Sexy Home Renovations - Insulation!

I have been dreaming about renovating our bathrooms ever since we moved in 2 years ago. The house was built in 1982 and well the bathrooms look it.
But the thing is... they work. And yes I would like to update the style, but is that enough of a justification to take perfectly good things like tubs, shelves, counters and hooks and update them?

I have a Pintrest page and have even selected my recycled tile for the shower and floors. But I have a feeling any $ I have saved for this renovation will be going into something more practical and less beautiful.

Yesterday I had a free energy home inspection through Clean Energy Works. And well - our home is pretty efficient, but could be a lot better.  The big wins - Insulation in both our attic and in our flooring. Codes have changed since our house was built and a lot of heat is escaping through our inefficient roof and floors.

This process is one that I preach all the time in my work, so I should walk the talk in my personal life right?
So my bathrooms will wait, I'll buy a plant and call that my design update and focus on making my home more efficient. So next time company comes over, the crawl space and attic will be included in the house tour - I am going to want to showcase my new investment!

Even When Working on Sustainability Initiatives, We Should Follow Our Own Advice

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle + Collaborate

In Sustainability, we are so used to the first impression that we are creating more work for the people. Extra. Excess. MORE.
It is ironic only because that is the opposite of what we are usually trying to do with the physical items we work with. We want to reduce packaging. We want to cut energy use. We want to lessen our effects on the environment.
We want, want, want - but we almost always want less.
And you see when you look at successful case studies about how - in quantifiable terms - sustainability created a net positive for a company, it is always through revealing inefficiencies and showing a company where they could use less and have the same or even a better outcome. Saving money by using less or using what we already have smarter. That is an outcome both sustainability processionals and executive leadership can get behind.

And then it struck me. Rarely as we actually creating more. And if we are, we might be doing it wrong.
We look at current processes and try to innovate and reimagine how they could be done less negatives effects on people involved and the environment. Often we end up looking backwards at older techniques or methods that seemed outdated, but in the wake of new regulations or energy costs. We have a lot to learn from that past. We didn't always pollute and consumer at the rates we do. And not all the old ways are better, but sometimes repurposing an old technique or idea gives us insight we are blind to because of modern solutions.

This brings me to my point. We are always chanting from our soapbox for others to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Perhaps we start framing our ideas in this way. Reduce the amount of new work we are putting on the plate of the operations or design or public affairs department. Reuse and recycle ideas, using a modern perspective and innovation, to transform the way we do business today. Collaborate - it can be hard enough to get one group to listen to your chants about going green, but make sure you know everyone who will be a part of the change you are trying to create and engage them in the decision making process. In other words:

1) Create and Assign Less New, Stand Alone Work

When working on a sustainability initiative, see how you can better the project you are working on as a whole rather than only coming from the side of sustainability. Frame your research and analysis in this manner and you will be able to share with people affected by your initiative that they can change the way they currently do something to a more sustainable method and benefit themselves, instead of having to add a whole new process or responsibility to their job description. If we share that we did not create more work, but instead we created work to support their current work - we can enact better change faster.

2) Look to the Past for Inspiration, Innovate and Repurpose Accordingly

As I said before, we didn't always pollute or consume at the rate we do nowadays. Look back to techniques we used before certain unsustainable technologies came on the scene. Also, Mother Nature - as she so often is - can be a great inspiration for sustainable methods. Check out or previous article on biomimicry to find out how many incredible innovative processes have been created by mimicking how nature has been doing them for eons.

3) Find the Right Fit

Lastly, make sure you are plugged in to the right people and network when presenting ideas. Lack of visibility of goals at organizations can make one department raise an eyebrow at your solutions, which would have been immediately celebrated by one department. When you have an idea that affects many stakeholders, map those affected and see if you can get people representing those different interests all at one table.

Applications are Open for Factory45: An Accelerator Program for Sustainable Apparel Startups

When it comes to manufacturing an apparel product, it’s hard to know where to start. Physical products are one of the hardest things to bring to market — but now they don’t have to be.

Factory45 is a start-to-finish accelerator program that takes aspiring entrepreneurs from idea stage to launching an apparel product.

The program runs from March 30 through July 31, 2015. With five online modules and bi-weekly group calls, your progress is self-paced so it’s manageable whether you have a full-time job or you’re building your company full time.

Starting a company is tough — there’s no doubt about it. But getting started can be easier. With a community of like-minded entrepreneurs, the mentorship of people who have done it before, and a framework to follow through each step, you can launch your company much faster — and waste less money — than taking the solo road.

With Factory45, you will have everything you need to start your company: a supply chain in the U.S., a crystal clear launch strategy, and money to fund production.

If you’re ready to launch your own company and be a part of creating a more ethical and transparent fashion industry, apply to join Factory45 here.

FACTORY45 DESCRIPTION

Factory45 takes sustainable apparel companies from idea to launch. Entrepreneurs are given the tools and connections to source sustainable fabrics, connect with manufacturing partners in the U.S. and raise startup capital to fund production.

The four-month accelerator program is run by Shannon Whitehead, a sustainable fashion advocate and former co-founder of {r}evolution apparel. With an emphasis on ethics, sustainability and U.S. manufacturing, applications for the Factory45 2015 program are open from Feb. 16 – March 2 at www.factory45.co.

Short Description:

Factory45 is an accelerator program that takes sustainable apparel companies from idea to launch. Entrepreneurs are given the tools to source fabric, find a manufacturer & raise money to fund production in four months.

Application period: Feb. 16 – March 2, 2015

Contact information: shannon@factory45.co

Reduce your Use, Reduce your Costs

Such a large part of where sustainability keeps ending up seemingly at odds with business is the trade offs. "Sure," management thinks, "we could invest resources in sustainability initiatives, but that would mean we were diverting them from some other value (and probably revenue) creating activities."

But business cases are starting to be made - actually many business cases - where sustainability is not "taking a bite" out of the company pie, it's adding ingredients and taking us from an 8" to a 12" pie pan! Yum!


One of the major areas where we see this clear mutual benefit has been in reducing the amount of packaging used in normal operations. Not only does this reduce the amount of plastics and other packaging materials littering the Earth after use, but companies are paying for packaging! So reducing packaging reduces costs.

A new study by As You Sow and the Natural Resources Defense Council shows that major Brands Waste $11.4B per year because of bad policies surrounding packaging (read more: http://www.environmentalleader.com/2015/02/02/132669/). While many of these Brands represent the food and beverage industry, consumer packaged goods, apparel, and other industries can experience massive benefits from reconsidering how they treat packaging in their business.

Sustainability-minded yoga and rock climbing lifestyle fashion brand prAna has saved more than 4.5 million plastic bags from going to landfill, which is 31,000 pounds of plastic and over 1.85 billion BTUs of energy, by taking over 50% of their product line poly bag free in 2012. (Read more: http://www.prana.com/life/2014/08/10/prana-polybag-project-update/)

And global giant Unilever sent zero waste to landfill (goal for 2015), in turn reporting that this action saved them over $226 million and created hundreds of jobs. (More: http://www.environmentalleader.com/2015/02/02/unilever-sends-zero-waste-to-landfill-saves-226m/)

It's stories like this that give us hope for more immediate change. Savings for your business while saving the planet - hopefully in the next couple years become a no-brainer so we can push for other important but less "balance sheet obvious" ideas.

Regardless of who you are, all these companies who have experienced success in reducing environmental waste and operational costs through reducing packaging got one thing: this is real, it is happening, and you can benefit any time you want by making a change. Remember the waste hierarchy:


It is easy to always think of recycling as the greenest option in the movement, but are there ways we can use less, use again, or not use at all?

No one expects the next big technology breakthrough (Twitter, cloud services, self-parking cars, bullet trains) to come from sticking to "business as usual", why do we think we can get away with treating operational activities like packaging that way? Innovate! Who knows? You might just save money and save the world at the same time.

Idealistic Gifting Ideas for Your Green Valentine

Hug Trees and People!

Here are a couple ideas for the awesome people that are still searching for the perfect Valentine for your love/friend/hubby/awesome crushable co-worker! Show everyone you can appreciate your person while respecting the planet - share the love and save the planet at the same time!


1. Fair Trade Flowers | If you have your heart set on flowers for your Valentine, keep your eye out for the Fair Trade logo. Support farming communities by giving them access to health care and education. Fair Trade farms encourage women workers to pursue leadership roles, and also receive paid maternity leave and a guarantee of their job upon their return.


2. Book Buddies | Use what already exists as a neat gift! Go to your local used book store & repurpose a book of love poems or just find that lightly used, twice loved book by your pal's favorite author.



3. Uber-Sustainable Underwear | A little more personal than the rest, but check out PACT http://www.wearpact.com/. They track the cotton in their pantaloons (and socks and tees) from growing and harvesting organic cotton in the field to final sewing, and everything in between! With PACT's organic, Fair Trade, and adorable style, let your Valentine look good and do good at the same time!



4.  Neighborly Nourishment  | Just shop local when creating that perfect dinner or breakfast for you darling tree hugging special someone. Get creative with your heart shaped cookie cutters and go to town with organic produce and local specialties for the perfect V-day menu!



(Also, if you're really in the romantic mood, you know, with Marvin Gaye playing in the background...check out http://sustaincondoms.com/. Fair Trade, sustainable, natural latex condoms. Who knew? Note: they're vegan too!)

Be Awear - Taking what we wear and telling a good story

Last week I had the chance to get interviewed by Kestral Jekins the curator and founder of Be Awear. The idea is that we all have the ability to be Change makers using our clothing as a conduit for that positive change.
How often are you out with a group of friends and someone says "Oh I love your (sweater, dress, scarf, earrings, shoes... you name it)"?
The statement is an invitation to tell a story.
It could be a short story - "I bought it at the GAP on sale" - or it could be a story that gets people thinking and engaged.
What if your response instead is, "I got this used from a friend of mine I have known for 10 years, or I spent months searching for the perfect organic cotton jeans and here they are, or I bought this from ABC company who is committed to sourcing everything Fair Trade and out of recycled materials."

Our clothes have the opportunity to share a story about the world we want to see, about how one lives their values through the purchases we make.  And acts as a starting place for a robust conversation toe hare stories about the people who make our clothes, what they are made out of and how we are part of a global connection to everyone along that supply chain.

Check out a video I did to share the Awear story and visit the site to see a lot of fashionable, passionate change makers that will inspire you to look at your clothes differently.

And adopt the BeAwear Principles - they are good rules of thumb when you go shopping!

Everything is Made for the Big Guys | How do we give the little guys a chance to catch up?

We try to stay involved in the relevant realm of sustainability and up to date with the latest trends, discoveries, patterns, and more. Working isn't enough; we need to make sure we are constantly learning to offer the greatest services to our clients, not just of what we know but of everything there is out there to know. I find myself reading more than twenty articles, listening in on at least one webinar, trying to squeeze in one informational interview a week. The discussions include trends in corporate social responsibility reporting, sustainability data tracking software, tools for embedding sustainability in your organizations...the list goes on and on.

One thing that struck me in the last couple articles I read and webinar I attended was how much the new tools and services and standards available are all catered to the largest market players. While this is good because the Wal-Mart's of the world can alter proportionally much more of the industry with a switch in sourcing standards than the bottom 80% all banding together to push for change, it does make it hard for thousands of small and medium companies to utilize some of the amazing new techniques that will help with sustainable practices and standards within their organizations.

Unfortunately, standards and protocols aren't as "one size fits all" as they are presented to be.
Software can be prohibitively expensive for smaller companies. Small and medium size companies lack the resources and financial support from leadership to put sustainability protocols into place. Most often, smaller organizations lack manpower, and shift the entire burden of CSR and sustainability compliance and efforts onto one small team or even one person.

This is not just a shameless plug, as we here at Sustainability in Review specialize in helping smaller players implement sustainability strategies and understand how to meet policy and consumer expectations in a quickly evolving environment. We do and want to help because it makes the world a better place, and never have we come across an organization that didn't have people that cared deeply in its midst but arming these people with the proper skills, power, and support is the struggle we take joy in overcoming.

I am not suggesting we redesign a new set of standards or tools for small and medium sized companies; there are already too many overlaps and repeats on the market. But how about focusing on creating a subset of standards that helps small/medium companies catch up? Maybe looking to release cheaper versions of simplified software for companies that have less than thousands of people or hundreds of locations to track? How can we use economiese of scale and scope as well as collaboration to benefit everyone?

Sustainability is not some place we need to create competitive advantage. Sustainability is something we need to do if we not only want to be doing business, but even living as we live now 100, 50, even 25 years in the future. On the back of giants of industry and through the power of numbers in smaller organizations: we have to make this happen. Got ideas? Share them with us at admin@sustainabilityinreview.com


Thank you

Happy Super Bowl Sunday! Green Fans Unite

As we all settle our tushes into our couches this glorious Super Bowl Sunday, my mind drifts to thinking about how this sporting event galvanizes so many people. The three most watched television broadcasts in U.S. history were Super Bowls (XLVI, XLV, and XLVII, in case you were wondering). 111.5 million people watched last year's big game, and most of those were certainly not die-hard fans of either team playing. Even a 30-second commercial during this event now costs $4 million (or roughly $133,333 per second!) All to see who will win the game. Yes, game.

And yet when trying to get people to pay attention to sustainability, we just, we dance, we shout, we put together great presentations...maybe we should take a lesson from the Super Bowl - put on some colorful uniforms, get a great announcer on the loudspeaker, and maybe even cheerleaders. 

In all seriousness, maybe we have something to learn about the passion of sports fans. 70% of people on earth are at least casual sports fans. If we could find the key to what drives these fans to pay attention, we could harness that fun-loving spirit to join our cause. 

It's not like we don't have a good cause. Sustainability is important to life as we know it. Don't get me wrong; I am a huge sports fan. I'll be watching the game today. And I am an athlete. I play volleyball, do yoga, bike, and run several times a week. Been playing sports since I was a kid.

I love the idea of bringing these worlds, these passions together. For me, the intersection is simple. I make sustainable decisions in my life to protect the earth, both the health of the outdoors and environment as well as the health of the people surrounding me in my global community. Caring about sports and sustainability satisfy both of these desires. Without the outdoors, sports is greatly diminished. If we don't take care of the world around us, we can't run outside, rock climb, play soccer or football outside of a dome...

I think bringing this to every one's attention, especially teaching kids the benefits of sustainable choices, is infinitely important. When we can educate kids early about how sustainable choices can improve their health and keep the environment safe, we will ensure a better future. Let's set out to make a new generation of fans - fans that whether they are rooting for the NFL or AVP, attending the Super Bowl or the World Cup, skating on an ice rink or climbing a mountain - are fans of sustainability.

Until we get there, let's keep racing ahead! Now have a great Super Bowl Sunday. Enjoy!

To learn more about this where sports and sustainability intersect, check out http://greensportsblog.com/ by Lew Blaustein. 

Also, learn more about colleges and universities that prioritize lasting solutions to positive change in the global supply chain and selling responsibly sourced products by holding membership in the Fair Labor Association. Check out http://www.fairlabor.org/ and http://www.fairlabor.org/affiliates/colleges-universities to see if the school you are a fan of is involved!