HY-brid/

All Posts for ‘Event Writeups’ Category

01DEC2009

Greenbuild or Greenbuilt?

Posted by Tim Wirtz

The following is a guest blog authored by Paul von Paumgartten. Read more about Paul at the end of the post.

It’s hard to believe it’s been 7 years since the 1st Greenbuild in Austin, Texas. In 2002, a little more than 4,000 people attended and there were only a few hundred exhibitors. By the way, we (the USGBC) were thrilled with those numbers for a first year show. This year in Phoenix, we had over 25,000 attendees and more than 1000 exhibitors. Even in a down economy, the “green building movement” is alive and well. There is, however, a major shift occurring in the green world. For the last decade, the green building movement has been dominated by the design community and construction of new buildings.

The focus is now shifting to the existing building market. One obvious reason is the devastating decline in the new construction market. The economic downturn is not expected to turn around anytime soon so the new construction industry is turning to the existing building stock for relief. The challenge for them is that the existing building market is totally different— different players, different drivers, different buyers, different everything. That isn’t stopping everyone from moving in that direction though. One only has to look at the size of our existing building stock – 4.7 million commercial buildings, 70 billion square feet, and the majority use 30% more energy than they need to.

The new trend could be called Retrogreening – the retrofit and greening of existing buildings. The blending of energy efficiency and high performance green buildings was featured in several Greenbuild education sessions. One in particular presented two iconic projects – The Empire State Building and the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower). These highly successful projects are using the retrogreening process to harvest significant energy and operational savings while going through Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. This is clearly an idea whose time has come. One begins to wonder if Greenbuild would be better named Greenbuilt – just a thought.

About Paul von Paumgartten
Senior Green Building Adviser, Johnson Controls, Inc.

As Senior Green Building Adviser for Johnson Controls, Paul von Paumgartten develops business opportunities while leveraging the company’s energy efficiency and environmental record. He serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and he is also Board President of the Energy Services Coalition. Through his efforts, he assisted Johnson Controls in earning the ENERGY STAR® 1999 Ally of the Year and 2001 Partner of the Year awards. With the USGBC, he is Co-chairman of the LEED–Steering Committee and the committee for developing LEED for Existing Buildings.

Previously, Mr. von Paumgartten served the Building Efficiency, as the National Manager, Lighting Services, and as Director of Performance Contracting. Before joining Johnson Controls, he was in management positions with McGraw Edison Company; and President of his own consulting firm, Productive Environments.

If you’ve thought about Retrogreening, or if you have already taken some steps to make your building more efficient you should be letting your stakeholders know. If you would like to know how, or if you simply want to learn more about HY-brid, send us a message, we would like to hear from you.

11OCT2009

Eco-labeling Phenomena

Posted by Marlaina Quintana

HY-brid recently spoke at an eco-labeling summit that was part of the 2009 Biopolymers Symposium in Chicago. (We were invited through the blog!). The purpose of the summit was to address the confusion around the eco-label phenomena and how companies can navigate through the many labels available to them.

Recent reports suggest there are as many as 400 eco-labels globally. Couple that with the fact they are available across multiple products and process categories, and it becomes clear, this navigational exercise was no small task for a 30-minute presentation to say the least.

As environmental marketers, we approached the presentation by outlining four key questions an organization needs to answer before securing an eco-label(s). Keep in mind these questions should be asked and answered no matter what industry you are in.

  1. Do you know what a sustainability platform is and if so do you have one? If you answered no to one or both of these questions, you need to take a step back and determine your organizations sustainability messages before securing eco-label(s).
  2. What types of eco-labels or certifications are your stakeholders/customers demanding of you? Ask or survey those in your industry to ensure that the label or labels you want to secure are relevant and merchandisable to your various audiences.
  3. Do you need an eco-label to convey your sustainability message? Remember that an eco-label is not enough. Simply slapping one (or many) on your product doesn’t necessarily make it meaningful to your customers. You have to communicate the message behind the label to make it relevant. To that end, do you need a label to do this, or can you accomplish your goals without one. Remember also that if you need to work too hard to make a business case for a label, then it is most likely not worth the time of the financial investment.
  4. If you have secured a label or labels, can you sustain the one(s) you choose? This question addresses whether or not you can financially sustain as well as maintain the standards associated with the label on an ongoing basis.

At the Summit, HY-brid presented with some of the foremost leaders in their respective eco-label categories including UL Environment, Green Seal, GreenGuard, and Scientific Certification Systems. There was certainly a consensus among the group that the need for harmonization with the various labels needs to happen. What also became very clear is that there is still no real direction as to how that harmonization will, if ever, occur.

Have an eco-label and don’t know how to properly communicate it, or are you interested in securing one and marketing it? Send us a message we would like to hear from you.

03SEP2009

The City of Excess is a Little “Green” After All

Posted by Marlaina Quintana

I was recently in Las Vegas. Even though it was technically vacation, I couldn’t help but view the city through my “green microscopic” goggles. As I walked from casino to casino in the city of excess, I noticed that there were no recycling bins. I was shocked!

However, when I returned home, I did my due diligence and researched recycling within the hospitality industry in Las Vegas and was surprised at what I found out.

According to the Nevada Environmental Protection Agency, the hotel recycling happens internally, behind the scenes without patrons even being aware. Many hospitality organizations are contracting with waste management companies to sort and recycle on a daily basis.

In my research, I also discovered that Planet Hollywood, located in the Forum Shops at Caesar’s Palace, has one of the most comprehensive restaurant recycling programs in Las Vegas. And it has been in place since 1994!

Planet Hollywood began recycling because food was over 84 percent of the its overall waste. To address the situation, management installed a separate garbage compactor on the restaurant’s receiving dock. The ability to separately control and monitor its own garbage has been integral to the success of Planet Hollywood’s recycling program.

After feeling better about recycling in the Las Vegas hospitality industry, I looked at the overall recycling of Las Vegas and according to a news report from Fox 5 Vegas on August 24, 2009, as a whole the city is ranked second to last.

However, looking at the glass half full and a 2008 study done by SustainLane, Las Vegas is ranked seventh in the nation for Energy and Climate Change policy. So clearly measures are being taken on behalf of the city and state of Nevada after all.

20AUG2009

More goin’ o’ the green.

Posted by Diana Bagley

Another year. Another fine Irish Fest! We had beautiful weather, talented dancers and musicians and lots of great activities for kids–including Greenwish Village.

Coordinated by Keep Greater Milwaukee Beautiful, Greenwish Village teaches kids about caring for our environment through a series of interactive booths and games. Manned by volunteers from Milwaukee organizations such as Keep Greater Milwaukee Beautiful, Wehr Nature Center, The Department of Natural Resources and Milwaukee Recycles, kids got to learn about the emerald ash borer, recycling, energy efficiency and more. To encourage them to visit every booth, kids were given a bag with a bingo card on its side. They received a bingo marker for each booth they visited–with each valid bingo redeemable for a prize. What a great way to motivate kids to learn about the environment.

 

Greenwish Bingo Bag

Greenwish Bingo Bag

I decided the only way to be able to responsibly report on Greenwish was to experience it for myself. Andrea, a volunteer from UPS, set me up with a bingo card, and off I went.

 

lightbulb-panel

Light bulb panel.

When it became apparent that I was competing with kids for the activities, I decided to take a step back and let the little ones do the learning. Though the activities were intended for a younger crowd, I actually learned a lot…about composting, the ash borer, recycling. Just imagine how much the kids learned.

recycling

Learning about recycling.

Greenwish Village is an educational outreach effort that, I’m sure, will have long-lasting effects for the kids. It could also do the same for your company. If your organization believes in eco-awareness, sponsoring something like Greenwish or encouraging your employees is a great way to show your support, help non-profits like Keep Greater Milwaukee Beautiful get the word out and build a positive reputation for your company in the process.

According to Emily Brown, Education Program Manager for Keep Greater Milwaukee Beautiful, Greenwish Village has been an important part of Milwaukee Irish Fest for several years now. And from the interest I saw at Irish Fest 2009, Greenwish is bound to be around for many more.

13AUG2009

The goin’ o’ the green.

Posted by Diana Bagley

Milwaukee Irish Fest is Thursday, August 13 through Sunday, August 16. While you’re wearin’ the green, Keep Greater Milwaukee Beautiful will be sharin’ the green at the Greenwish Village. Located on the south end of the grounds, Greenwish Village serves up fun games, arts and crafts—all with a green twist—environmentally speaking. Greenwish Village will be open from noon on Friday through 1 p.m. on Sunday.

What a fun way to learn about the goin’ o’ the green! I know I’ll be there, getting both my Irish and my eco on. Check back for pics and details on the Greenwish Village at Irish Fest ’09.

31MAR2009

2009 International Builders’ Show

Posted by Marlaina Quintana

I recently attended the 2009 International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas. Although attendance was down, green messaging for exhibitors was up.

Building products manufacturers are beginning to realize the importance of communicating their commitment to the environment, whether it is what they are doing now, or what they plan to do in the future. Communicating environmental responsibility is becoming as important as communicating products and services.

Overall, demand is being driven from consumers becoming more aware of everything they are buying to the materials they are putting in their home to the cleaning products they are using.

In looking at and assessing all of the environmental messages at the show, I realized that green products can’t come from companies that have “un-green” processes. I think it is important to help educate consumers on this clear distinction and that sometimes what a company does to manufacture the product can be more important than the end product itself.

Even though there is much pessimism about the economic environment, it was great to see the growing consideration in the building industry taking a more environmental approach to business.

Recent Blog Posts

Blog Archives

 

July 2010

SMTWTFS
    123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031