Chicago’s Greenheart Shop is declaring that Black Friday will be Green Friday this year at their store, which sells Fair Trade, eco-friendly and socially conscious gifts, food, clothes and accessories.

Greenheart, a non-profit cultural exchange and storefront (at 1911 W. Division) will be serving free Fair Trade wine, cocoa and snacks to shoppers. Visitors can also see a make-your-own gift wrap demonstration. The event, on Friday, Nov. 27, when shoppers traditionally swarm the stores keeping retails in the black, will run from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Those who can’t attend can still buy Greenheart products online.

The goodies sold at Greenheart benefit disadvantaged workers, coops in developing nations and support ecologically sound growing methods, like shade-grown cocoa. They include:

• 

  Clutch made of recycled saris.

  Purses and clutches made from recycled saris, such as this one made by a family of artisans near New Delhi, India, through WorldFinds, a Chicago-based organization that partners with fair trade organizations, women’s self-help groups, and small families of artisans in India, Nepal, and Indonesia.

• Beeline Honey, an all natural raw honey produced by (bees and) Sweet Beginnings, LCC, a social enterprise and transitional job program of the North Lawndale employment network in Chicago. The program helps people who face barriers to employment, particularly those with histories of criminal conviction. The Beeline enterprise helps workers establish a work history and learn productive work habits.

• Eco-friendly gift wrap that is 100 percent tree-free. Made out of recycled cotton rags, each sheet of gift wrap
  

  Wrapping paper made of recycled rags.

  offers unique colors and patterns. Customers can specify a color preference for these 22 x 32-inch sheets of wrap made by Artisans at the Eco Friendly Papers workshop in Rajasthan, India, who collect cotton waste, such as rags, and turn it into a pulp.

The shop also sells soy candles, women’s dresses, baby accessories, reusable water bottles, Fair Trade cocoa and more.

To read more about Greenheart and its work around the world, see the history on their website.

The Greenheart storefront is open  M-F 11-7; Sat 11-6; Sun 12-5; products are available online.

Owens Corning today announced that it is launching a new program that simplifies recycling asphalt shingles
for its preferred roofing contractors. The company said it will be the first roofing manufacturer to connect contractors with convenient recycling facilities through a national strategic alliance.

Based on a pilot conducted in Indiana, Owens Corning plans to will roll out the program nationally, starting in the Midwest. Contractors will pledge to recycle their shingle tear-offs.

Owens Corning is working with Heritage Environmental Services, the largest privately-held environmental services company in the United States. Heritage will provide dedicated, convenient drop-off centers that will recycle and process shingle tear-offs.

“Millions of tons of asphalt roofing shingles are sent to landfills every year, wasting valuable resources such as asphalt and aggregate,” Bill McDaniel, president and chief executive officer of Heritage, said in a statement. “With the combined efforts of Heritage and Owens Corning, material that would have been wasted will now be reused and made into roads.”

Owens Corning said that recycling glass-based asphalt shingles is a cost-effective alternative to producing new asphalt and helps preserve resources. Last year the Asphalt Institute estimated that the asphalt from recycled shingles has a potential value of more than $1 billion, which is variable upon the price of asphalt.

If you’ve been taking your home green, you know how ideas can feed off each other. Someone gets picky about paper recycling; someone else becomes the food waste arbiter; pretty soon everyone has their eco-role and the household’s carbon footprint is shrinking.

Hotel Triton Lobby (Photo: Markham Johnson)

Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants realized early on that green grows like that.  The hospitality chain, with roots in San Francisco, has a history of putting eco-friendly ideas in place. Even before green hotel or green restaurant designations were developed, Kimpton was experimenting with eco-friendly practices at its San Francisco properties, such as the Hotel Triton, where motion sensors turn off lights and 60 percent of the waste gets recycled.

Non-toxic products, green cleaners, low VOC paints, low-flow faucets – all these turned up in Kimpton Hotels while other hotels were still on the highway of high-consumption. In addition, Kimpton has restored several historic buildings, supporting pedestrian-friendly urban areas. Stay at a Kimpton and you may find yourself ensconced on an eco-friendly mattress, drinking organic coffee and munching on a Clif bar.

Still, as the Kimpton chain grew greener, it had to figure out how to roll out the plan to all of its properties, including those outside of the Bay Area where environmental practices were not as well understood.

By 2005, the luxury hotel group had decided to standardize its green practices, requiring all Kimptons to adhere to an “Earth Care” program. But it didn’t want to impose a rigid top-down program. The solution: Kimpton named “eco-champions” at each of its hotels and encouraged them to form green teams and let ideas bubble up.

“You’ve got to get people on the front lines, who are doing the work, whose job you’re changing, a voice…and they’re right there, they see where the waste is,” said Niki Leondakis , chief operation officer for Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants.

The Kimpton leadership, which currently oversees 48 hotels in cities from New England to California, learned the importance of buy-in earlier. In 2003, when Kimpton decided guests could opt out of having their sheets and towels washed every day, management was surprised that many housekeepers were reluctant to make the change. “The housekeepers couldn’t grasp the idea that they were doing a good job by not changing the towels. They needed training that if the towels were on towel bar, the guest wanted to save water and soap…and it was OK,” Leondakis said.

Today, the staff is more likely to get it, though the hospitality group still treads carefully in determining what clients will tolerate – and remain satisfied customers. That has left several green issues still on the table, such as whether a hotel can reduce plastic water bottles when guests on-the-go seem to expect that perk, or whether guests will accept room amenities in bulk dispensers (foregoing that little souvenir of the trip).

“We were initially, like, ‘We’re going to get rid of bottled water entirely.’ And we’d offer filtered tap water in reusable containers both in the restaurants, and our vision was to create a reusable container almost like a flask that people paid a nominal fee for and then they’d refill it at a water cooler. But the consumer does not seem to be ready for that,” Leondakis said.

Look for the green teams and “eco-champions” to find a solution. So far, the local crews are forging viable new ways on various fronts.

In DC, Chef Robert Weland at the Post Modern Barasserie in D.C. was the driving force behind an herb garden. He not only uses it in his dishes, but gives tours.

In Portland, at the Hotel Monaco, someone decided the facility could get along without those paper-wasting phone books. Now all Kimptons get by without guest room phone books.

Hotel Monaco Chicago (Photo: David Phelps)

In Chicago, the cities’ three Kimpton Hotels, the Monaco, Burnham and Allegro became leaders in the Green Seal green cleaner certification program, prompted by a mayor’s green initiative. Now the three are among just 50 Green Seal certified hotels nationwide.

The 20-year-old program requires the use of green cleaners, energy efficiency and recycling. (For details, see this listing.)

Using green cleaners prevents water pollution, provides for healthier interior air and curbs carbon emissions. The typical silver-ranked Green Seal hotel saves 400 tons of CO2 emissions every year, said Charlotte Teyraud, a spokeswoman for the non-profit Green Seal.

The Chicago hotels also  advocated for a commercial recycling program, that was eventually put into place with the help of city hall, says Nabil Moubayed, manager of the 192-room Hotel Monaco Chicago along the city’s Magnificent Mile:

Now in the “5^th phase” of instituting the Kimpton “Earth Care” program, Moubayed says the Hotel Monaco has found that going green is working on many levels:

• About 60-70 percent of the hotel’s customers use the opt-out linen/towel program, saving money and water.

• The Green Seal-approved cleaners, which the hotel buys in bulk, concentrated form, are saving the hotel about $25,000 a year. The non-toxic cleaners are healthier for staff and guests and biodegradable. (As for that outdated worry about green cleaners not working – Moubayad says surveys burst that myth. “When we look at guest comments. We have the highest score in the company for clean bathrooms and guest rooms.”)

• The hotel recycles about half of its trash, which also saves money because sending out the garbage costs more in trash fees than sending out recyclables, even in this down-market for recyclable material.

Hotel Monaco room overlooking Chicago River

Green ways are catching on among staff, he says. When Monaco’s valet crew discovered that the dry cleaners they were using was discarding hangers after one use, they were aghast. They went to work to find a solution. Now the hangers are reused.

Guests, too, are contracting the green bug. While they remain a diverse group that’s not easily gauged, Moubayed says surveys show that the majority of people stay at Kimpton because of the hotels’ greener rep.

“We’ve seen a pretty high percentage of guests choosing use because we have a strong Green Care program.” he  said. “We don’t want them to feel like everything we doing is in their face. The (guest room) recycling bin for instance is bronze not bright blue. And the low flow shower heads, we don’t’ necessarily want them to notice that, but it  is helping the environment.”

Moubayad had no special sustainability training before coming to the Hotel Monaco, but he has built on what he has learned through Kimpton.

“I found I had a passion for it,” he said. “It’s the right thing to do., not just from the consumer point of view, but as a human, for the future generations. It’s the right thing to do.”

(Another key way that hotels across the US are greening their profile is by building, retrofitting or tailoring operations to meet standards set by the US Green Building Council. For more on these green hotels, see our recent story: A green wave coming, hundreds of hotels finalizing their LEED certification.)

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

Though the economy remains weak and the unemployment rate is still high, a new report released by the Chicagoland Green Collar Jobs Initiative cites the job creation potential of green collar jobs in the Chicago region.

The report highlights numerous policy opportunities – including climate legislation, additional resources for environmental programs, and changes to environmental standards – that may help spur the development of new green collar jobs throughout Chicagoland. The specific occupations most likely to experience significant growth are energy efficiency measure installers and auditors, primarily in response to the projected increase in the number of residential retrofits expected to be completed in the coming years.

“Both the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the Illinois Capital Bill contain significant investments in environmental programs, including expansion of the Weatherization Assistance Program and Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Grant, improving building energy efficiency, and developing sustainable transportation,” Paige Finnegan of e-One and a member of the Initiative Steering Committee, said in a statement.

Chicagoland is well positioned to respond to these opportunities by training new workers and providing supplemental training to the existing workforce. The region already has a strong workforce development and training infrastructure, a track record of developing successful industry-specific initiatives, experience in green curriculum development, and an extensive network of workforce development and training providers on which to draw.

Jennifer Keeling, of the Chicago Jobs Council and director of the Initiative, said “the Chicago area has significant experience and resources on which to build. The region has developed successful sector-focused workforce development strategies in the past, and can draw on its extensive network of community-based training providers, community colleges, and other training organizations to respond to these new opportunities. What will be critical is to ensure that the trainings developed in response to these emerging green collar jobs are accessible to a range of job-seekers, including those with low skill levels.”

Though the Chicagoland region already has a strong foundation, to fully realize the potential of the expanding green economy and green collar job opportunities, the Initiative recommends: prioritizing collaboration and partnerships, creating a process for ongoing standardization of curriculum for green training programs, ensuring comprehensive workforce strategies to engage low-skill workers, establishing a standard weatherization process, promoting the development of integrated green workforce and economic development strategies, and establishing minimum common building standards.

This Saturday is International Day of Climate Action — a chance for everyone to take a stand on behalf of the planet and possibly participate in one of 4,300 actions that are planned in 171 countries.

With participation numbers like that, the number “350″ is becoming a popular rallying cry.

“We had no idea it would go viral like this. It seems far-fetched that you could get that many people to rally around a scientific data point, but the number just keeps climbing. It shows just how scared of global warming much of the planet really is, and how fed up at the inaction of our leaders,” said Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org.

Added Matt Fitzgerald, a organizer for the group: “We’ve been hearing from the politicians and the corporations, now we’re hearing from the people. And in over 170 countries they’re calling for a Copenhagen agreement that sets us on a rapid path to 350.”

350.org began the International Day of Climate Action campaign not only to wake up politicians, but wake up the world. The group wants everyone to know about and understand the number 350, which signifies the level many scientists have identified as the safe utmost limit for CO2 in the atmosphere, in parts per million.

Here are a few unique events around the US:

Austin

• Get Clean to Get Green

The Guadalupe Neighborhood Development Corporation’s (GNDC) extremely affordable, net-zero energy subdivision is truly raising the bar for local, affordable, community-based development. This large infill project involves subdividing approximately 7.2 acres into four tracts, which will be developed into both multi-family condominiums and single-family homes. Currently the land is vacant, and remediation of the brownfield is starting Saturday. Every unit on this property will have net-zero energy bills. A large portion of these units will be affordable to extremely low-income households. Join in and get dirty.

• Education Stroll

Join in a moving forum that will not only be good for you, but for the planet. Participants will take a walk in their neighborhood or across the city to talk with people about the urgent need to reduce our carbon emissions so we can quickly scramble back to 350ppm. Walkers/educators are asked to carry signs illustrating important concepts and will stop in businesses along the way (where appropriate and arrangements have been previously made) to speak with larger groups. Spread the environmental word.

Chicago

• Chalk Walk

Columbia College Chicago will be celebrating the arts and bringing awareness to the environment. The college will demonstrate how one can make their own paper by reusing old paper and turning it into pulp. Later, each person will be given a piece of chalk in to use to trace their “carbon footprint” on the sidewalk. Participants will make a pledge, write something meaningful, and decorate their footprint however they would like. There will be volunteers and organizations showcasing art and visual displays along the walk. There will be art stations, tables, and anything else participants want to use to express themselves.

• Go Go Green

The 2009 Go Go Green 5K will raise awareness about the urban ecosystem and educate the community on eco-friendliness on Saturday at Diversey Harbor. People of all ages are welcome. Participants are encouraged to bring household recyclables, old batteries and gym shoes to the race. The race begins at 9am.

Dallas

• Boomer Green Teams

Volunteers will be saving money while saving the environment for area senior citizens. Participants will be installing free compact fluorescent light bulbs for low-income senior citizens. This simple task will reduce electricity consumption and carbon emissions.

Los Angeles

• Eat Locally, Think Globally

Enjoy socially responsible fine dining, with locally sourced foods and wines at unique sophisticated venues. Created and produced by Chef Rico Mandel & Helen McHugh, their new concept “Restaurant without Walls” blends the social consciousness of environmental awareness with a luxurious gourmet culinary theme at specially contracted, interchangeable locations.

New York

• Dance to Save the World: Studio 54

Join 250 movers and shakers at Studio 54, for StartingBloc’s second annual Fellow-run fundraiser, BLOC PARTY II. This year they will be celebrating “social innovators”, presenting an inaugural award to Majora Carter, an environmental justice and green jobs pioneer from the South Bronx who has worked on climate change initiatives most of her career.

• Climate at the Cathedral

The Cathedral of St. John the Divine invites the community to come join in ringing bells, delivering messages and taking photos to commemorate IDCA. The cathedral will ring its iconic bells 350 times.

Anywhere

• Twitter Hour

Maybe you do not have a couple of hours to get out this Saturday. It is OK. You can still make a difference from the comfort of your own home. Twitter has swiftly become the new communication tool for people everywhere, even celebrities and politicians. So TWEET it.

President Barack Obama is one of the people with the most power to create a positive outcome at the upcoming Copenhagen meeting. Let him know that 350 ppm target is the only way to stop the planet tipping into climate crisis. From 12-1 EDT, send “USA MUST formally adopt the 350ppm CO2 target at Copenhagen 09 – the ONLY WAY to prevent runaway climate change NO EXCUSES!” All the tweets sent to President Barack Obama need to contain the same message, to create maximum impact, according to 350.org.

It is not too late to join an event or even register your own. Either way, make this Saturday about something much larger than yourself.

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

GreenTown: The Future of Community is a one day conference that aims to help small, medium or large communities become more sustainable.

Featuring speakers like Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and hosted by Columbia College Chicago and sponsored by the City of Chicago, GreenTown will take place this Thursday in downtown Chicago at the Film Row Cinema. The conference, which is put on by a5 inc. and Seven Generations Ahead, is in its second year and is a carbon neutral event.

The purpose of GreenTown is “to bring together the public and private sector to discuss and determine ways to create sustainable communities. We have mayors and city managers, city council members and public works directors mingling with planners, architects, landscape architects and providers of product and services that can make healthier communities,” said John Harris with a5 inc.

The conference will feature five key environmental aspects, largely based on the climate action plan, including:

• Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
• Transportation
• Adaptation to Climate Change
• Design and Building
• Waste Reduction

This event showcases national and local leaders who are at the forefront in sustainable urbanism, transit-oriented development, brownfield and riverfront re-development, green building, renewable energy, municipal food scrap recycling, zero waste schools, local food systems and more.

The event’s key speakers include:

• Richard M. Daley – mayor of Chicago, Illinois, that began Chicago’s environmental movement in 2006 with increased rooftop gardens, park space, and renewable energy use.
• Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. – named one of TIME magazine’s “Hero’s for the Planet”, currently serves as the Vice Chair and Chief Prosecuting Attorney for Riverkeeper and Chairman of Waterkeeper Alliance
• Bob Dixson – mayor of Greensburg, Kansas, the town that was wiped out by an f5 tornado two years ago that is aiming to be the model green community by sustainably rebuilding.

It is not too late to register. GreenTown Chicago is open to anyone. There are discounts given to companies that have more than one person attending, as well as non-profit organizations, and students.

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

Whole Foods Market announced today that it purchased 776 million-kilowatt-hours of renewable energy credits from wind farms — equal to 100 percent of its electricity use in its North American operations. The company said nearly 90 percent of this year’s purchase will help fund E.ON Climate & Renewables’ recently-completed Texas-based Panther Creek wind farm.

The Panther Creek wind farm iis 50 miles east of Midland in Big Spring, Texas. It began operating in 2008, and its final phase of construction was recently completed. The project is built and operated by EC&R North America, a renewable energy developer headquartered in Chicago, with development offices in Austin and Denver. The remaining RECs come from a number of different wind farms in locations across the U.S. and Canada. The total purchase of 776,115,000 kilowatt hours, the largest to date by a U.S. retailer, was made in partnership with Boulder, Colo.-based Renewable Choice Energy.

“Support from companies like Whole Foods Market with partners like Renewable Choice Energy creates a valuable revenue stream for us that helps make new wind farms like Panther Creek possible,” said Dean Tuel, vice president of Energy Marketing for E.ON Climate & Renewables North America. “EC&R is developing a number of large scale wind projects in the U.S. over the coming years. Extra funding from renewable energy credit sales will play a crucial role in this growth.”

Whole Foods Market said the wind power purchase will help avoid up to 868 million pounds of carbon dioxide pollution. The environmental impact is similar to taking more than 72,000 cars off of the roads for a year, or planting nearly 3.6 million mature trees.

By Hosea Sanders and Sylvia Jones

CHICAGO (WLS) — More people are deciding to save energy by installing solar panels — even while the debate continues over whether they are worth the investment. One way to live green while saving money is to conserve energy. If you’ve ever wondered whether solar panels are really the best way to do that, you can find out through an upcoming “solar tour.” >> Read the full story

By Hosea Sanders

CHICAGO (WLS) — You don’t have to change your life to go green. You can always make small adjustments like switching from plastic to paper — or corn. You might be protecting the planet just by having your next meal — and not even know it. >> Read the full story

By Hosea Sanders

CHICAGO (WLS) — Now you can look good while protecting the planet. Clothing made from bamboo or plastic bottles may not sound appealing — or comfortable. But once you experience it, you might be pleasantly surprised. >> Read the full story

By Hosea Sanders

CHICAGO (WLS) — Something new is sprouting up at the Cook County Sheriff’s boot camp. The Cook County Sheriff’s boot camp is designed to give young men who have made some mistakes a second chance. Organizers think getting them back to nature might also help get their lives back on track. >> Read the full story

President Bill Clinton will deliver the keynote speech today to kick off annual Climate Leadership Summit for members of the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment. Six hundred fifty college and university presidents have joined the effort, a comprehensive global warming initiative through which schools are committing to neutralize greenhouse gas emissions on their campuses, dedicating research and programs to the development of climate change solutions, and training their students to address the climate crisis upon graduation.

Approximately 250 higher education leaders are expected to attend the summit in Chicago.

“The sustainability and climate efforts on college and university campuses nationwide are a great start and an inspiring example for all of society, but they are not happening fast enough to match the speed and severity of climate disruption,” Michael Crow, president of Arizona State University and a co-chair of the ACUPCC Network, said in a statement. “We’ve come together this week to get down to business to figure out how to accelerate the pace and success of our efforts.”

The event helps university and college presidents, business officers, facilities managers, and other higher education leaders determine how to better access financing to support climate and sustainability efforts and create or expand their climate action plans.

In addition to President Clinton, other speakers include Martha J. Kanter, US Undersecretary of Education; S. Richard Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chairman of the US Green Building Council; Peter M. Senge, author of The Fifth Discipline and founding chair of the Society for Organizational Learning; and Janine Benyus, biologist and author of six books including Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature.