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FALL 2011 Newsletter

Upcoming Events

S A V E  T H E  D A T E 

   

Semi-Annual Meeting 

with Mayor Edwin Lee

Thursday, Oct. 13  

4:00 PM - 6:00 PM 

InterContinental

Register online now >>

 

Green Broker Summit

Tuesday, Nov. 15

The Bently Reserve 

 

PG&E Energy Efficiency Workshop 

Wednesday, Nov. 2 

Pacific Energy Center

 

 All event details to come via email invitation.

 

SF Environment Announcements 

 

Businesses: upgrade your way to energy savings

SF Energy Watch, a partnership between the City of San Francisco and PG&E, SF Energy Watch helps businesses weather a tough economy by offering energy assessments and financial incentives for energy efficiency upgrades. SF 

Environment representatives are currently visiting the Sunset District as well as the West Portal and Ocean Avenue commercial corridors in San Francisco to help businesses cut energy costs through the SF Energy Watch Program. To schedule a free energy assessment, call the SF Energy Watch hotline at 415.355.3769, or visit www.sfenergywatch.org.
 
 
Homeowners: get comfortable with energy savings!
Homeowners around San Francisco are taking advantage of the Home Improvement & Performance program offered by SF Environment. They are receiving up to $9,000 for home improvement projects that have saved them an average of 35% of their energy usage. By adding wall and attic insulation to his home, one Twin Peaks resident saved 40% of his annual energy usage, received $6,000 from the program, and only had to pay his participating contractor $1,200. If you are interested in receiving help upgrading your home, set up a home assessment at www.sfenvironment.org/sfhip.

  

  

SF Environment logo

  

  

Other Announcements 

 

Businesses: light your way to energy savings

The California High Performance Lighting Program offers lighting assessments and substantial incentives for lighting upgrades to office and warehouse spaces in the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) territory. Single or multiple tenant office buildings and warehouses are eligible.  To take advantage of this opportunity, please visit www.chplp.com

 

Become a BC3 Sponsor Today!

 

BC3 has created a new way for firms to demonstrate leadership, support the BC3 program, and build brand value with the Bay Area's top business leaders. We've created four-tiered sponsorship and benefits package:

 

-Bronze ($2,500)

-Silver ($5,000) 

-Gold ($7,500)

-Platinum ($10,000)

  

Sponsorship benefits include preferred speaking and hosting opportunities, spotlight article and press mentions, and other high-profile public recognition. See here for more details.

 

 

YOUR LOGO HERE

 

 

Become a BC3 Sponsor today!  

See here for more details.

 

Last chance!
Dues are overdue


As a membership dues-based organization, your yearly membership fee funds BC3's program activities and strategic initiatives for the upcoming year, and supports BC3's staff. Your company receives a public member profile; access to our climate leadership tool; free access to events, speaking opportunities, networking and business connections via the BC3 network; leadership of BC3 strategic initiatives; and much more!
 
Your firm's primary liaison to BC3 received a membership dues invoice. If they have not already, please pay your annual membership dues by sending a check to "Business Council on Climate Change, 11 Grove Street,  San Francisco, CA 94102."

 

Here's what people are saying about BC3:
Jeff Caton photo                                    
"It's great to be part of an organization that embodies the Bay Area's leadership on climate change. By tapping into BC3's forums  for learning, networking, and sharing best practices, we've better integrated climate change into our core business strategies." 
-Jeff Caton
Environmental Science Associates 
 

Roger Huldi photo 

"BC3 offers a great network of innovative Bay Area businesses committed to taking action on climate change. Being a member gives us access to a great collaborative group to share ideas, offering best practices and valuable tools. As a global company, Starwood, our parent company has the size and scope to make a real difference. Learning and sharing what we know with other companies will empower us to continue to offer different solutions that we can implement at W Silicon Valley."

-Roger Huldi

W Silicon Valley

 

Welcome to BC3's new and newly renewed members! 

 

New Resource Bank Logo F'11 NL

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Olivia Global Communications Logo F'11 NL 

William McDonough&Partners Logo F'11 NL David Baker&Partners F'11 NL

Blue Shield of CA Logo F'11 NL

HOK Logo F'11 NL
Orchard Hotel Logo F'11 NL 

Community Spice Co Logo F'11 NL 

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join Now
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Welcome to the Fall 2011 edition of the Business Council on Climate Change (BC3) newsletter! These quarterly updates are intended to fill you in on recent events, inform and remind you of upcoming seminars and meetings, and communicate best practices and programs.

 Third Annual "A Common Green" a Success! 

Climate SWOT answers
Answers to the question "What are your organization's climate-related weaknesses?" from BC3's interactive display. See more answers online here.

On September 14, BC3 members and nonmembers gathered for "A Common Green", an annual networking event sponsored by the Bently Reserve, Larkspur Hotels, and the Business Council on Climate Change that brings environmental non-profits, government agencies, foundations, and businesses together for a night of learning and celebrating the environment in the Bay Area. 

 

A Common Green
Keynote speaker Sam Holder stresses the importance of partnerships in the Trust for Public Land's conservation work.

At the event, SF Green Film Festival screened several short films, the Energy Foundation gave tours of their LEED Platinum space, and organizations including the Trust for Public Land, Coral Reef Alliance, ClimateWorks Foundation, SF Department of the Environment, and Friends of the Urban Forest provided information about their environmental programs and services. 

 

At BC3's interactive display, organizations engaged in an analysis of their climate-related strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. To encourage networking and information-sharing among the event's partners, BC3 also organized a scavenger hunt that sent participants in a mad dash around the Bently Reserve's banking hall. For more event resources, and to check out SWOT responses and scavenger hunt answers, see our website here

Using Gaming Techniques for Sustainable Behavior Change at Blue Shield of California

Gaming Event Photo
Event speakers Bryce Williams, Leilani Latimer, Belis Aksoy, and Paul McGrath.

 

On August 25, BC3 members gathered at BC3 sponsor Blue Shield of California's San Francisco offices for an event centered around gamification - using gaming techniques to drive engagement - as an emerging trend in promoting sustainable behavior.

 

At the event, Bryce Williams, Director of Wellvolution at

Blue Shield of California, Leilani Latimer, Director of Sustainability at Sabre Holdings (Travelocity's parent company), Belis Aksoy, Social Media Marketing Manager at SunPower, and Paul McGrath, CEO of RideSpring, spoke about how they are using gaming techniques to encourage sustainable behavior change, including: how Blue Shield is using a competition to encourage healthy employee behavior; the secret to Sabre Holdings' successful implementation of internal sustainability programs; why SunPower is using a Facebook contest to effectively reach their consumers; and how Fenwick & West has transformed the commute into a fun and rewarding competition.

 

Gaming at Blue Shield
 Frankie Ridolfi asks a question during Q&A.

After presentations, attendees engaged in a discussion moderated by Nancy Shaw of Blue Shield about how to kick-off competitions that maximize participation, when to use "team policing" to guarantee fairness and accuracy, whether companies have seen demographic trends in the data collected, and much more. For more details, and to see Greenbiz.com's article on the event, click here

How Green is Your Office?

Even Greener with BC3's Green Tenant Toolkit

  

Green Tenant Toolkit photo
Members of the Green Lease Subgroup working at Hanson Bridgett.

BC3's 26-person Green Tenant Toolkit Working Group has been hard at work this summer creating a toolkit for tenants, commercial property owners, and landlords to improve the sustainability of their operations. The working group, launched at BC3's semi-annual membership meeting in May, was convened to find effective means to reconcile the sometimes competing interests of owners and tenants that limit sustainability goals and energy savings in commercial buildings. The creation of the group stemmed from a recommendation of the Mayor's Existing Commercial Buildings Task Force. 

  

The final meeting of the working Group took place on September 21 at the office of K&L Gates. Many thanks to the entire working group, and in particular to the subgroup leaders: Zorana Bosnic, HOK; Zachary Brown (CB Richard Ellis), and Jordan O'Brien (Arup) for their leadership on this project. A very special thanks goes to Project Leader Jennifer Berg (Northgate Environmental Management) for her energy, commitment, and hard work driving this incredible team!

 

The Green Tenant Toolkit will be previewed at the October 13 BC3 semi-annual membership meeting, generously sponsored by the InterContinental San Francisco and Schneider Electric. Space is limited, register online today!

 

Lessons in Communicating Climate Change
Networking Event at Cal Academy of Sciences

 

Aaron Pope photo
Cal Academy's Manager of Sustainable Programs Aaron Pope provides insight into how the museum's visitors perceive and act on climate change.

On July 17, BC3 members gathered for a networking event at BC3 partner California Academy of Sciences to learn about how the museum communicates climate change.


At the event, California Academy of Sciences Manager of Sustainability Programs Aaron Pope shared data from the museum's study of visitor perceptions of climate change and described how the museum is using this data to inform how they communicate climate change in permanent exhibits. Among other findings, the study indicated that future exhibits should focus less on the science and causes of climate change, and more on impacts closer to home, such as how communities can adapt and become more resilient to potential climate impacts. For more information, see Aaron's presentation online here

During an interactive portion of the meeting, BC3 members responded to the question: "What is your biggest challenge in communicating climate change?" Some answers included: making climate change seem relevant to people's day-to-day lives, providing firms with easy steps to take action, inspiring hope and action (as opposed to fear and denial), making the argument that individual action really makes a difference, and making sustainability inexpensive and accessible. Following the event, BC3 members received special access to the museum during "Nightlife," Cal Academy's weekly networking event. 

BC3 MEMBER SPOTLIGHT


Every quarter, BC3 highlights its new and newly renewed members in the newsletter. Renew your membership today!

Swinerton Logo Fall 2011 NL 

Swinerton recently surpassed the 100 mark for LEED projects. Among Swinerton's first LEED projects was the LEED-EB Gold retrofit of 260 Townsend St., their Headquarters building in San Francisco, back in 2002. Since then, Swinerton has logged 31 Certified, 40 Silver, 28 Gold and 2 Platinum LEED projects. In total, these projects represent over 12 million square feet and $2.4 billion in revenue. A founding member of BC3, Swinerton recently renewed its BC3 membership. Swinerton was ranked as the California's #1 Green Builder by ENR in 2010.

 

GAP LOGO NL Fall 2011 

Since the company was founded in 1969, Gap Inc. has believed in the shared value between being responsible and being a successful company. Gap Inc. recently released its 5th Social and Environmental Responsibility Report, providing a comprehensive update on its supply chain operations, environmental programs and community investment efforts from 2009 to 2010. Highlights include: 100 percent-All of our branded denim is made in compliance with our Water Quality Program, meaning the wastewater from denim laundries is properly treated; 20 percent-Absolute Greenhouse Gas emissions we've committed to reduce from our U.S. operations by 2015; 63 million-Number of yards of plastic bands, along with 57,000 tons of cardboard, that have been eliminated from our product packaging in the U.S. thanks to redesign efforts. To learn more, go to gapinc.com or check out the press release about the report. 

 

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New BC3 member The Fairmont recently announced that it has cut its CO2 output by 8.4 percent. As a member of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Climate Savers program, Fairmont has pledged to reduce its operational CO2 emissions by 20 percent below 2006 levels by 2013, and was the world's first luxury hotel group to commit to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). The more than 8 percent decline, based on 2010 year-end data, means the hotel company is almost halfway to its ambitious reduction target. To help reach this company-wide goal, The Fairmont San Francisco added occupancy-sensing guestroom thermostats and adjusted its daily HVAC scheduling in meeting rooms to decrease its GHG emissions by 12.1 percent. For more information, please visit www.fairmont.com/environment.

 

InterContinental Logo   

In 2011, new BC3 member the InterContinental San Francisco became the first property in the InterContinental Hotels & Resorts portfolio to achieve LEED certification for an existing building. It received LEED Gold Certification under the U.S Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance (LEED EBOM), becoming the largest LEED Gold Recipient of existing buildings in California, and the 3rd largest in the United States. 

 

RideSpring Logo Fall 2011 NL  

RideSpring provides employers with a turnkey, complete commuter program that makes it easier for client companies to find carpool partners at work, as well as promoting, measuring, and rewarding participation in all forms of alternate commuting such as biking, carpooling, and transit use. In addition, RideSpring provides on-going detailed commute statistics, including CO2 emission reduction, that enable client companies to clearly see the effectiveness of all elements of their commuter programs at any time. RideSpring clients include BC3 member Gap, as well as the City of Santa Cruz, Fenwick & West, and SAP. Monthly webinars discussing strategies to make your commuter program an effective part of your sustainability plan will be offered starting Oct.12, 2011. For more information, visit www.RideSpring.com or call 831-278-0312.

 

SFGFF logo Fall 2011 NL 

The San Francisco Green Film Festival (SFGFF) returns March 1-7, 2012 as the Bay Area's only event dedicated to film and media that explore green issues and sustainable living. SFGFF brings critical and contemporary environmental issues to local audiences and, in the process, highlights the vital work of the festival's many partners. The 2,000 attendees at the first festival in March 2011 enjoyed a broad array of new films in carefully curated sessions that challenged, provoked, and entertained as well as provided abundant material for hours of discussion.  

 

If you would like to post an announcement in BC3's next newsletter, email us at [email protected].  

 

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BC3 is a project of Community Initiatives. **

 

**Community Initiatives is a California non-profit benefit organization qualified as exempt from federal income tax undr section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code adn classified as a public charity. Your contribution is deductible to extent allowedby law. All checks over $250 will be acknowledged in writing.