November 2011 Meeting

Everyday sustainability. How getting your hands dirty can make a big difference!

Evan Marks

Guest Speaker: Evan Marks, Executive Director, The Ecology Center

Topic: Everyday sustainability. How getting your hands-dirty can make a big difference!

Speaker Biography: Ever since the native Californian joined the Surfrider Foundation back in high school, Evan Marks' life-long career as an environmentalist was already underway. Through this participation, Marks was convinced that people had the ability to directly impact the environment by taking matters into their own hands.

He continued his advocacy while attending the University of California, Santa Cruz where he studied Agroecology - the study of sustainable agriculture - with the goal of transforming modern agriculture through integrated organic systems management. Having worked extensively in California and Hawaii and internationally in Costa Rica, Peru, Mexico, Ghana and Nigeria, Marks acquired personal hands-on experience in the fields of ecological design and sustainable agriculture.

In 2008, Marks was given the opportunity to bring environmental education and awareness to Southern California with the development of The Ecology Center. Working to transform the facility as the regional hub for sustainability and green living, Marks and volunteers of The Ecology Center are actively recruiting members in hopes of promoting eco-consciousness across San Juan Capistrano and its neighboring communities. The effects of the programs of this center have the potential to mold the future of Orange County.

1.0 GBCI CEU Approved

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has approved the technical and instructional quality of this course for 1.0 GBCI CE Hour towards the LEED Credential Maintenance Program. Course approval number is 0090005140

Come meet others interested in going green at SBLC's monthly meeting. Open to anyone interested in going green!

Share with business owners, executives, and other regional leaders what you do that is eco-friendly. Even if you do not do anything "Green" and just want to learn; you are welcome to join us.

• Date: November 8, 2011
• Time: 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
• Location: ECCO Restaurant at the Camp in Costa Mesa
• Address: 2937 Bristol, Suite A103, Costa Mesa 92626
• Cost: SBLC Members $10 per person, Non-Members $15 per person, Students $5 per person
• For more information call (877) 890-5606

Attend This Event

October 2011 Meeting

Get the New Dirt on Green Cleaning

Michael Gould

Guest Speaker: Michael Gould, LEED Green Associate, CIMS-GB ISSA Certification Expert, District Sales Manager, Waxie Sanitary Supply

Topic: Green cleaning, Green cleaning in LEED, The future of green cleaning.

Description: At Waxie, we are passionate about contributing to clean, healthy and safe indoor and outdoor environments, and green cleaning, and water preservation, and recycling are critical components. Let’s Talk Cleaning: The Benefits of Green Cleaning, Green Cleaning Product Certifications, Green Cleaning in LEED EB:OM, Writing a Green Cleaning Policy, and Green Cleaning – The Future! Actual product(s) will be presented… This presentation can help you at work and home!

1.0 GBCI CEU Approved

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has approved the technical and instructional quality of this course for 1.0 GBCI CE Hour towards the LEED Credential Maintenance Program. Course approval number is 0090005140

Come meet others interested in going green at SBLC's monthly meeting. Open to anyone interested in going green!

Share with business owners, executives, and other regional leaders what you do that is eco-friendly. Even if you do not do anything "Green" and just want to learn; you are welcome to join us.

• Date: October 11, 2011
• Time: 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
• Location: ECCO Restaurant at the Camp in Costa Mesa
• Address: 2937 Bristol, Suite A103, Costa Mesa 92626
• Cost: SBLC Members $10 per person, Non-Members $15 per person, Students $5 per person
• For more information call (877) 890-5606

Attend This Event

September 2011 Meeting

Uncovering the Underbelly of Recycling… How dark is your green?

Kimberly KeytonGuest Speaker: Kimberly Keyton

Topic: The unknown economic benefits of greening for business owners.

Description: It's back to school for the kids and time to reassess your plan for functioning leaner and greener. Kimberly will help our members and guests wrap their minds around an upstream / downstream approach to running their businesses green. So if you’ve done a lot of different green things here and there.... but you feel like you need to find a better way to run your business sustainably, get yourself over to The Camp at ECCO, Tuesday, Sept. 13th and get your - Strategic Green Think - on!

Come meet others interested in going green at SBLC's monthly meeting. Open to anyone interested in going green!

Share with business owners, executives, and other regional leaders what you do that is eco-friendly. Even if you do not do anything "Green" and just want to learn; you are welcome to join us.

• Date: September 13, 2011
• Time: 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
• Location: ECCO Restaurant at the Camp in Costa Mesa
• Address: 2937 Bristol, Suite A103, Costa Mesa 92626
• Cost: SBLC Members $10 per person, Non-Members $15 per person, Students $5 per person
• For more information call (877) 890-5606

Attend This Event

Update on Friday, September 16, 2011 at 5:37PM by Andrew Rea

Observations form our September SBLC meeting

Ms. Keyton’s mantra for the evening was "Everything you throw away, is money you’ve spent." Businesses and multi-family dwellings are presently throwing away a lot of what they've spent (less than 50% of the businesses in California recycle their waste). 

The discussion turned to the “underbelly of recycling.” The underbelly of recycling revolves around the sanitation truck that takes it's contents to a clean material recovery facilities (better known as MRF'S) or a dirty MRF's. By the way, if you want to really change things in your town for the greener and save some city tax dollars while you're at it, go to your next city council meeting and ask them why only 1 truck collecting all trash? When they dismiss you saying 1 truck means 1 driver and that saves taxpayers in labor costs, ask them if they realize how much it's going to cost to pay to have the trash hauled out of state, when all the landfills are full? There are only 3 in OC and they cannot make anymore.

At this point a heated discussion regarding polystyrene (styrofoam) ensued. John Rizzo of Pak West relayed his experience in trying to convince clients to do the right thing by switch to packaging that is easily recyclable, even though the cost benefit isn’t always there. It’s a hard sell. Recyclers make their money on the weight of a item and polystyrene is all air. Few locations recycle it so the toxicity stemming from production to ingestion, along with the  ongoing release of styrene into landfills won't end anytime in the near future. Unless, we refuse it's use - whether its the free cup of coffee at your golf course or your favorite take-out place. 

Kimberly Keyton

Laura Rea mentioned that the demand for local manufacturing was increasing as more people become aware of the impact outsourcing is having on or economy and our society. 

John Rizzo asked Kimberly to address ewaste. Kimberly mentioned AB939. This piece of legislation is the only reason why cities recycle in California. So legislation requires ewaste to be recycled. As long as there is an economic reason to recycle the e-waste, cities and organizations will continue to do so. Ms. Rea interjected that a lot of e-waste is still shipped to china.

That question came from Jennifer Thomas regarding pet waste. She wanted to know what to do with it. Kimberly said that as of now pet waste can’t be recycled. You can compost in your yard if you choose to, but other than that you have to throw into the trash.  

The evening ended with an upbeat discussion of how to advance business sustainability by participating in awards programs put on by the EPA or Cities that highlight what you've been doing to green your business.  It helps build credibility for green with businesses in your industry and helps them see how green can turn to gold, so to speak! 

August 2011

The Business Side of Sustainability: Making Green by Going Green.

Gregory TrimarcheGuest Speaker: Gregory Trimarche - Chairman of CleanTech OC

Topic: Join us for the first joint meeting between CleanTech OC and SBLC! Gregory Trimarche, Chairman of CleanTech OC, will discuss an aspect of the economic side of Sustainability. Then we’ll participate in a lively roundtable discussion on how our organizations can help each other, and promote Sustainability!

Description:

Come meet others interested in going green at SBLC's monthly meeting. Open to anyone interested in going green!

Share with business owners, executives, and other regional leaders what you do that is eco-friendly. Even if you do not do anything "Green" and just want to learn; you are welcome to join us.

• Date: August 9, 2011
• Time: 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
• Location: ECCO Restaurant at the Camp in Costa Mesa
• Address: 2937 Bristol, Suite A103, Costa Mesa 92626
• Cost: SBLC Members $10 per person, Non-Members $15 per person, Students $5 per person
• For more information call (877) 890-5606

Attend This Event

July 2011 Meeting

Can Landscaping be Beautiful and Cost-Effective?

Guest Speaker: Jerry Provansal - Landscapes USA

Jerry Provansal, with Landscapes USA

Topic: Can Landscaping be Beautiful and cost-effective? How can I do this inexpensively, at home or work? And how can something, like an assisted living home, be transformed into a community, with landscaping and other innovations? Come hear Jerry Provansal, with Landscapes USA, discuss innovative, easy, and/or inexpensive ways to address Environmental and Social Sustainability at work, home and in the garden!

1.0 GBCI CEU Approved

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has approved the technical and instructional quality of this course for 1.0 GBCI CE Hour towards the LEED Credential Maintenance Program. Course approval number is 0090006370

Description: "Each year around 100 million laptops are replaced in the developed world as consumers upgrade to the latest technologies. The increasing number of laptops being replaced poses a significant e-waste management problem. The Labdoo project aims to extend the life of the laptops by providing school children in developing countries with laptops for education. The project encourages everyone to include their laptops within our online database. Once these laptops are broken or out of use, users are then reminded to bring it to us in order to be recycled properly or donated to an education installment project with a partnering organization."

Come meet others interested in going green at SBLC's monthly meeting. Open to anyone interested in going green!

Share with business owners, executives, and other regional leaders what you do that is eco-friendly. Even if you do not do anything "Green" and just want to learn; you are welcome to join us.

• Date: July 12, 2011
• Time: 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
• Location: ECCO Restaurant at the Camp in Costa Mesa
• Address: 2937 Bristol, Suite A103, Costa Mesa 92626
• Cost: SBLC Members $10 per person, Non-Members $15 per person, Students $5 per person
• For more information call (877) 890-5606

Attend This Event

Update on Wednesday, July 13, 2011 at 12:28AM by Andrew Rea

Jerry talks about Sustainable Landscaping at our July eventLike a great campaign Apple did several years ago, Our guest speaker Jerry Provansal of Landscapes USA began his presentation asking us to "think different."

A great object lesson for this was Jerry's perspective of seeing value over function. For instance, he contrasted the manufacture of a plastic box engineered to protect a housewife from having to touch or see a mouse she wanted to trap and get out of her house. The contraption was slick, clean and almost antiseptic for $4.oo.

Annual Color vs more sustainable color. Value vs Function

Jerry's 50 cent solution was a traditional trap inside a small paper bag with a piece of cheese inside and a small hole cut out of one corner. Same result with a practical price tag.

Approaching landscaping as a sustainable venture, Jerry shared many similarly creative ways of giving builders and residential clients what they want, but adapting what they want to a sustainable application. For instance, a developer may want a lot of eye catching color at the entry. Jerry figures out how to deliver the color without overloading their water bill. Another example would be a client survey for a residential development finds all potential clients insist on having turf as part of the landscaping. Jerry finds ways to meet the growing family's need for a turf based play area and off sets the costs with drought resistant plant spaces around the densely trafficked turf area.

Succulents do reduce water usage, but they can be delicate and expensiveJerry talked about the value of deeply rooted plants such as rosemaryMore examples of deeply rooted plants

By now you're probably wishing you'd made it out and we agree. So make it to our August meeting which will be our first joint meeting with CleanTech OC and get to know CTOC's president Greg Trimarche as he presents on the legal aspects of sustainability or environmental law.