Green_Project's blog

I stumbled on a cool website about the greenest, good for the planet and for you food, I have ever seen: SunChips

Ok, I am guilty, I love to each chips and be a couch potato. SunChips are not potato based, but they are crunchy, salty snack food, that I eat to take some stress of the potato supply. Actually they are healthy and good for you.

What I didn’t know is that Frito-Lay the owners of SunChips has made the plant in Modesto, California that makes them one of the most earth friendly plants in the US. Frito-Lay takes energy conservation at the Casa Grande, AZ potato chip factory very seriously, compared to similar plants it used 90% less energy, by 2011 it will have less than 1% waste going to landfills.

They use solar power to run the plant in Modesto. Solar collectors heat the oils used to cook the chips and solar panels to make electricity to operate equipment. At all points in production efforts are made to conserve water. The costs of operating these plants have been such that it will be used as models for the other company plants across the country.

Frito-Lay is also making efforts in packaging, currently a 1/3 of the material in packaging is renewable, by 2010 it will also be 100% compostable/biodegradable.

This kind of change isn’t just good for the planet it is good business. The kind of thinking we need for today and tomorrow.

Kraig Geise - Senior Internet Analyst

An interesting article on America Infra (http://www.americainfra.com/news/powering-online-obsession/) shows the use of electricity and the growth of electrical power use in Data centers is doubling every 5 years. That may not seem like a lot but our current use is not sustainable due to growth of usage in other areas doing other things. Everytime you tweet or do a google search there is a data center that answers or relays your request or post, every message consumes power but the billions of messages and searches that the world makes every minute adds up quickly.

There is research into more power efficient cpus and storage devices and progress is being made. Netbook computers are powered by an energy efficient cpu, the Intel Atom, now manufacturers are starting to build servers using this processor. Other processors use other types of power management to slow the core processor or turn on or off additional cores so the processors matches the demands.

Storage systems are also going through an upheaval. More people are moving from magnetically encoded storage (Hard disks) to Solid State Drives. Solid state drives are much more energy efficient and as costs have come down they are a viable alternative.

Many new datacenters (Google is a good example) build solar and wind generators into the designs of new centers. The goal is to lessen the impact on the planet of these new datacenters. Combine this with new technology reducing demand within the center and you have a much lower impact on the power grid, and in some cases a new source of power has been created as well.

Think Green, switch it off if your not using it.

Kraig Geise - Senior Internet Analyst

Everyday someone replaces a computer or a monitor and then they wonder what to do with the old equipment. In Minnesota electronics manufacturers are required to recycle their products (Check out it out at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency website; http://www.pca.state.mn.us/oea/stewardship/electronics-law.cfm). Retailers are required to educate the public about recycling programs. So when you purchase new equipment ask about recycling programs for the old equipment you are replacing.
Along those lines Best Buy has a great recycling program for old monitors, Stores in Minnesota and Wisconsin will accept any old monitor (technically any crt screen or display) for $10 and you will get a $10 gift card for Best Buy on the spot. (Charges may vary, only confirmed locally) They will also take old computers (Hard drives must be removed) at no charge. Limit 2 per household per day.
Recycling isn’t just destructive reuse of the old products; it is also reuse of products, and alteration into different products. For example, use of motherboard components to make jewelry and art objects or just reuse of motors, power supplies and fans for use in new computers or repair of existing computers. Every bit that is reused means less need for additional energy to melt or compress old scrap for reuse. Reusing equipment in any way is the greatest energy saver of all.
Looking for a nice cell phone, check out these that are made with recycled wood, http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/09/ntt-docomo-introduces-cell-phone... . Or these that are made from recycled materials, http://earth911.com/blog/2009/01/08/motorola-unveils-phone-made-of-plast...

Shopping green is easy too, look for the recycle symbol when you shop. It means you can recycle the product, look for the symbol if you’re not sure ask the retailer selling the product.

Kraig Geise - Senior Internet Analyst

As the students return to Winona, like so many other businesses around town, our busy season begins. We are making an effort to ensure this years student rush will be a less wasteful experience than in past years by offering our handbooks in a digital format on a reusable USB HBC Green Drive! Not only does this elimate all paper and printing waste but the information on the drives can be transferred to your personal computer leaving the drive empty and free to be used for other purposes!

Candice Mayberry - Multimedia Development

Incorporating greener practices within a company can be a slow and tedious process but we continue to progress. We have begun printing all of our handbooks and print pieces on 100% post consumer recycled paper. We are using soy inks and choosing vendors who are also utilizing green practices whenever possible. We are currently in the process of putting together a "Green Customer Handbook" that will soon be available online and given to new customers at the time of install. It will contain all service and equipment manuals as well as regulatory information. Each day we progress towards becoming a greener company. How is your green project coming along? We would love to hear from other local businesses about their own green programs.

Candice Mayberry - Multimedia Developer

Most people know that they should recycle paper, plastic, chemicals/oil and glass but did you know old electronics, batteries and compact florescent lightbulbs can and should be recycled as well? Earth911.com is a great resource for finding locations in your area for recycling different types of materials that can be detrimental to our environment. Do you know of other locations that are not listed? We would love to hear about them, use the comment link below to post.

Candice Mayberry - Multimedia Development

Reducing your carbon footprint can be as easy as buying locally grown products. In Winona, the Bluff Country Coop has been helping people do just that since 1972 by selling locally grown fruits, vegetables and other products. Visit their website at http://www.bluff.coop/ for more information.buffcoop

Candice Mayberry - Multimedia Development

The Daily Green has great articles on topics like how to start a garden and DIY non-toxic cleaning. Click here to check it out.

Cheri Gabbert - Human Resources

Did you know:

Most of us are not experts who are familiar with the green terminology. The EPA has a "Terms on Environment" page full of green terms, abbreviations and acronyms. Visit the EPA's website by clicking on this link.

Candice Mayberry - Multimedia Developer

Are you a creature of habit? I know I am, and so are most of the staff here at HBC.

As the ECC continues to quest towards a greener office we find that our habits are a weakness. We know at the end of the day remembering to shutoff the printer before you leave is not always your highest priority. To help keep everyone thinking green, ECC members have been sending out email reminders and posting signs on light switches and equipment as a friendly reminder to shut it off when not in use. It seems to be making an impact. We are finding fewer monitors and lights left on!

In other news, we continue to evaluate paperless order and paperless administration processes in hopes that we can, in the near future, switch to a secure digital process replacing our current paper forms. On the customer side we continue to encourage our friends to switch to paperless billing and have reduced our printed manuals and booklets substituting for electronic versions instead.

Did you know:

2 billion disposable razors end up in landfills per year! You can help: Either buy a razor with a recyclable handle or if you're really tough, go for a strait razor that can be sharpened as needed.

Candice Mayberry - Multimedia Development

Green lighting options come in many forms and all of them have compromises but the good news is that we have choices. The technologies that are involved are relatively mature and constantly improving in most cases. Lets have a look at the oldest first.

Incandescent Lighting: I am sure that Edison is happy that his invention still is around, but it is a dinosaur. It produces light by heating a thin wire till it glows, grossly inefficient wasting both light and heat. Many countries have banned incandescent light bulbs. Very short lifespan, perhaps as long as 1,500hrs of usage.

Compact Fluorescent Lights: CFL is for the most part replacing incandescent light bulbs. It is very energy efficient and has a very long life, about 60,000 hrs of use. For example I put in 42watt CFL's to replace 100watt incandescent bulbs in a farm building. I am getting the equivalent of 150wats of light from a 42watt CFL so with two CFL's I get the light out put of the 3 100watt incandescent bulbs. I even added two more so I have a much better lit building for the same power and since they last about 40 times longer it is a great deal. Some mercury is used in CFL's but it is substantially less than in older fluorescent designs and if properly disposed of represents a minimal impact on the environment.

Light Emitting Diodes: LED, is the newest of the technologies I am writing about today, they are small transistor like modules, that use small amounts of electricity to emit light. LED's use an order of magnitude of electricity less than CFL's do, 10's milliwatts vs. Watts. They also last about 4 times longer than CFL's. Currently the cost of LED fixtures (bulbs) is higher than other competing types of lighting so they would need to be used where other forms either won't work or you have a special need. LED's also do not use mercury in their circuitry so they have an advantage over CFL's.

At HBC we have formed a cross-functional team with members of each department to guide our Green Initiatives. The team will research products and practices that can help HBC to be a better and greener company. As residents of the communities we serve, we all feel that it is important for us to do what we can to make a difference.

Our first actions are to kick off our green blog to serve as a forum for those of us who are trying to make changes for the greener. We are not experts, and have a long way to go -- but we are proud that we are doing what we can.

Internally we are exploring changes in policies to reduce energy consumption, use of paper, and improving recycling efforts, among others. Our first "quick hit" was to have employees shut off their monitors when they leave for the day, or if they will be away from their PC for an extended period of time. We were surprised when research indicated how much of a difference this little change could make. (http://www.doit.wisc.edu/news/story.asp?filename=598)

We look forward to hearing from you and to sharing our thoughts and efforts with you.

Dan DeBroux – Environmental Consciousness Committee Chairperson

HBC green tip of the week:

Everyday should be Earthday and everyone should be as eco-conscience as they are today, but since they are not, use this day to spread the word to others. Help promote the day by striking up green conversations or wearing eco-friendly clothing.

Did you know:

"Earthday is the first completely international and universal holiday that the world has ever known. Every other holiday was tied to one place, or some political or special event. This day is tied to Earth itself, and to the place of Earth in the whole solar system."
-Anthropologist Margaret Mead, 1977

A new committee was formed to help drive the HBC Green Project. The members include representatives from multiple departments. Responsibilities include researching and recommending actions on environmental issues pertinent to the operation of HBC.

As part of our first act as the ECC we have reinstated the usage of this website as an outlet for you, our friends, to contribute your feedback on green issues. We will not only be addressing HBC's growth as a green company but also highlighting other local companies that are going green, and contributing green tips and facts we think you will find interesting. We welcome your feedback and hope you enjoy reading the content here as much as we enjoy providing it. Check back frequently as we continue to grow green. We want to point out that, though we are working towards a greener company, we are in no way experts on the subject and are far from reaching our eventual goal of complete sustainability. We are learning as we go along and are committed to our task and welcome your input. We would like to make a few notes about the comment features included here. The comments are moderated and do not go online until approved. This helps to prevent spammers and advertisers from posting material that is not pertinent to this site as well as helping to prevent comments that are not considered appropriate for all viewers. Approved comments will be posted in a timely manner. Thank you for all your understanding and support. We look forward to hearing from you.

Candice Mayberry - Multimedia Development

HBC has made a commitment to become more eco-friendly. Here are a few of the ways we are working towards our goal right now.

• Recycling at all our office locations has been made easier with more convenient bin locations.
• We are working on a paper usage reduction plan to reduce waste.
• Recycled paper bags and reusable, recycled, cloth bags are being given instead of plastic bags with customers welcome kits and retail purchases.
• Steps are being implemented to reduce our energy consumption where possible.

And this is just the beginning. We will continue to make efforts to improve and as we do, we will be logging our progress here so that you can be a participant in our green project. We encourage you to make suggestions, provide feedback and ask questions.