The 2008 summer edition of News from SWACO has been released, and further descriptions are provided about all of the 2008 Emerald Award Recipients. Nearly 700 people were in attendance for the awards ceremony!
Jun 30, 2008
SWACO Summer Newsletter honors Emerald Award Winners - Luper Neidenthal and Logan, and many more...
Jun 25, 2008
David Scott Interviewed on GreenBiz Radio
Our very own David Scott was recently interviewed by GreenBiz Radio. The topic up for discussion? How law firms can work to become more environmentally friendly, the great results of doing so, and the challenges that come along with it...
Click here to listen to the Podcast : ... Listen
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Jun 16, 2008
How Green Is Columbus?
By Amanda Bucha
A recent report from the Brookings Institution shows that the Columbus metro resident’s carbon footprint is above the national average. Columbus residents in the metro area emitted almost one more ton of carbon from the highway travel and home energy use than the average American metro resident.
In response to this trend, Mayor Coleman recently signed the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, and the Central Ohio Green Pact. According to their website, the Green Pact includes some of the following guidelines:
· Growing a Strong, Green Economy - Collaborate to make sure that Central Ohio develops a larger market share of green businesses. Work together to attract and retain green businesses, and celebrate and reward existing businesses that adopt sustainable practices.
· Educating and Engaging Our Communities – Encourage greater environmental stewardship by residents and local businesses. Reach out to our stakeholders and citizens to teach the value and practice of sustainable living. Make periodic reports to our community about our efforts.
· Preserving Green Space and Creating Greenways - Support regional efforts to conserve streams, wetlands, forests and the other important natural resources of Central Ohio and increase the amount of parks and recreation areas for our residents. Create an interconnected system of greenways and bike trails that provide opportunities for alternative transportation, outdoor recreation, and healthy living.
· Mass Transportation - Explore ways to improve and promote alternative transportation in Central Ohio; including exploration of mass transit, promotion and exploration of incentives for our employees to take the bus, bike, or carpool to work.
Some examples of ways the city is changing include the development of the new Scioto Mile Audubon Metro Park and the recent renovations of the Lazarus Building. The former is described as an 80-acre green sanctuary on the Whittier Peninsula, which will expand green space in the city. According to the Whittier Peninsula Advisory Committee, the mission of this new park is to “provide a natural area park on the Whittier Peninsula. The focus of this partnership will be environmental education, passive outdoor recreation, and the expansion of a quiet natural space near downtown.” Their vision is to “transform the warehouses, impound lots, and old manufacturing sites back to woods, meadows, and wetlands.”
The Lazarus building has been getting national attention as one of the most eco-friendly development projects in the nation. Its rainwater filtering system and “green roof”, which consists of a wide variety of plants, allow the building to recycle rainwater which is then used to heat, ventilate, and cool the building. Rainwater is collected in the roof tank and piped into a tank in the basement of the building where it is recycled. Because the plants use the rainwater, they help prevent it from entering the sewer systems.
Learn more about the Scioto Mile Audubon Metro Park and the Lazarus Building by clicking the links!
Resources:
McIntyre, Melanie. “Columbus’ carbon footprint among highest in the nation”. The Daily Reporter (Columbus, Oh) 2 June 2008: 1.
The City of Columbus. 30 Oct. 2007. The City of Columbus. 10 June 2008 <http://getgreencolumbus.com/PDFs/GreenPact.pdf>.
Columbus Metro Parks Whittier Peninsula Advisory Committee – Park Program. 25 April 2006. Columbus Metro Parks. 10 June 2008.
Matt Burns. "Green Lazarus building gets national accolade.” Columbus Business First. (25 Sept. 2007) 10 June 2008.
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Jun 9, 2008
Sustainability an Important Theme at Columbus Bar Association Annual Meeting
By Fred Luper
LNL was proud to fulfill the Columbus Bar Association’s request that our firm donate 400 CF light bulbs to include in the giveaway bag for the CBA Annual Meeting, held on Friday, June 6. We are even more proud to see that the CBA has adopted sustainability as a general theme for operations in the coming fiscal year and we look forward to contributing any way we can to help fellow member firms become more efficient and less wasteful.
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Jun 3, 2008
Greenwashing
by David Scott
I recently came across a fascinating paper published by TerraChoice Environmental Marketing, Inc. called “The ‘Six Sins of Greenwashing.” The paper defines greenwashing as misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service. The six sins are 1. The Hidden Trade-Off, 2. No Proof, 3. Vagueness, 4. Irrelevance, 5. Fibbing, and 6. Lesser of Two Evils. The paper was based on surveys of over 1,000 consumer products bearing over 1,700 environmental claims.
The increasing popularity of “green marketing” gives consumers a great opportunity to make choices based on sustainability, if that is an important consideration to them. But it also exposes consumers to the risk of being tricked by false and/or misleading claims. Although the United States and Canadian governments are working to develop regulations or standards, there is no substitute for keeping yourself educated and informed. Resources like the “Six Sins” will probably become more relevant as more products and services that are making “green claims” continue to enter the marketplace. Companies that make honest, verifiable, and meaningful claims will benefit by avoiding the “green” market being diluted by pretenders. Charlatans should bear the wrath of the marketplace as well as governmental authorities.
In addition to creating a clever and readable guide to the evils of greenwashing, the Six Sins provides links to resources to help consumers make educated choices. These resources include EcoLogo (http://www.ecologo.org/), North America’s oldest environmental leadership standard, Green Seal (http://www.greenseal.org/), which provides critera for the development of various products and services, the Forest Stewardship Council (http://www.fcsus.org/), which certifies wood products obtained from sustainably harvested forests and certifies preferable types of paper, Green-e (http://www.green-e.org/), which certifies sources of renewable energy and renewable energy credits, and Green Guard (http://www.greenguard.org/), which focuses on indoor air quality issues. Good luck getting green and avoiding being greenwashed in the process!
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