Earth Day derailed me from writing...then it was business travel & eco-kitchen design sucking up my time. Then...we realized in order to function for four to six weeks without a kitchen we ALSO needed to replace our aging & barely functioning faucets in the downstairs bathroom in order to reduce our use of takeout and disposable plates & cups. Another design project & little time to obsess about the green-ness of it all, but we were able to leverage our past choices to make it easier. Actually, green renovation IS easier the second time around!
Fortunately, there are a bevy of corporations actually making a contribution to the green movement. Cabinet makers in the US are providing FSC certified wood cabinets, hotels are "going green" as a positive corporate image maker while inspiring & attracting customers who may have forgotten the little things they can do to make a difference, and Salvation Army came to my rescue with a very sophisticated truck pickup system that can be set up online, so that I can help someone else get some use out of our castoffs.
So let me admit a revelation for me: There are actually American corporations making a difference! Hard to believe I'm saying this after decades of disillusionment with big corporations & belief that change would not happen without government regulation. Of course, that is also helping to motivate them, along with the need to attract new customers for whom it's an important criteria for using their service or product.
I had a business trip to Las Vegas to do a Green Health event, and stayed at a Hampton Inn (Hilton) and was delighted to find FSC certified paper cups wrapped in some sort of biodegradable plastic, and "paper" plates made out of potatoes...cool! Then I made a reservation with Marriott for a medical conference in June. Wow...they are even in the news with their efforts to be sustainable & responsible.
New green entrepreneurs are inspiring me as well, with their visions of LEEDS certified projects & repurposed, re-used materials to create aesthetically appealing & useful products. Still...many of them struggle to get off the ground, while large corporations that take the green, energy saving values seriously actually have the capital to make it happen now and wait patiently for the financial return to flow in...whether it's energy & water savings, or clients appreciating their ethics. So below is a video you might find interesting about Marriott's effort to participate if rain forest preservation, while greening their facilities to save energy, money & attract new clients. I was surprised & impressed...must admit it, even though I know some cynics will not be.
More tomorrow as we near our start date of June 1, with before pix and recording of the demolition phase coming soon.
BuildingGreen Hiring Marketing Associate
10 years ago
