GREEN BUILDING NEWS
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Did You Know...? August 21st was this year's Earth Overshoot Day. That is the point in the year by which we will have consumed all the resources that the planet can sustainably generate.  According to the Global Footprint Network, "once we pass this day, humanity will have demanded all the ecological services - from filtering CO2 to producing the raw materials for food - that nature can provide this year. From that point until the end of the year, we meet our ecological demand by liquidating resource stocks and accumulating carbon dioxide in the atmosphere."
Source: Global Footprint Network
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Great Forest Gives Back
Great Forest is a proud supporter of the nonprofit Blacksmith Institute, which works to solve life-threatening pollution problems in some of the world's worst polluted places. Blacksmith is currently engaged in over 40 cleanup projects in 19 countries.
Read the 2009 World's Worst Polluted Places report: 12 Cases of Cleanup and Success.
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About Great Forest
Great Forest provides sustainability consulting and project management expertise
To date Great Forest has worked with more than half of all commercial office space and hotels in Manhattan and over 1,500 buildings across the country, covering approximately 350 million sq. ft. Services include: Contact Us Great Forest, Inc.
2014 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10035
Ph: (212) 779-4757
Fax: (212) 779-8044
www.greatforest.com
Improve Environmental Performance, Reduce Cost.
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Join us for Two Great Events...
 
Fight Pollution:
On Monday, September 27, Great Forest will tee off in support of a good cause at Blacksmith Institute's annual golf fundraiser. Many of you have joined us in the past for this key charity event, which raises thousands of dollars each year to support the cleanup of some of the world's worst polluted places. We hope to see you again this year. Great Forest is a proud supporter of the Blacksmith Institute, a nonprofit that works to solve life-threatening pollution problems in low and middle-income countries.
Be Greener:
On September 29 and 30, Great Forest will be at booth #9 at the Urban Green Expo in NYC. Join us at this year's conference, where experts and the nation's most forward-thinking green building community will help redefine what is possible in high performance buildings. -- The Great Forest Team |
Recycling Programs Expand in New York
NYC Mayor Signs New Recycling Legislation
 NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed 11 new residential recycling laws on August 18, updating the city's 21-year-old recycling legislation.
Under the new laws, NYC residents can recycle all plastic containers (previously it had been only #s 1 and 2). Public spaces will host 300 new recycling bins, and all public schools and city agencies will have recycling programs as well. Other new recycling programs include annual household hazardous waste collections in each borough, a clothing and textile recycling program, and a trial paint recycling effort.
A food waste composting study also has been mandated, along with follow-up waste studies between 2012 and 2024.
Westchester To Recycle All Plastics
Westchester County, NY, is expanding the Material Recovery Facility in Yonkers so that residents and businesses can recycle all types of plastics (#s 1-7). This expansion will affect residential and commercial properties serviced by municipal pick up. Great Forest will work with clients in Westchester who are affected by the new program to ensure compliance.
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September 20-26 is Climate Week NYC
 Climate Week NY˚C 2010, a global forum to mobilize an international public-private response to climate change, will take place this month on the sidelines of the United Nations' General Assembly meeting
Government and business leaders from around the world will converge in NYC to explore how progressive policy and finance mechanisms can unlock a clean industrial revolution necessary to generate sustainable low carbon development, boost energy security, create jobs and end global poverty.
Climate Week events include Get Past the Past: Climate Change Adaption In and Around NYC and the Urban Green Expo.
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Diverting 1,500 Metric Tons of Paper from Landfill
In February, it was reported that TD became the first North American bank to go carbon neutral. Now, it has announced a new closed loop paper recycling program that will divert at least 1,500 metric tons of paper from landfills and is expected to save about 43,000 trees a year.
Great Forest salutes TD Bank's approach. Since the average office worker uses approximately 10,000 sheets of copy paper each year, efforts like this in corporate America go a long way towards sustainability.
Great Forest has been working with
Johnson Controls Inc. to enhance TD Bank's retail stores' waste
management and recycling programs in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland,
District of Columbia, Virginia and Delaware
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Meet Great Forest's New Director of Energy Services
 Sheila Sweeney comes to Great Forest with over 20 years of experience in energy project management. To date, the incentive and rebate programs she has helped secure for clients have tallied over $55 million in cost savings. She is a specialist in state and federal planning towards CHP, "smart grid" initiatives and peak load management, and in efficiency and sustainability metrics. Sheila has also held positions with Vornado Realty Trust, the NYC Economic Development Corporation and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. She is a graduate of Tufts University. Call Great Forest to talk to Sheila for all your energy needs.
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GREAT FOREST Q&A
Q: How do I make sure tenants and employees recycle properly?
 A: No matter what type of recycling program you have set up, education is the key to its success. Lack of awareness is one of the major reasons why people don't recycle.
Here are a few ways to increase awareness:
* Post Signage - Make sure all central bins are clearly labeled. Use signage that clearly indicates which specific types of materials should be placed in the allocated bins.
* Remind and Reinforce - Place recycling information in common areas such as copy rooms and pantries to remind people and reinforce proper procedures.
* Inform - Hold meetings or education sessions with department heads, tenant representatives and other key personnel to review the recycling program. Provide them with information to distribute to all employees. If a new tenant or employee
comes into the building, an overview of the recycling program should be
part of their orientation.
*Feedback - Encourage tenants and employees to notify you - or the
building's Great Forest representative - with any questions about the
recycling program to ensure high satisfaction levels with the program.
Great
Forest can work with your building to create recycling education materials specific to your recycling program, or host recycling information sessions.
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