Sustainability has emerged as the new organizational metric. When an organization commits to sustainability it effects the entire organization. It starts at the highest levels of the organization and effects the products and services delivered, branding and communications, strategic partners and suppliers, eductaion and training, and especially the physical assets of an organization because that is where resourses are consumed and the energy and environmental footprint is calculated. The challenge is for organizations to grow while consuming less resourses. Sustainability and green is not about hugging trees (although there is nothing wrong with that), but rather, about organizational survival and growth. The reason I use the phrase LEED for Organizations is that similar tools need to be created for organizations, large and small, to navigate sustainability. The reason LEED became the standard for buildings is that it was a road map/recipe/tool that helped manage the process. Similar tools for organizations would be an idea whose time has come.

Open the shoebox and fold back the tissue. Remove shoe from plastic bag. Remove the molded plastic or cardboard from heel of shoe. Remove snowballs of tissue wadded into toes. Remove possible lace tip protectors. Try on shoe.

This is one’s typical shoe shopping experience.

Now, I know women who LIVE for buying shoes. I am not one of these women. In fact, I’m wracked with guilt with the crack of each new shoebox. Okay, maybe I’m being overly dramatic, here. But by the time you dig through all of a pair’s protective layers, you’re surrounded by mountains of packaging. Packaging that lies in the aisles of department stores across the nation, until it’s collected by clerks. And guess what? Most of it can’t be recycled. All I can think is, “Is this seemingly excessive packaging REALLY necessary?” I’ll bet fine crystal isn’t this carefully packed.

Well, apparently, I’m not the only one. Puma’s Clever Little Bag (CLB) combines a reusable bag made of recycled materials with a folded cardboard insert. Due to hit shelves in late 2011, the CLB uses 65% less cardboard and requires no adhesive or assembly. Because the package uses fewer materials and is lighter than their previous shoebox, it’s estimated to reduce Puma’s annual carbon emissions by 10,000 tons and cut its water, energy and diesel use by 60%.

Puma's Clever Little Bag

But the bag isn’t the only clever character in this story. Puma and its design firm, Fuseproject, are also pretty clever themselves. How do you create excitement about, of all things, a shoe bag? You create a clever little animated, viral video that tells the story of the creation of the bag, introduces the designer and spotlights the environmental benefits of its smart design. The next thing you know, people (ehem) are blogging about it all over the interwebs and you have 162,000 hits on YouTube. Voila! Instant credit for your honest, green efforts—and not just with the green press, or eco-aware bloggers, but with shoe buyers everywhere.

Clever, indeed.

Why am I compelled to grow food instead of flowers? I think the Whole Foods initiative Let’s Retake Our Plates sums it up pretty well: If you don’t know the story behind your food, don’t eat it. To me, this means not only knowing the story, but feeling good about that story. So one day I had a bit of an epiphany. I shop local, use canvas grocery bags, listen to community-supported radio, all that good stuff. I’ve got to start applying that sustainable spirit to my food consumption. It’s not just because I want to reduce my dependence on a system that consumes 7.3 units of fossil fuel for every one unit of food produced. It’s about taking care of my body is the same way I take care of the community I live in. (Somewhat ironically, this all means not shopping at nation chains like Whole Foods. Sorry, WF, but thanks for the inspiration!)

Knowing that you want to make a change is one thing, but actually taking action can be daunting. My husband Jim and I started by volunteering with the Victory Garden Initiative. Through the VGI, we’ve met experienced gardeners as well as newbies like us. Talking to people about it made us even more anxious to get started growing, and more confident that we could make it work.

So one weekend we (and by “we” I mean mostly Jim) built two 4×8 foot raised beds, based on this tutorial. Gathering the supplies and ordering soil was actually a lot easier than we expected. All the materials were pretty basic, and a nearby landscape company delivered the soil. All in all we spent about $200 for the materials and soil, with another $50 on seeds. When we got home, Jim got to work on the carpentry while I started transplanting seeds to seedling pots made out of newspaper (did someone say “reuse”?). Now we’re just waiting until the danger of frost is past to get some plants in the ground.

One of the beds in progress (measure twice, cut once!) & the seedling pots.

Not all of our food can come from the garden, of course, and not everyone has the time or space to do it themselves. Shopping at farmers’ markets is a great way to support local farmers and get fresh food that isn’t shipped in from across the country. Here’s a list of markets in the Milwaukee area; I particularly like the South Shore Farmers’ Market and Westown Market. Another way to make a change is to frequent restaurants that are part of an RSA, or Restaurant Supported Agriculture. RSAs make it easier for restaurants to purchase directly from local farmers. It just so happens that some of my favorite restaurants are part of Braise RSA. Score!

I’ll keep you posted on this urban agriculture adventure I’m on. Mother’s Day weekend is when we plan to do the planting. Wish me luck, and let me know what you’re doing to make your food consumption more sustainable.

For those of us in the green space, Earth Day holds a special place in our minds. For me, it brings back memories of Earth Day 2000. Ten years ago, an exhausted but passionate team of green idealists were about to launch our baby, LEED NC. As everyone in the building industry now knows, the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system has become the standard for the design and construction of new buildings across the world. We picked Earth Day 2000, partly because of it’s symbolism, but also because we were tired of debating the merits of various prerequisites and credits. It was time to take this baby for a spin and see if the marketplace would embrace it. Boy, what a ride it has been. Thousands of buildings have been registered and certified, but perhaps the best indicator of market acceptance has been the number of building industry professionals who have studied the rating system and taken a test to become accredited. We now have over 150,000 LEED Accredited Professionals (AP), which is an amazing accomplishment.

Some would say we are in the “Green Century” or the “Age of Energy and the Environment”.
Certainly the green building industry has had a major impact on the whole sustainability movement. Those who launched LEED on Earth Day 2000 are very proud of what has been accomplished as we reflect on Earth Day 2010.

As always, if you would like help understanding your organization’s sustainability efforts and how to talk about them, contact us, it’s why we’re here.

These days, you don’t have to look very hard for information about the benefits of being green at work and at home. While I have always known saving energy means saving money and increasing comfort and safety, this has never been more important to me than now – when I am preparing to be a first time mother.

Like many parents-to-be, my husband and I have a long list of things to do in preparation for our baby’s arrival. Near the top of the list is creating a nursery. For us, designing the nursery means more than just picking out paint colors; comfort and safety are just as important as the aesthetics. Truth be told, thinking green helped us address all of these factors.

Our game plan involved taking a spare bedroom and doing a complete renovation to turn it into the nursery of our dreams. This included replacing the baseboards, window and door trim, entry door, closet doors and all outlet covers. We also decided to paint the entire room, purchase new window treatments and furnish the room. The extent of our remodel involved a lot of work and a lot of decisions. Here is how we decided to work energy efficiency and sustainability into our redesign.

Comfort
Living in Wisconsin means dealing with a big swing in seasonal temperatures. While we don’t mind putting on an extra layer during the cold winter months, the last thing we want is to have a drafty room where our child sleeps. Since windows are often a source of air leaks, we took steps to eliminate these leaks. First, we removed the trim from around the windows, and before we put up new trim, we filled all the gaps around the window with foam insulation. Next, we purchased and installed shades that look nice and are also backed with insulating thermal acrylic foam for an added layer of protection.

Since outlets are another place where air often leaks in and out of homes, we looked for a way to make all of the outlets as air tight as possible. At our local home improvement store, we found insulating foam gaskets that fit behind the outlet faceplate. There are insulating gaskets to fit faceplates for light switches and for outlets. It only took about half an hour to address all of the outlets in the room.

Safety
I mentioned earlier that creating a beautiful nursery means more than just picking out paint colors, but let’s face it, that’s a pretty important part if it. We paged through magazines and played with paint swatches to find the right color, but we also spent time determining what type of paint to use.

Paint contains a number of different chemicals, which are released into the air during the painting process. In addition, off gassing, the release of chemicals into the air through evaporation, can occur months, even years after the paint has dried. This off gassing is due to the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in paint. To cut down on the amount of off gassing that will occur in the nursery, we opted to use a paint that is considered low VOC. While even low VOC paints can have that familiar paint odor, we did notice fewer odors during the panting process and no odor after the paint dried compared to paints we have used in other rooms of the house.

Another area we identified as an opportunity for added safety was lighting. We already use compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) throughout most of our home because of the well-known fact they use about 75% less energy than incandescent bulbs and consequently reduce energy bills. What many people don’t realize is that CFLs produce about 70% less heat than standard bulbs. For us this is significant because they aren’t as hot to the touch and are less of a fire hazard. You just never know when a lamp will get knocked over or a curious toddler will touch a bulb.

Reuse, Reduce, Recycle
Another part of being green is reusing and recycling. With this in mind, and a budget to stick to, we decided to reuse old furniture for the nursery. We took an old dresser that was gathering dust in the basement and a hand-me-down glider rocker, and we painted them both to match the rest of our décor. The process took less than a day and saved us hundreds of dollars. In addition, we cut down on resources needed to build new furniture, and we kept old, bulky furniture out of the local landfill.

With a little elbow grease (okay, a lot of elbow grease) my husband and I have created a gorgeous nursery, ready for the newest addition to the family. And with a little extra work, we were able to ensure the room will be comfortable and safe for our baby. The added bonus – we made choices that benefit the environment and will save money on future utility bills. It really is a win-win situation.

Paul’s background includes being an original board member of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). He is active in Alliance for Sustainable Built Environments, and is a board member of the Wisconsin Green Building Alliance. His expertise, paired with HY-brid’s understanding of green communications makes us an attractive partner for communicating your sustainability efforts to stakeholders.

Speaking of your green messages– our EcoMapsm process helps communicate your green efforts to internal and external audiences and turn your environmental responsibility into a competitive advantage. In addition, HY-brid can help your organization identify the ways in which it is already green and provide you with the kind of vision and leadership to help your organization become greener. Paul’s addition to HY-brid allows us to not only help you communicate your efforts but also to uncover the energy and money savings opportunities in your organization.

For more information on the EcoMap process, the questions to ask before you take your message to market or, if you simply want to learn more about HY-brid, send us a message, we’d like to hear from you.

The Forum included some great presentations, panel discussions and opportunities to meet some of the leading experts in sustainability from companies like IBM, Johnson Controls, UPS, EBay, and the list goes on. The obvious topic of interest for HY-brid was the session titled Green Marketing in the Age of Transparency, a panel presentation that was certainly was worth its weight. We heard from the panelists (in short) that consumers are interested in green products, they are willing to pay more and they take comfort in knowing they are buying from a company who is looking out for their health and the health of the environment.

So what exactly does that mean for you? HY-brid has always counseled clients that ‘going green,’ or engaging in sustainability efforts is good business. No matter if it is about the bottom line (a huge driver by the way,) or if it’s good for the environment or both, green is ultimately a great business decision. Think about it—who from your stakeholder set would disagree with a better bottom line? A better process? A better product? I think you get the picture.

The part of the equation that seems to be missing in all of this is how the green efforts get communicated to those same stakeholders. How an organization is telling its sustainability story (or even if it is telling its story) should be addressed as part of the overall communications strategy. HY-brid addresses this in our EcoMap process, something we create with our clients to help them deliver the right sustainability messages to each stakeholder audience in their own ‘speak,’ i.e. what makes sense to them. This approach allows an organization to ensure the internal and external audiences are getting the right messages about the products and services reseach shows they are most interested in.

For more information on the EcoMap process, the questions to ask before you take your message to market or, if you simply want to learn more about HY-brid, send us a message, we would like to hear from you.

My latest conversation is with Rob Watson. Described as “one of the best environmental minds in America,” Watson discusses his thoughts on sustainability in business, environmental responsibility and how having ‘fathered’ the one rating system that is internationally recognized is truly humbling. He also dives deep into why an organization needs to communicate its sustainability efforts. He tells me communication of these efforts is ‘vitally important’ and that telling the story is fundamental in generating impact across all industries.

As the “Father of LEED” and one of the leading experts in the international high performance green building movement, he has a two-decade track record of delivering cutting-edge green projects and programs worldwide. His new company, EcoTech International brings an unparalleled combination of green building expertise, innovation and key “cleantech” technology solutions to China, India and the United States. So, it goes without say, that business leaders should give a listen to what he has to say.

I really enjoyed the opportunity to talk with Rob. As one of the world’s most influential environmental leaders, he offers a unique perspective on sustainability. Turns out he has the same outlook as HY-brid. I hope you enjoy listening to my conversation with him as much I did having it. Whether it’s your first steps, or if you have already begun down the path, I hope this Podcast inspires you to look more in-depth at what you are doing to address your sustainability efforts. As always, HY-brid would like to help you communicate those efforts. So give us call or send us an email, it’s why we’re here.

Subscribe to our Podcast via RSS or download the interview (m4a file) or listen below.

A really exciting new tool we’ve just launched with Focus is a website for the new Live Efficiently with Focus home assessment tool. It‘s meant to help homeowners interested in energy efficiency, but don’t know where to start. It’s also designed for those who’ve made a few changes, but aren’t sure what to do next. In our time working with Focus, both of our organizations have come to realize many Wisconsinites (and this of course extends to homeowners everywhere) think their home is energy efficient, but aren’t exactly sure how efficiently they’re living. This tool might help them determine where small or large improvements can be made.

Live Efficiently with Focus takes you through a series of questions about your home, the products in it, your energy supply and how you are using energy within your home. All the while the tool is keeping tabs on your answers. The result is an assessment of your home and your energy lifestyle. Pretty cool stuff.

After questions are answered, there are results and reporting features that help to get the user started. Tips and solutions are offered along the way. A user can even choose to create an account and or email their report to a consultant if they want to take the next step.

In the end, this is a residential tool but remember the bigger story here is that becoming more energy efficient is a lifestyle change. HY-brid helps businesses communicate their sustainability efforts but no matter how many hours are put in at the office, we all go home and use our TV’s, appliances and other household energy users. My hope is you take a walk through the site (for those not in Wisconsin, when you get to the county and city section, enter Milwaukee for both) and learn a bit about yourself and how you are consuming energy within your home. What you learn may surprise you. Take what you learn back to the office. Who knows, it may just spark some more efficiency practices in your building.

If you want to find out how you can assess your sustainability practices, or, if you simply want to learn more about Hoffman York and HY-brid, send us a message, we would like to hear from you.

Hoffman York and HY-brid would like to wish everyone a very happy holiday. We believe the most precious gift we can give one another is a brighter future. And we can all do that, simply by living and working a little greener. Here are 10 simple ways we can all be more environmentally friendly, during the holidays, and all year round.

1. Decorate with ENERGY STAR^® qualified LED light strings. They use up to 90% percent less energy than standard mini-lights and up to 99% less than the larger C-7 holiday lights.

2. Make your own wrapping paper. Most mainstream wrapping paper isn’t recyclable. If each home wrapped just three gifts with an old map, the newspaper or children’s artwork, we’d save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields.

3. Gifting electronics this season? Donate or recycle old electronics responsibly. They contain mercury and other toxins we shouldn’t put into landfills. Some sites will even pay you to recycle old electronics. For example, www.gazelle.com.

4. Replace the five most used light bulbs in your home with ENERGY STAR^® qualified compact fluorescent light bulbs and save about $150 in energy costs.

5. Use a programmable thermostat. It automatically turns down the heat when you’re asleep or away, saving up to $100 a year in heating and cooling costs.

6. Computer shopping? Choose a laptop over a desktop computer—it uses up to 90% less energy.

7. Take the stairs, not the elevator. This exercise is good for you—and it saves energy.

8. Drink tap water. You’ll save the materials and energy resources it takes to bottle and transport water. Plus, you’ll keep another plastic bottle from ending up in a landfill.

9. Fight “phantom load.” Electronics like computers, DVD players, stereos and TVs draw power, even when turned off.  Plug them into a power strip and switch it off when they aren’t in use. This combats phantom load and cuts annual energy costs.

10. Fix just one leaky faucet. You’ll save one gallon of water each day, and nearly 350 gallons of water each year.