WHAT MAKES SENSE TO DO Dr Ron Lembke

WHAT MAKES SENSE TO DO? Dr. Ron Lembke

WHAT IS “SUSTAINABILITY? ” The ability to keep doing something for the indefinite future If it’s not profitable, it’s not sustainable What allows a company to survive? § Meeting customer demands § Developing new products § Keeping costs low

DIFFERENT METRICS Dimensions of Environmental Sustainability: § § Carbon: energy burned by us, by our suppliers Water: water used The Carbon Footprint Paper and corrugated used Solid waste generated of a plastic bag is Costs and Revenues: § Lower electricity, gas and water bills § Lower garbage hauling costs § Better public relations 1/1000 that of the food in it! How much do customers care? § If it makes them feel closer, there’s likely monetary value? How much is your competition doing? § Watch out for GREENWASHING!!!! § Trivial gestures: attention misdirection – ski passes, plastic bags

PACKAGING REDUCTION Packaging redesign § 86% reduction in packaging weight § 42% more food per cubic volume! Lower transportation costs § More food per truckload § Less packagin weight per unit of food

LEED: LEADERSHIP IN ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN US Green Building Council Points system Start with an architect that specializes in LEED § True believers who really know how to find costeffective methods No guarantee of savings http: //www. usgbc. org/Show. File. aspx? Document. ID=3930

RECYCLING “‘Recycling is bullshit, in my opinion. What we should be doing is reducing’… reduce, reuse, recycle is meant to be taken in the order it’s presented in. ” “Recycling is really your third and worst option. ” § John Sagebiel, UNR Environmental Affairs Manager, UNR Sagebrush, May 2012 Material Aluminum Glass Newsprint PET #1 (soda) Polystyrene #6 Energy Saved 96% 21% 45% 76% 88% Recycling Rate National California 45% 99% 25% 84% 25% 31% 67% <1% 10% Data: Popular Mechanics, Cal. Recycle. ca. gov Aluminum is “congealed electricity” Newsprint demand for corrugated boxes by China Waste paper largest US export to China Much “downcycling, ” but we’re learning, markets are developing

COMPOSTABLES Great Basin Brewing Company § § Compostable napkins, straws, silverware, boxes, etc. Slightly higher cost Vendors not even aware of their own products Project lead by UNR MBA graduate Waste hauled by Castaway Trash Hauling § Commercial composting § Landfills emit methane, a bad GHG, and usually don’t capture it § Composting emits less methane 30 -70% less

KILL-A-WATT

COMMERCIAL COMPOSTING Look up impact of things

WHY WORRY ABOUT CARBON? Carbon = Energy = Money

MCKINSEY STUDY http: //www. mckinsey. com/Client_Service/Electric_Power_and_Natural_Gas/Latest_thin king/Unlocking_energy_efficiency_in_the_US_economy

TOOLS FOR FINDING CARBON? Look for energy usage § What appliances use the most?

ELECTRICITY USAGE MONITORING

YOU’VE GOT TO LOOK AT THE DETAILS 1 kg of Tomatoes § 0. 4 kg organic loose tomatoes, grown locally in July § 9. 1 kg (20 lbs) average § 50 kg (110 lbs) organic, “on the vine” cherry tomatoes, grown in Ohio, in March Wine Cal. vs. France § French wine comes on a boat § California wine comes on a truck Flowers § Dutch greenhouses § Colombia – unheated greenhouses, but flown to Europe

BOOKS TO CONSIDER Ecological Intelligence: The Hidden Impacts of What We Buy, Daniel Goleman Force of Nature: The Unlikely Story of Wal-Mart’s Green Revolution, Edward Humes How Bad Are Bananas? The Carbon Impact of Almost Everything, Mike Berners-Lee Hot Flat and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution – And How it Can Renew America, Thomas L. Friedman