Green Light For Business
Businesses and industries across Connecticut are leading the way for all of us to implement energy conservation and sustainability measures that reduce our carbon footprint, encourage recycling and the use of recycled materials, save energy and promote a healthier workplace and living environment. These steps have an added benefit. They’re helping businesses save dollars, holding the line on costs that would ordinarily be passed on to customers.
In this issue, I’m proud to introduce our leaders in this effort, the Hartford Business Journal’s 2009 Business Energy Award winners and finalists. From a wide range of nominees, we’ve chosen a select group of eight who have made extraordinary progress in greening their businesses. Among them are a law firm that has built new, state of the art offices in an entirely environmentally friendly way, incorporating recycled stock into their building materials and furnishings, and unique conservation measures into their lighting and water usage; a printing company that is single-handedly changing their industry by implementing a “Growing Green” sustainability initiative in an industry that has traditionally had a strong environmental impact; and a municipality that is saving taxpayers thousands of dollars each year through its commitment to clean energy systems and efficiency initiatives.
Why go green? Simply put, it’s good for the environment, your health and future generations. As stewards of our environment, we have a responsibility to ensure that the limited resources that help provide our standard of living are available to a growing population. Your place of work may be the best first place to start.
According to the U.S. Green Building Council, buildings consume 14% of potable water, 40% of raw materials and 39% of energy in the U.S. alone. States are quickly beginning to take notice. The 2009 Green Outlook Report by McGraw Hill Construction, points out that between 2005 and 2008 the number of states implementing green building practices, standards, legislation and programs increased from 13 to 31.
Our finalists represent a fraction of the work Connecticut organizations are doing to reduce their impact on the environment. Improving our environment means improving our quality of life. We congratulate them and hope you’ll be inspired to find some ideas that work for you and your business.
The 2009 Business Energy Award Winners:
Stories by Kevin Moore, contributing editor
Category: Policy/Advocacy
Adam Ney, Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA)
Category: Conservation
Edwards, Angell, Palmer & Dodge LLP
Category: Innovation
Rockville Bank
The 2009 Business Energy Award Finalists:
Comcast
Connecticut Science Center
EarthMarkets
Joseph Merritt & Company, Inc.
Town of Portland
Click HERE for more information about the awards and judges.
The 2009 Business Energy Summit:
Click any of the following links to view the related PowerPoint or PDF presentation from the Fall 2009 Business Energy Summit:
