer (behind guess who) launched a nationwide CFL recycling program at their stores.

Unlike other ridiculously complicated and antiquated Connecticut recycling programs, there are no restrictions on the return of CFLs to Home Depot, except that they must not be broken.

The program has been in effect for over 6 months, but it isn't likely to see a huge impact until 2009, since CFLs (which last a long time!) were not widely available or in use before 2008.

True Colors?

I am sure there are heaps of people who might argue that anything a BIG BOX STORE does to seem environmental is "greenwashing," however I feel that we can draw the line with a free recycling program. After all, customers do not need to buy anything from the store in order to leave their bulbs at customer service.

I am following up on what happens to the recycled CFLs after they leave the store and I'll let you know. Meanwhile, tell me what you think? Home Depot's recycling program another corporate evil, or useful community service?

Green B&Bs

by Eileen Weber

 

Thinking of making a last minute get-away for the holidays? You might want to consider a “green” hotel or bed and breakfast.

Increasingly, proprietors are trying to meet their clientele’s interest in greener practices. From organic foods to green cleaning practices to energy efficient amenities, your next stay could be more eco-friendly than stopping off at a roadside Super 8.

Kate Bauer, co-owner of Homespun Farm Bed and Breakfast with her husband Ron in Griswold, takes being green very seriously. They compost their organic refuse and use the eggs from the chickens they recently purchased. Bauer said on the B&B’s web site, “I hope this [green] movement is in time to save what is so important to us all.”

In a New York Times article dated June 26, 2007, Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants found in a survey they conducted in 2005 that 16 percent of guests choose their properties because of the company’s environmental practices. Kimpton, named for its founder Bill Kimpton in 1981, is a San Francisco-based collection of boutique hotels that leads the hospitality industry with its ecologically-sound practices.

Michael Depatie, Kimpton’s president and chief executive, was quoted in the article saying he got a lot of unsolicited letters from guests about the company’s green initiatives. “I’m a little surprised by how many mention our green programs. We’ve been doing this for a while, but it seems like it’s suddenly at a tipping point.”

Are you a Social Entrepreneur?

Corporate Sustainability: Employees Want the Change

Via Fresh Marketing

"It's a new era for business:  more and more business leaders recognize that their company's future is increasingly intertwined with the needs and demands of society.  What many executives don't understand is how best to manage that changing relationship."

New research by Fresh Marketing reveals that employees are embracing the principles of corporate social responsibility - they want the change and they are looking for ways to bring their values to work. The research also reveals the uncertainty felt by executives over how to successfully address the environmental, and social impacts of their businesses.

Fresh Marketing has engaged many peers and business leaders in this conversation over the past few years. With the goal of supporting employees, we conducted the Corporate Sustainability Employee Study, a 9-minute online survey, in the first quarter of 2008. Study sponsors included Re:Vision, Kelley Campaigns and Natural Logic.

Addressing the environmental, social and economic impacts of business, or corporate sustainability, includes many areas that run deep and wide in an organization.  This can include eliminating waste in the supply chain, reducing the carbon footprint of office buildings, ramping up corporate wide volunteer programs, ensuring that all workers are paid fair and equitable wages and reducing the toxins or harmful ingredients in products. 

The 2008 Corporate Sustainability Employee Study reports on data collected from 129 employees from a range of large corporations to small and medium enterprises. 

To delve more deeply on this topic, we also held in-depth conversations with thought leaders and willing employees. 

Those who agreed to be quoted include interviews conducted with:

Michael Dupee - Head of CSR, Green Mountain Coffee
Tavia Bentley - Community Affairs Executive, PriceWaterHouseCoopers, UK
Amy Hall - Director of Social Consciousness, Eileen Fisher
Justin Smith - Business Development Manager, Domtar 
Catherine Sanders - Project Manager, Morningstar, Inc.
Dianne Dillon-Ridgley - Board Member, Interface

Email: Saaron@freshmarketing.com for the full report.

Green Jobs, Green Jobs, Green Jobs

We've made a modest attempt at listing green jobs in Connecticut with that little widget on the right hand side bar, and from the number of email inqueries we receive, it's clear that lots of you are out there looking.

So...here's a wee roundup:

Vertrue, with offices located in Norwalk has at least a half dozen positions open.

The Stamford Nature Center needs a Head of Media Relations and Marketing. Contact Kate Combs, 203-977-6522. kcombs@stamfordmuseum.org.

Early Childhood Educators needed in totally green facility in Stamford.

Sustainable Business has the following positions listed:

-Solar Installer, Milford

-Green Building/Sustainability Consultants, Norwalk

-PV Sales, Milford

-Environmental Engineer, Farmington

Sleep Better with IKEA

Last year, Sweden-based IKEA launched an initiative called “Bag the Plastic  Bag.” 

The  goal was to reduce the more than 100 billion plastic  bags used annually in the United States. Beginning March 15, 2007,  they began charging customers 5 cents for every plastic bag; they  also reduced the price of their durable, reusable IKEA blue bag from  99 cents to 59 cents. 

And, to make it a win-win for everyone, all proceeds from the plastic bag sales are donated to American Forests, the  nation’s oldest non-profit citizens’ conservation organization.   IKEA North America has partnered with American Forests through the  Global ReLeaf Tree Planting program and over ten years, has planted 
more than 500,000 Global ReLeaf trees in environmental restoration  projects.

So how much  money has been raised by selling the plastic bags, by what percentage were they able to reduce the number of plastic bags used, and what are their plans for the next phase of the “Bag the Plastic Bag” program?  (The  goal was a 50% reduction in bag usage, but it’s projected that that they surpassed expectations.) Stay tuned or read on for reasons why banning plastic bags is vital.