BeeP Blog

It takes courage, as a company, to stand up and lead towards a different way of doing business. At Blue Practice we are lucky enough to represent the kinds of change-makers that are willing to take that first step, and for that we are incredibly thankful!

For these and many more reasons, it was an inspiring week at Greenbuild 2011 when Blue Practice client Construction Specialties (C/S) unveiled the building industry’s first-ever ingredient label for building materials. C/S teamed up with leading design firm Perkins+Will to develop the label, which details the complete make-up of a product, highlighting critical lifecycle information and potential human health impacts. This intensive effort, launched at Greenbuild 2011 in Toronto, Canada, is a collaborative step toward market transformation through increased disclosure on the part of building product manufacturers.

As the industry stands now, no disclosure on the part of building product manufacturers is necessary regarding the chemicals and ingredients in products. However, with this label, C/S and Perkins+Will hope to transform the market and nudge it towards more transparency around the make-up of the materials that surround us every day. The EPA estimates that Americans now spend about 90 percent or more of their time indoors and so we are increasingly exposed to the chemicals in these products. If more companies disclose what is in their products, everyone who touches the product, from the architect / specifier to the person who is charged with removing the product at the end of its life will be able to make more informed decisions.

While there is a vulnerability that comes with being first, C/S believes there is a business case for offering the world the ingredient and product information they obtained through the Cradle to Cradle certification process. Their Cradle to Cradle Certified(CM) Entrance Flooring product Pedisystems PediTred® G4 has the distinction of being the first product to carry this historic label. The company plans to attach similarly designed labels to other entrance flooring products as well in the belief that C/S customers will value this information. Competitors may have new insight into C/S’ leading products’, but that is the price the company is willing to pay to lead the way forward towards a more transparent and healthy industry.

Leading also has it’s benefits. Blue Practice was able to secure some wonderfully in-depth and rich coverage for the company. No one could deserve it more. Please read on for the clips here:

Fast Company: http://www.fastcompany.com/1784776/a-nutrition-label-for-building-products
Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andy-mannle/new-ingredient-label-for-_b_995254.html
Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/toddwoody/2011/10/05/new-label-to-promote-green-building-materials/
Contract Magazine: http://www.contractdesign.com/contract/PerkinsWill-Constr-6192.shtml
Inhabitat: http://inhabitat.com/top-green-products-found-at-greenbuild-2011-in-toronto/
Green Source: http://greensource.construction.com/blogs/thegreensource.asp
GreenBiz: http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2011/10/11/nutritional-label-building-materials-other-tools-transparency

Last Saturday night marked the launch party of local nonprofit Empowered By Light, founded to distribute lighting-based clean technologies to people in developing countries. Blue Practice was fortunate to be involved with the event and the amazing people behind the organization, husband and wife team Marco Krapels and Moira Hanes and BP client Warner Philips.  The night was co-hosted by Entourage star Adrian Grenier of SHFT (check out PACT underwear and Lemnis’ Pharox Solar Kit on SHFT.com) ,  and the star certainly was in good company with the  “Who’s Who of the Bay Area Greenies”. Blue Practice friends included Bridgett Luther Chair and CEO of Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute and Stuart Rudick, Mindful Investors.

Marco Krapels had just come from a flight from Zambia where he was laying the foundation for Empowered by Light’s first project: Solar:Zambia. The project will involve delivering 5,000 Lemnis Lighting produced Pharox Solar Kits- a solar-powered LED light/cell phone charge kit- to rural families who do not have access to electric power. Marco  described how the solar-powered LED lights are already making a difference for rural communities in Africa. Instead of spending 20% of their income on toxic kerosene lighting, which causes lung cancer, families are now able to gather around the clean light from the Pharox kits and study and read into the night.

Blue Practice is working to increase awareness about Empowered by Light in the days leading up to the Solar:Zambia mission. To read more, visit the Examiner piece and see a great recap of the night on The Bold Italic.

Photo by Drew Altizer

Photo by Drew Altizer

I was excited to attend the ribbon cutting on the SF InterContinental Hotel’s Gold LEED certification yesterday. In the car park in front of the hotel, the hotel owners and USGBC spoke about the road to Gold LEED and the opportunities and challenges for hotels with LEED certification. Zipcar’s Dan Grossman also addressed the group and shared that there will be a plug-in electric ZipCar stationed at the hotel for guests to rent. Zipcar is the first car-share company to offer EVs- perfect for urban users whose trips are generally less than 13 miles. A City Park representative also shared that they are installing 10 EV charging stations in SF parking lots this year.

The lunch following featured several key players in the LEED certification process and ended with a reciting of USGBC’s mission: Buildings and communities will regenerate and sustain the health and vitality of all life within a generation.

I wish we had written that!