San Francisco Hotels Participate in Green Business Program

SAN FRANCISCO—Approximately 20 San Francisco hotels are now participating in the   San Francisco Green Business Program, a program of the City and County of San Francisco. At least nine hotels have been recognized as San Francisco Green Businesses. In order be recognized as a San Francisco Green Business, a hotel must meet environmental standards in five areas: waste reduction, water conservation, pollution prevention, waste water, and energy conservation. Businesses must also be in compliance with all federal, state, and local regulations. To get to the point of recognition, which is valid for three years, one must complete an online application and provide supporting documentation. An on-site audit is also conducted to verify the information provided about a hotel.

According to Anna Frankel, Green Business Coordinator, Toxics Reduction Division, San Francisco Department of the Environment, the Green Business Program was launched in 2006. Unlike some hotel certification programs that have multiple certification levels (e.g., bronze, silver, gold), San Francisco’s program has just one recognition level. There is no fee to participate; it is a free service provided by the City. Those businesses earning recognition benefit from access to city rebate programs and have the right to use the San Francisco Green Business Program logo in marketing and publicity efforts. There is an annual award reception at which a certificate is presented, and recognized businesses are listed in multiple business directories.

“Our program standards are very stringent and it takes a lot of work to be a green business,” Frankel says. “But in the end there are many benefits.”
 

Many Items Covered in Application

The San Francisco Green Business Program standards for hotels, available here, show that hotels must meet at least three measures in solid waste diversion, nine in source reduction, nine in energy conservation, three in heating, ventilation and air-conditioning, six in lighting, two in energy management, one in water conservation, three in water management, nine in water conservation, four in pollution prevention, four in janitorial cleaning, one in pest management, seven in storm water pollution prevention, seven in general/staff education, and 16 in environmentally preferable purchasing.

Environmental performance data is being collected from each participating business in the San Francisco Green Business Program. “Hotels” is just one of the business categories.

“We are interested in doing a lot of things with the data,” Frankel says. “We are in the process of creating an online report card for each business. We also want to use the data to see how much effect we are having as a program.”

Those interested in participating in the program for hotels have access to workshops where application completion assistance is provided. An online toolkit that addresses waste diversion, source reduction and environmentally preferable purchasing is available. The City and County of San Francisco also produce a green business newsletter.

The San Francisco Green Business Program is one of many green business programs in the San Francisco area. Nine Bay Area counties have similar programs. Click here for more details.

“The California Green Business Network has a baseline of standards that we all follow,” Frankel says.

Article by Glen Hasek, Courtesy of Green Lodging News

Congress Bans Department of Defense From Getting LEED Certification

Defense Department Hospital at Fort Belvoir

The US Government has been a big supporter of LEED, thanks to that radical leftist George Bush, who imposed Executive Order 13423, which set "goals in the areas of energy efficiency, acquisition, renewable energy, toxics reductions, recycling, renewable energy, sustainable buildings, electronics stewardship, fleets, and water conservation." The Department of Defense was a real leader in this, with 49 projects, the most of any Department of government. But if the Republican congress gets its way, it's over; in the National Defense Authorization Act, there is what Chris Cheatham of Green Building Law Update calls "a real kicker":

The bill would prohibit FY 2012 DoD funds from being used to achieve a LEED Gold or Platinum certification, however these certifications could be obtained if they impose no additional cost to DoD.

But wait, there's more!

The bill would also require a cost-benefit analysis and return on investment for energy efficiency attributes and sustainable design achieved through DoD funds used to receive a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold or Platinum certification.

So Congress won't let the Department of Defense pay for LEED applications, but even if they found the money for it, they would have to also pay for a cost benefit analysis. What would that do to the rainwater collecting roof of the new hospital, its landscaping, or every other feature that reduces water and carbon footprint but doesn't give a direct cost benefit? they are gone.

According to one source, 28% of the more than 35,000 total building projects participating in the LEED certification and rating process are federal, state, and local government owned or occupied. The federal government is the largest single owner of LEED certified buildings.

Chris wonders, "Is this the beginning of the end for federal policy that supports LEED?" You betcha! What happens to the green building industry and to the US Green Building Council when almost a third of its market is wiped out by these people?

Article by Lloyd Alter, TreeHugger.com

EU to Pay Fishermen to Collect Ocean Litter

The European Union is launching a pilot program in the Mediterranean this month that will pay fishing fleets to collect and then recycle the plastic waste littering the ocean. 

Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Falken

The European Union is taking an innovative approach to dealing with the growing problem of plastic litter in the ocean – paying fishermen to collect the trash.

Starting this month in the Mediterranean, fishing fleets will collect the plastic waste, using EU-provided nets and equipment, and then take it to processors for recycling. The EU plans to pay for the initial costs of the pilot program, but hopes the revenue from the sale of the collected plastics will eventually make the program self-sustaining.

Fish and other marine life can become injured or die when they ingest plastic. Marine litter also threatens the fishing industry by depleting fish stocks, damaging fishing gear and contaminating the catch.

“Preserving the Mediterranean Sea is not only a matter of environmental sustainability. It is also a matter of considerable economic and social implications,” wrote EU fisheries commissioner, Maria Damanaki, in a blog entry about plastic marine litter.

The EU’s pilot program will provide a much-needed second source of income for fishermen who have been losing profits due to diminishing fish stocks.

Article by Alexis Petru, Earth911