Green Business
Idea Exchange

7.8.09

Manko, Gold,
Katcher & Fox presented on some of their green office practices including:

-Electronic billing

-Recycling program (including recycling Tyvek
envelopes)

-E-waste recycling

-Green vendors

-EPA-certified green lights (which save $10k per
year for 20k of office space)

-Separate metering

Main
questions/ideas:

1.     
For groups that have a property under lease that
will soon be up for renewal, what are some ideas that we could use to leverage
landlords into making green improvements?

a.   Part of the solution will be in educating
landlords and property managers as a whole, so that they know the benefits of
green retrofits, but that will be a larger project.

b.   The best idea is to have a lot of
“ammunition” i.e. facts and information,
to share with landlords and managers so that they can’t find excuses not to
make these kind of improvements.

c.   Another good idea is to try a cost-sharing
scheme, where the landlord and tenant would make a deal to share the up-front
cost of improvements, but the tenant will reap the benefits of lower energy
costs and higher standards of infrastructure in their building.

d.   One method is to actually go out and do
research on comparable buildings so that when sitting down with your landlord,
you can compare the benefits of being in a ‘greened’ building and you could go
so far as to say that you would be willing to leave the building for another if
the landlord refuses to make any changes.

e.   Enforce the value of greening with your
landlord. Let landlords know that this will help draw potential tenants to the
building since more tenants are becoming attracted to energy-efficient, cost
saving spaces.

2.     
Nagging works! Without lease leverage, becoming
a pest is often the best way to get things done around your building. A lot of
people have had success simply by opening up lines of communication and urging
landlords and managers to make improvements.

3.     
What is the availability of green office
products?

a.   Some people have no problems finding items
with recycled content, others have problems with vendors. However, the market
place is beginning to respond to demand.

b.   One major consideration, especially with
larger pieces such as furniture, is the extra cost involved in getting them.
Despite the cost, it becomes apparent over time that in combination with other
LEED or green improvements, a company will most likely save quite a bit of
money in the long-run (For example, Manko, Gold, Katcher and Fox saves $10,000
a year by using energy efficient lighting. They can use these savings to
justify purchasing sustainably crafted furniture that typically costs more).

c.   Educating employees and changing practices
go hand-in-hand with green products.  For
example, use phone messages rather than “while you were out” notes and place
signs to educate employees that you are doing your part.

4.     
Is there governmental money available to help
fund green improvements?

a.   The short answer is yes! Pennsylvania has received federal stimulus
funds for these types of improvements, and other programs through the state
(Keystone Program) and the national government (EPA, among others) offer grants
and other financing options to pay for energy or green improvements for small
businesses. There also exist some tax incentives to make green improvements as
well.

Questions to be
answered or issues to be addressed:

1.     
There is some confusion about the ‘informal energy audit’ in the online carbon
calculator.

2.     
What about a program for non-profits? Some are
scared away by the title.

It
would also be helpful if the online forum would send out email digests of the
posts that have been made so that members can stay up-to-date.