Call for Papers - 2012 Used Oil + HHW + WSPPN Training and Conference
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Wendi's Hospitality Corner
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Welcome to Wendi's corner, where the monthly Hospitality Newsletters from EPA Region 9 are summarized.
Wendi Shafir is the Green Lodging and Hospitality Lead P2 Coordinator for EPA Region 9. She provides newsletters in order to share information that may be of interest to lodging and other hospitality facilities and to help address any challenges faced by hospitality businesses as they work to reduce their environmental impacts and move toward sustainability.
Don't waste your food, Unilever tells restaurants
Unilever's restaurant-supply division is launching a campaign to help its clients reduce food waste. The aim is to reduce the 25,000 to 75,000 pounds of wasted food from the average American restaurant each year and to encourage composting of unavoidable waste, says Unilever manager Kara Phillips. "If you're roasting turkey, how do you use the scraps ... that you might have thrown away?" says Phillips. "Maybe it can go into a soup or salad."NPR.org/The Salt blog (11/28)
Compostable Plastics 101
An overview of Compostable plastics sponsored by the California Organics Recycling Council is available here.
What's the greenest way to dry your hands? ... GreenBiz
It's a question that bedevils facility managers. What's the most environmentally conscious and cost effective way for people to dry their hands in company and public restrooms? Paper towels made from recycled content? Electric hand dryers? Cotton towels that need to be laundered?More
Hotels for Hope turns room nights into social change Hotels for Hope is a company that adds a layer of social good to the simple act of securing hotel rooms. They book rooms for meeting planners, event organizers, individual travelers and hotels. With every room booked, the hotel makes a $1 charitable contribution that Hotels for Hope matches. Hotels for Hope then donates this money to support one of its partner organizations which positively impact the lives of children.
Sysco's Produce Division Makes Room for Local Farmers
To distribute local food, Sysco had to first spend 3 years restructuring its produce division in Michigan--a feat it's now reproducing nationwide. Read more.
Switching on Big Energy Savings with Air Filtration
Energy savings, with minimal upfront costs can be achieved by switching to more sustainable, efficient low energy air filters. Read more.
Touch-free Soap And Paper Towel Dispensers Are Money Savers
Touch-free soap and paper towel dispensers can be tailored to reduce product overuse in public restroom. Read more.
Spanish Hotels with ISO Environmental Certification Perform Better than Uncertified Properties A study of over 2,000 independent hotels in Spain compared the economic performance of hotels that have earned the international environmental standard, ISO14001, with those that have not been certified. On balance the certified hotels recorded stronger sales and earnings before taxes and depreciation than those that were not certified. The Study,
"Environmental Management Certification and Performance in Hospitality Industry: A Comparative Analysis of ISO14001 Hotels in Spain," by María-del-Val Segarra-Oña, Ángel Peiró-Signes, and Rohit Verma, is available at no charge from the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research (CHR).
Disclaimer: Some of the events, articles and websites listed in this email are not sponsored by EPA. EPA is listing them for your information only. EPA is not responsible for their content and does not endorse any commercial product, service, enterprise, or policy that may be included.
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WSPPN & DTSC Organize P2 Track for CalCUPA Forum Training Conference
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The 14th Annual Unified Program Training Conference will be held on Feb. 6, 2012 - Feb. 9, 2012 at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport. This year WSPPN was asked to help organize the P2 track. WSPPN & DTSC planned four two hour sessions that will be offered to more than 900 attendees helping to expand the P2 reach. See CUPA.
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Connect to WSPPN on Linked In.
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Another way to stay connected with the WSPPN network for announcements, updates on events, and news.
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Strengthen our network: http://twitter.com/WSPPN
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Greetings!
This month we recognize Coachella Valley, a new community that specializes in clean technology and renewable energy.
Please be sure to contribute to the needs assessment WSPPN is conducting. This assessment will help identify the P2 services that are most needed in our region.
Please share your P2 Program News with folks in the network. Send to dwalden@unr.edu by the end of January content you would like to see published in the February 2012 newsletter.
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Coachella Valley Incorporates Environmental Concerns in its Economic Development Plan
 The Coachella Valley Innovation Hub (CViHub) is a California designated business support entity hosted by the cities of Palm Springs, Desert Hot Springs and Cathedral City. It is managed by the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership, an economic development organization. The designation was recently established by the State of California Business, Transpor-tation and Housing Agency; the iHub program is overseen by the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development. The CViHub is one of 12 innovation hubs in the State of California.
Each innovation hub has a specific technical area of expertise that was chosen based on the most appropriate geographic and industry bases to enhance success. The Coachella Valley iHub's depth area of competence is renewable energy and the enabling technologies that enhance the probability for commercial success. The CViHub is focused on clean technology, with emphasis on renewable energy, enabling technologies like energy storage and energy management, green building materials/ techniques, biomaterials, and water filtration and conservation technologies.
The CViHub provides education, support, training, business assistance and networking programs to contributing members and oversees operations of a small business incubator that is housed in the offices of the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership. Part of the collaboration ecosystem includes forming alliances with the local angel networks, business development centers, universities and service providers such as lawyers, accountants, and regulatory consultants. These networks will be able to provide their expertise to the CViHub members and expose the CViHub members to resources they may not have had access to.
The goals of the CViHub include:
- Diversify and expand the Coachella Valley economy to include clean tech industries
- Attract, develop and retain clean tech companies to the Coachella Valley area
- Nurture and grow 50 new start-up companies in 5 years
- Create local high paying technology and manufacturing jobs in our area
- Develop new clean technologies to help our Valley and California compete in the global marketplace
- Increase the per capita household income and standard of living regionally
- Inspire the creation of high margin patent protected intellectual property by local business
- Attract outside businesses and entrepreneurs who will benefit from the business ecosystem
- Attract angel and venture capital investments in local clean tech companies
For more information, contact Wesley Ahlgren.
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Hazardous Waste Webinar on January 26
 | | Roland Fornoff |
Hawaii's Hotels and resorts, as well as other businesses, may use a variety of hazardous products in their day-to-day operations, ranging from cleaning chemicals and pesticides to fluorescent light bulbs and batteries. When these items are discarded, they need to be managed as hazardous waste because of toxic, ignitable, or even corrosive characteristics. Unfortunately, when these waste streams are not properly addressed, they often get thrown in the trash or poured down the drain.
This webinar will provide a quick overview of common hazardous wastes, how to comply with the regulations, and prevention measures designed to reduce hazardous waste generation. Topics will tie in with the requirements for the Hawaii Green Business Program. While the focus will be on hotels, this information is valuable to any business looking to improve their environmental management. |
Title:
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Hazardous Waste: the usual suspects and how to manage them
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Date:
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Thursday, January 26, 2012
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Time:
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11:00 AM - 12:00 PM PST
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"Strategies and Tools for Green Procurement" Webinar on February 7 - by WC EPP Collaborative
 | | Josh Saunders Greencurement |
Federal, state and local governments are facing increased complexity with creating and managing green procurement strategies. This webinar is meant to give an overview of some of the key challenges institutions are facing for green purchasing and provide information on tools and resources that organizations around the country are using to overcome these challenges. Presentation will cover specific web-based tools, calculators, information resources, reporting mechanisms, and other resources that you can use to help implement and manage green procurement. The webinar will also include a demonstration of Greencurement, a new tool to help purchasers identify products that meet their specifications and increase compliance with green purchasing.
This Webinar is cosponsored by WSPPN, PPRC, and the West Coast Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Collaborative (WCEPPC).
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Title:
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Webinar: Strategies and Tools for Green Procurement
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Date:
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Tuesday, February 7, 2012
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Time:
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11:00 AM - 12:00 PM PST
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Lets make Region 9 stronger by joining forces to advocate for sustainability and pollution prevention.
Sincerely,
Donna Walden
Regional Coordinator, WSPPN
University of Nevada Reno/
Business Environmental Program
dwalden@unr.edu
www.wsppn.org
WSPPN is a proud member of P2Rx (www.P2Rx.org).
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