New coating

Alcoa has released a new smog-eating aluminum siding material made of aluminum coated with titanium dioxide. The material can clean itself, but also can clean the surrounding air. The company says that 10,000 square feet of the panel can have the air-cleaning power of around 80 trees. New products are being developed that will have a positive impact on the environment. I cannot wait to see what will be next.
Gil-

New AIA Guidelines

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) announced that it will release AIA Document D503™-2011, Guide for Sustainable Projects, including Agreement Amendments and Supplementary Conditions (“Guide”), in May 2011. The Guide is free and was developed to assist users of AIA Contract Documents in understanding contractual considerations unique to sustainable design and construction projects. The Guide also provides model language that can be used to amend or supplement key AIA Contract Documents in the A201 Family for use in these types of projects. Developed by the AIA’s Contract Documents Committee, with input from industry stakeholders, the Guide provides AIA Contract Documents users with a valuable tool for creating versions of AIA standard contract documents for sustainable projects.

You can see this press release online by clicking here.

“The AIA Contract Documents program continues to revise existing documents and develop new documents and guides, as necessary, to remain current with trends and changes in the industry and law,” said Ken Cobleigh, managing director and counsel for AIA Contract Documents content. “The development of the Guide reflects the shifting landscape in the industry and addresses key issues of interest to all parties involved in these types of projects.”

The Guide addresses the current state of sustainable design and construction, discussing issues and concepts including:

• Certification systems, codes and legislation affecting sustainable design and construction
projects,
• Risks and responsibilities faced by owners, contractors and architects on sustainable design
and construction projects, and
• Recommendations for model language to assist the architect in developing a scope of services
and to assist all project participants in appropriately allocating risks and responsibilities.

In addition to providing model language that may be used to amend or supplement documents in the AIA Contract Documents A201 Family for design-bid-build projects, the Guide discusses the applicability of key concepts to other delivery models such as design-build, construction management and integrated project delivery.

Because the AIA believes the Guide is an important resource for the design and construction industry, it will be available in May as a free download at www.aia.org/sustainableprojectsguide.

Another green promotion

The Richmond Flying Squirrels (MiLB) held a “going green” promotion recently to promote the use of public transportation and get fans excited about Opening Day. Partnering with the GRTC Transit System, the team’s mascot Nutzy rode on city buses on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday for a period of time. If a fan spotted him, gave him a high-five, and said the password for that day, the fan won a prize package that included game tickets, and numerous items from the GRTC and RideFinders. The daily passwords were posted on www.ridegrtc.com and www.ridefinders.com. “Taking the bus to Squirrels games is a viable option for fans and hopefully this program will help make them aware of that option while also having some fun with Nutzy,” said Todd Parnell, the Flying Squirrels’ vice president and COO.

Amway Green

Orlando’s Amway Center has been awarded LEED Gold certification by the US Green Building Council for its sustainable design and construction methods. The announcement was commemorated with a monument dedication and garden planting in the Amway Center plaza.

Pepsi's new bottle

PepsiCo has launched a new bottle made entirely of plant material. The bottle is made from switch grass, pine bark, corn husks, and other material. At a later date they might also use orange peels, potato scraps, and other food related items. Maybe this could end our need on oil for plastic bottles.

Key recycling

The Providence Bruins (AHL) hosted an unwanted/unneeded key collection event for charity at their January 23 game. The keys will be recycled by Key For Hope (www.keyforhope.org), which will have an informational table at the game. The proceeds from the key recycling will be used to purchase food for those in need in the Providence area.

Green Grass

Ceres, a company out of Thousand Oaks, CA has been working on developing a genetically modified switchgrass plants. The plants can be grown in saltwater. The plants can be used for biodeisel fuel. Several years ago a company developed a type of grass that could grow in saltwater. The thought was that the grass can be used in golf courses where saltwater was available and could reduce watering costs and since bugs did not eat the grass, it reduced the need for pesticide. If Ceres can develop grass and other plants for the sport market it can produce great opportunities for the sport facility industry.
Gil-

Michigan Going Green

University of Michigan to Host First Zero Waste Event at Crisler Arena
http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/120110aae.html
Dec. 1, 2010

Students at the University of Michigan are taking action to make a ton of garbage disappear -- no magic involved -- as Crisler Arena hosts its first-ever zero waste basketball game this Saturday (Dec. 4) against Harvard. From the cups to the uniforms, use of recyclable materials will be the No. 1 priority.

Hosting a zero waste event means doing all you can do to make sure as little waste as possible goes to landfill. The event is being coordinated by the Student Sustainability Initiative.

"After being approached by the SSI about doing a zero waste game, we felt that it would be a great opportunity to use an athletic event to help educate the community and our guests about the benefits of recycling and composting as well as bring an awareness to some of the other sustainability initiatives we have taken on campus," said Shelly Fabrizio, director of operations and events.

The Student Sustainability Initiative is a collaborative group of leaders in campus organizations, environmental groups, and student governments interested in making the university a more sustainable place.

"Our goal is to reduce the amount that people throw away and helping the campus community become more aware of how much they use, how much they discard, and how they might increase recycling and composting so they are sending less into landfills," said Ryan Smith, a member of the Student Sustainability Initiative.

During the game, all cups, plates, forks, napkins and trays will be made of natural materials that can break down to eventually become nutrients in soil for agricultural applications.

For example, all of the cold drink cups and trays will be made of a corn-based material called polylactic acid that resembles clear plastic and can be fully composted.

Instead of trash barrels positioned along the concourse, two bins will be placed at each waste station labeled "recycling" and "composting."

At each waste station, volunteers from student organizations across campus will educate patrons about the proper disposal of their waste, as well as, communicate the benefits of composting and recycling.

A typical game at Crisler Arena generates about 35 cubic yards (or about 1 ton) of trash, while only about 1 cubic yard of recycling is generated.

"For the zero waste events into the future, we hope to reduce this amount of trash by up to 85 percent," Smith added.

The university will partner with the nearby Tuthill Farms and Composting to take the compostable waste. The farm has the capacity to take all sorts of food and compostable wastes and break them down into soil nutrients. Tuthill Farms presently works with the composting program at the Ross School of Business.

In addition to the recycling and composting stations at the game, the U-M men's basketball team will unveil new uniforms made from 60 percent recycled materials. Designed and developed by adidas, the uniforms are 30 percent lighter and dry twice as fast as previous uniforms. The new Michigan uniform absorbs moisture in less than three seconds as a result of adidas CLIMACOOL fabrics.

To see all of the U-M's sustainability activities, visit: www.sustainability.umich.edu

Contact: Kim Broekhuizen, Public Affairs, (734) 936-5190

Zero Waste Game Fact Sheet
‐ U‐M has made a major commitment to sustainability at the highest levels in
teaching, research, operations and engagement.
‐ For the first time in Crisler Arena history, U‐M will host a zero waste basketball
game on December 4 at the U‐M vs. Harvard match up.
‐ Zero waste means taking measures to use recyclable and compostable materials
that create as little waste as possible sent to the landfills.
‐ The university athletics events are a large part of the culture at U‐M and a great
opportunity to make an impact in waste management. For example, a typical game
at Crisler Arena generates about 35 cubic yards (or about 1 ton) of trash, while only
about 1 cubic yard of recycling is generated.
‐ Students are major players – and drivers – of the university’s sustainability efforts.
At Crisler Arena’s zero waste effort there will be approximately 70 dedicated
student volunteers from student organizations across campus.
‐ During the game, all cups, plates, forks, napkins and trays will be made of natural
materials that can break down to eventually become nutrients in soil for agricultural
applications.
‐ The zero waste effort was organized by the Student Sustainability Initiative in
collaboration with the Athletics Department, the Graham Institute, and U‐M Ross
Net Impact.
‐ The zero waste initiative began in 2009 with a zero waste tailgate and continues to
grow as the university strives to institutionalize the idea and practice.
‐ The new Michigan basketball uniforms are made from 60 percent recycled
materials.
‐ U‐M Athletics has the largest stadium‐recycling program among universities in the
United States.
‐ U‐M recently adopted a single‐stream recycling, the recycling system through
which paper and container recyclables are collected in the same bin.

The Eagles Soaring

The Philadelphia Eagles are at it again. They are unveiling three new green initiatives to be in place later in 2011. They will install 100 wind turbines on the upper rim of the stadium, install elsewhere on the roof (and facade) 2,500 solar panels, and build a cogeneration power plant in the parking lot that can run on biodeisel or natural gas.

Solar and sports

A recent article in Business Week highlighted that the invest some teams have made in solar will not pay a dividend for a number of years. While some facilities are installing numerous green initiatives, solar has been close to the bottom of the list since it really does not pay. Solar arrays on a roof also can reduce the ability to sell sponsorship naming rights to place on a roof and reduce the amount of load bearing weight that a roof can support. For example, Progressive Field in Cleveland installed 1,300 square feet of solar panel at a cost of $180,000 in 2007. The panels produced 29,000 kilowatt hours over the past three years, but the facility uses 17 million kwh per year so the panels only make a small dent in the energy needs.

Staples Center spent $2.3 million in 2008 to build a 25,000 square foot array. The 1,727 panels supply 456,000 kwh per year out of the arenas' total demand for 21 million kwh. At 12 cents an hour they save around $55,000 a year. This means it would take more than 40 years for the project to pay for itself.

However, a recent report indicated that the cost of photo-voltaic modules have declined 40% in the past two years and the installation cost has also decreased around 10%. This could also help make solar more affordable.

Economics of Going Green

Business Week highlighted in their Oct. 11-17 magazine the cost for green energy. Some green energy sources such as wind energy has become almost so competitive with coal that it will start making sense to use more wind energy. Some other sources while reliable, are having a hard time finding banks willing to lend money. The chart below highlights the costs of producing electricity based on dollars per kilowatt-hour (range from low to high cost).

Coal- $56-63
Geothermal- $52-112
Wind (on shore)- $62-119
Biomass- $86-189
Wind (off shore)- $143-260
Tidal- $194-453
Solar (c-Si PV)- $226-424
Solar (thermal)- $238-313

Green Ideas

Great Green Ideas
The pictures did not coem through, but you can get a feel of the ideas.

Designer creates an iPhone charger powered by a hand grip

A green idea that gives you a great hand workout as well. Charge your iPhone by a hand grip! This concept is called You can work it out, designed by Mac Funamizu.

Get out of the shower
20% of our total domestic energy usage is from hot water for showering and bathing. That's over 6 times the energy usage of domestic lighting. So designer Tommaso Colia came up with his eco-friendly shower design that will force you to get out when you take too long and waste much water. The eco_drop shower features beautiful concentric circles that will rise to force you to stop showering when you take too long, and accordingly save water.

Disco pub gets electricity produced by people dancing at specially modified dance floor (imagine if this was used with aerobics)

All the flashing strobes and pounding speakers at the dance club are massive consumers of electrical power. So Bar Surya, in London, re-outfitted its floor with springs that, when compressed by dancers, could produce electrical current that would be stored in batteries and used to offset some of the club's electrical burden. The club's owner, Andrew Charalambous, said the dance floor can now power 60 percent of the club's energy needs.

Hotel offers free meal to guests who are willing to generate electricity


The Crown Plaza Hotel in Copenhagen , Denmark , is offering a free meal to any guest who is able to produce electricity for the hotel on an exercise bike attached to a generator. Guests will have to produce at least 10 watt hours of electricity - roughly 15 minutes of cycling for someone of average fitness. They will then be given meal vouchers worth $36 (26 euros).

Snow job

The following story from Veritix Sports marketing Newsletter highlights a huge waste of resources to leverage 150 tons of snow a day in Cleveland.

Baseball teams setting up ice rinks at their ballparks during the winter months has become increasingly popular over the past decade but this year the Cleveland Indians’ ballpark is taking that idea a lot farther. The Snow Days attraction at Progressive Field will include 10 snow-tubing lanes descending from a seating section; a quarter-mile ice-skating track around the outfield; a kids play area; a walking trail lit by winter lights; and a fire pit where fans can warm themselves. The attraction will require approximately 150 tons of snow to be delivered per day and will be open daily starting November 26. Tickets will be $5 for general admission and $20 for snow-tubing and ice skating. You can see an artist’s rendering here: http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/cle/fan_forum/snowdays.jsp. (Crain’s Cleveland Business, Sept.

Green guide to alcohol

The following link highlights a ranking of alcohol brewers based on their green practices. I do not know how they conducted the evaluation process or how accurate it is:
http://www.greenamericatoday.org/programs/responsibleshopper/industry/alcohol.cfm

Wal-Mart green steps

In 2005 Wal-Mart set a goal of being 100% reliant on renewable energy. Since then their efforts have been impressive. the new projects they have launched have been successful at least in one benchmark, having the renewable energy cost the same or less than traditional power. So far 90% of their efforts have met that requirement.

Since 2008, Wal-Mart's solar facilities at 31 stores in California and Hawaii have cut energy costs by $1 million. The solar panels produce up to 30% of the facilities' energy. Wal-mart has also opened new stores that are 25% more energy efficient than prior stores. Even its travel fleet, through better route planning, has become 60% more efficient.

Wal-Mart is second to Kimberly-Clark (177 million kilowatt hours through biomass) by producing 37 million kilowatt hours through biomass, solar, and wind power.

San Diego Deals

The San Diego Padres (MLB) held Go Green Saturday at their September 4 game. As part of the environmentally friendly day, the team offered a ticket package that included four game tickets and four round-trip fares on the MTS trolley/bus system. The team also set up a free bike-parking pavilion near the ballpark. Plus, the transportation organization NCTD offered 2-for-1 fares for all Padres fans on the Coaster. The team also purchased carbon offsets for the game, held a cell-phone recycling collection program, and hosted a green expo.

Green Pens

Paper Mate has introduced a new biodegradable pen as well as a mechanical pencil. They cost a bit more and are designed to be nicer- to help justify the increased price. However, a significant portion of the devices can be recycled in nature and represents a good start to the back-to-school season.
Gil-

Longhorn Energy

Are consumers ready for Texas Longhorns Energy?
Collegiate sports brands plug into unique marketing effort By TERRY LEFTON Staff writer Published July 26, 2010 : Page 01 SportsBusiness Journal July, 2010.

For years, marketers have been employing the power of sports affinities to sell goods and services. Now there is a new and unique demonstration of sports marketing's clout — it's being used to sell electric power.

The University of Texas has signed a six-year deal with Dallas-based Branded Retail Energy, which will likely be the first of a number of deals with the company that will see some of the country's most powerful collegiate sports brands sell consumers electricity and natural gas in deregulated markets. Consequently, Texas Longhorns Energy will be available to consumers in mid-August.

The electricity will be supplied by Champion Energy Services and is being touted as 100 percent renewable energy to alumni and fans in deregulated regions of Texas. Every new account will generate funds for the University of Texas and consumers will receive Longhorns merchandise, memorabilia, access to events, ticket discounts and other benefits as incentives, including likely co-promotions with other UT sponsors.

UT has around 280,000 alumni in its home state, and 450,000 across the country. Its licensed merchandise produces the most royalties of any of Collegiate Licensing Co.'s college programs, and its Bank of America affinity credit card and associated banking program is one of the country's biggest.

While the passion is there, this is a test to see how deep it will run.

Wrapping the program around collegiate affinities and a green message of supporting sustainable energy efforts is what will make it work, said Larry Weil, a longtime sponsorship consultant, who joined Branded Retail Energy as CMO late last year.

"This is not a gimmick. This is renewable energy at a competitive price,"
Weil said. "But when you combine it with the depth of passion people have for their university, it should be a powerful marketing platform, because you can give something to your school and do something green at the same time."

UT was attracted by the promise of reducing its carbon footprint. "We don't have an energy partner, but what really appealed to us was the opportunity to fund renewable energy at our school," said Chris Plonsky, UT's senior associate athletic director. IMG College helped negotiate the deal for UT.
As a hybrid licensing/sponsorship arrangement, the deal took almost a year to complete.

For fans, changing energy providers is akin to changing telecom carriers.
The program will be promoted via in-stadium signage, program ads, as well as Web, TV and radio advertising.

"There were a lot of moving parts from a legal perspective," said longtime sports and entertainment attorney Matthew Pace of Herrick, Feinstein, who handled contracts for Branded Retail Energy on the Texas deal. "Power, just like credit cards, are tough to distinguish in the marketplace and I can see college and pro sports opportunities in the years to come."

Electric power has been deregulated in much of Texas, though curiously not in UT's hometown of Austin, since 2002. Fierce competition in major metropolitan markets (there are 50 meaningful competitors) is evident by the fact that an NFL stadium (Houston's Reliant Stadium) and an MLS jersey (Houston Dynamo/Amigo Energy) are tied to energy providers.

Branded Energy CEO Jason Helms, who conceived the idea, had seen the deregulated Texas energy market change from one that was entirely price-based, to one filled with claims of superior customer service, all supported by heavy media spends to the point where electricity providers became some of the larger prime-time advertisers in places like Dallas and Houston.

"What was needed was a stickier message," Helms said. "Everyone loves their college experience or at least has a favorite college, and here UT is at the top of the heap, so that's where we started."

Where the program goes from here is an intriguing question. There are 14 states with some form of power deregulation and some of the larger ones, like Illinois, Pennsylvania and Ohio, all have large state universities with huge fan bases.

Energy companies have been spending on sports sponsorships for some time.
Could this hybrid approach be the creation of a separate category? Anyone ready for Packers Power or Consolidated Yankees?

"Energy is a commodity just like credit cards, so it should work," said Rob DiGisi, a former NBA and Bank One credit card marketer, with expertise in affinity marketing, and now a consultant. "But just like credit cards, there should be rewards attached, because the appeal of a vanity plate can be short-lived. There also should be some kind of badge to demonstrate your support to your school. With a credit card, you had something to carry all the time that demonstrated that affinity tie."

Sheetrock that changes

Sheetrock has been created that can help make building walls more environmentally friendly for heating and cooling a house. The Sheetrock is made with microscopic capsules filled with paraffin wax that changes from solid to liquid when the temperature goes over 73 degrees. As the wax melts it absorbs heat and cools the room similar to how melting ice dissipates and cools water. At night when the temperatures drop below 73 degrees the wax hardens which releases heat back into the room. This new product called phase-change drywall is produced by national gypsum and might be produced commercially if there is enough demand.

Environmentalist Jerks

A recent article in Popular Science (August 2010)highlights a recent study that just being exposed to green products (seeing a green TV ad or going into a health store) created a halo effect that makes people more charitable. However this effect changed quickly. After a green purchase, the green consumers were more likely to lie and steal. Thus, the green consumers think they are receiving a license to do bad things since they have done good thing. The goal is for people to do the right thing without thinking they should receive something for it. Just do it for the environment without expecting to receive any "moral capital."