Hello All
I am the EPA Region 9 Green Hospitality Coordinator. I provide these periodic newsletters in order to share information that may be of interest to lodging and other hospitality facilities. Please feel free to forward this to any who may be interested. I am available to help you address any challenges faced by hospitality businesses’ as they work to reduce their environmental impacts and move toward sustainability. Please feel free to reply and let me know how this e-mail newsletter can be more helpful for you, or if you have any questions or concerns. I welcome items to include in the next newsletter and I welcome the opportunity to share your successes with others that may be facing similar situations. Also let me know if you would prefer not to receive these messages. Wendi Shafir, LEED AP Pollution Prevention Coordinator US Environmental Protection
Agency, Region 9 75 Hawthorne Street (WST-7) San Francisco, CA 94105 415.972.3422
415.947.3530 fax
shafir.wendi@epa.gov
http://www.epa.gov/region09/waste/p2
http://www.epa.gov/region09/greenbuilding/index.html
Disclaimer: Some of the events, articles and websites listed in this email
are not sponsored by EPA. EPA is listing them for your information only. EPA
is not responsible for their content and does not endorse any commercial product,
service, enterprise, or policy that may be included.
Contents
1. Fluorescent Lamp Recycling, February 2009, EPA530-R-09-001
2. Buildings Energy Data Book
3. How Sustainability Can Be Incorporated into Executive Compensation
4. Take the Food Recovery Challenge
5. Waste Reduction Model (WARM) NEW VERSION: Updated August 2010
6. Tax incentives for energy efficiency and renewable energy
7. Travelocity, Expedia Add Hundreds of Sustainable Hotels
8. Training Video Series Helps Facility Managers Track Energy Use 1.
Fluorescent Lamp Recycling, February 2009, EPA530-R-09-001.
The purpose of this document is to provide information to businesses, regulatory agencies, and the public interested in recycling spent fluorescent lamps. Specifically, this document discusses safe practices for handling, storing, and recycling spent fluorescent lamps, as well as providing Best Management Practices (BMPs) for the storage of spent fluorescent lamps and the use of drum-top crushers (DTCs) for compacting waste lamps. View the Fluorescent Lamp Recycling document at http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/hazard/wastetypes/universal/lamps/lamp-recycling2-09.pdf
For more information and a copy of Fluorescent Lamp Recycling http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/hazard/wastetypes/universal/lamps/links.htm
Buildings Energy Data Book
Statistics on commercial building energy consumption. Data tables contain statistics related to construction, building technologies, energy consumption, and building characteristics. The Building Technologies Program within the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy developed this Buildings Energy Data Book to provide a current and accurate set of comprehensive buildings- and energy-related data. The Data Book is an evolving document and is periodically updated. http://buildingsdatabook.eren.doe.gov/ChapterView.aspx?chap=3#10 Check out hotel/motel information in Chapter 3. Some of the info is only current to 2007, other data are current to 2009. Direct link to hotel data is http://buildingsdatabook.eren.doe.gov/ChapterView.aspx?chap=3#10
How Sustainability Can Be Incorporated into Executive Compensation.
By Gina-Marie Cheeseman of Triple Pundit–People Planet Profit of April 29, 2010. President of Ceres, Mindy S. Lubber, says in a Harvard Business Review opinion piece that global problems like climate change “demand new business models.” Lubber warns that not creating new models will result in more than “another financial-sector meltdown,” but environmental and social problems “on a scale never before seen.” She thinks that bringing pay “into the equation” is a quick way of grabbing attention. Several reports agree with Lubber. A Ceres report, The 21st Century Corporation: The Ceres Roadmap for Sustainability, says, “Sustainability performance results must be a core component of the evaluation of senior executive performance and compensation packages.” A report by Pascual Berrone of IESE Business School, and Luis Gomez-Mejia of Arizona State University, published last year in the Academy of Management
Journal says firms need “incentive mechanisms to dissuade managers from avoidance.” British utility company National Grid announced last year it would partly base executive compensation on meeting targets for reducing carbon emissions. Joe Kwasnik, group head of climate change for the company, explains key points to Environmental
Leader on how the company is implements its scheme:
(1) Recognize that change is coming, and get ahead of the curve. National Grid decided to “weave” into its internal budgets and operations, the fact that many governments are setting targets to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) 80 percent by 2050;
(2) Establish a baseline and internal metrics. National Grid first set a baseline measurement of its carbon footprint;
(3) Create a culture that rewards carbon reduction. National Grid had already reduced its GHG emissions by 30 percent
since 1990;
(4) Be ready to adjust to new policies, regulations and market information. National Grid is ready to incorporate the cost of carbon in the U.S. into its decision making when a cap and trade program is in place. To read the entire article: http://www.triplepundit.com/2010/04/how-sustainability-can-be-incorporated-into-executive-compensation/ (Courtesy of Practice Greenhealth listserve)
Take the Food Recovery Challenge,
Announced September 1, 2010 How much of your food and money are you literally throwing away?
In 2008, American businesses and households generated 32 million tons of food waste. Of that, 31 million tons (97%) was thrown away into landfills or incinerators! Much of this “waste” was not waste at all, but actually safe, wholesome food that could potentially feed millions of Americans or discards that could be recycled (composted) into a nutrient rich soil amendment. And since food is such an incredibly valuable resource that can be used to protect our soil and water or grow our next generation of crops, there are just so many better uses for it to consider before putting in a landfill or incinerator. Which is why the US EPA Food Recovery Initiative and the WasteWise Program have joined forces to challenge business, industry, and institutions to reduce, donate, and recycle as much of their food waste as possible – saving money and helping protect the environment. And through the Food Recovery Challenge, participating organizations have the opportunity to receive national recognition for their outstanding Challenge achievements. Take the Food Recovery Challenge and together – let’s take a bite out of food waste! To join us and to learn more – go to www.epa.gov/foodrecoverychallenge
To Join: If your organization is not already a WasteWise Partner, first contact the WasteWise Helpline at (800) EPA-WISE (372-9473) to join, or register online at https://my.re-trac.com/NewWasteWisePartner.pm
Once you have a ReTRAC account, follow the instructions below for existing partners. If your organization is already a WasteWise Partner, log onto WasteWise ReTRAC at https://my.re-trac.com/Login.pm. You will see a banner at the top of the home page for the Food Recovery Challenge. Choose the link to your organization’s information page, where you will check the “Food Recovery Challenge” box to enroll. EPA also recently released updates to its Food Waste Web site at www.epa.gov/foodrecovery. Check out the site! To learn more about the WasteWise Program, visit the WasteWise web site at www.epa.gov/wastewise September is also Feeding America’s “Hunger Action Month”
To learn more, go to www.hungeractionmonth.org Additional resources * LeanPath and Jonathan Bloom both maintain terrific blogs specifically on food waste – you may want to check them out: Blog www.foodwastefocus.com
Blog: www.wastedfood.com
* Composting 10-Step Guide from Practice Greenhealth: http://blog.leanpath.com/wp content/uploads/2009/10/Composting_10StepGuide.pdf I hope the above information and resources are help to you in your efforts decrease food waste generation and increase food recovery.
Waste Reduction Model (WARM)
NEW VERSION: Updated August 2010 EPA created the Waste Reduction Model (WARM) to help solid waste planners and organizations track and voluntarily report greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions from several different waste management practices. WARM is available both as a Web-based calculator and as a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet (355K WinZip archive). The Excel-based version of WARM offers more functionality than the Web-based calculator. WARM calculates and totals GHG emissions of baseline and alternative waste management practices—source reduction, recycling, combustion, composting, and landfilling. The model calculates emissions in metric tons of carbon equivalent (MTCE), metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO2E), and energy units (million BTU) across a wide range of material types commonly found in municipal solid waste (MSW). The August 2010 update (Version 11) includes new materials, updated data, and added functionality. It’s available at epa.gov/warm.
Tax incentives for energy efficiency and renewable energy.
DSIRE is a comprehensive source of information on state, local, utility and federal incentives and policies that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency. Established in 1995 and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, DSIRE is an ongoing project of the N.C. Solar Center and the Interstate Renewable Energy Council. http://www.dsireusa.org/ Specific State Resources CA http://www.dsireusa.org/incentives/index.cfm re=1&ee=1&spv=0&st=0&srp=1&state=CA
AZ http://www.dsireusa.org/incentives/index.cfm?re=1&ee=1&spv=0&st=0&srp=1&state=AZ
HI http://www.dsireusa.org/incentives/index.cfm?re=1&ee=1&spv=0&st=0&srp=1&state=HI
NV http://www.dsireusa.org/incentives/index.cfm?re=1&ee=1&spv=0&st=0&srp=1&state=NV
Travelocity, Expedia Add Hundreds of Sustainable Hotels:
in August Travelocity announced it was adding hundreds of properties to its Green Hotel Directory that have been validated by Hilton Worldwide’s innovative sustainability measurement system, LightStay™. To date, Travelocity has flagged more than 2,200 hotels across the globe with the eco-friendly leaf and the company works with an elite group of certification programs. In September Expedia announced that it too is adding 300-plus properties using LightStay to the Expedia Green Hotel Program. The Expedia.com Green Hotel Program launched in April 2008 and now features more than 2,000 supply partners and more than 80 green certification programs. http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=75787&p=irol newsArticle&ID=1458861&highlight
http://www.4hoteliers.com/4hots_nshw.php?mwi=7709
Training Video Series Helps Facility Managers Track Energy Use.
Do you have a mandate for energy reduction? Do you need to benchmark your facility or prove savings for an energy efficiency project? Tracking and understanding electric meter data will better equip you to meet these demands and proactively manage energy use. Through this five part video series, you’ll learn how to:
– Read and understand your facility’s energy bills – Obtain and interpret meter
data – Determine what to track Watch the training videos at http://betterbricks.com/DetailPage.aspx?ID=1162
Related Resources: Metering Best Practices: A Guide to Achieving Utility
Resource Efficiency, 2007 http://www1.eere.energy.gov/femp/pdfs/mbpg.pdf
Operations & Maintenance Best Practices for Facility Managers at http://betterbricks.com/DetailPage.aspx?ID=489
This information is from the BetterBricks website