To remain economically competitive, our cities need to go “green.” Partners’ report “The Dollars and Sense of Green Businesss,” features 22 organizations across the country that are boosting the economic health of their cities by fostering green business initiatives. Six months after the release of Partners’ report, these organizations are still hard at work. Read on for key updates, and get inspired to make your community more prosperous through sustainability. Read the individual city profiles here.
St. Louis reveals its “green” power
St. Louis Regional Chamber & Growth Association (RCGA): Climate Prosperity Project
The St. Louis Green Economy Profile, completed this summer, revealed 700 businesses in the St. Louis region as part of the “core green economy” businesses whose main functions are to “conserve natural and energy resources, provide clean energy alternatives or reduce pollution and re-purpose waste.” These businesses employ nearly 9,000 people in the St. Louis region, and have grown at a rate of 54% over the last decade. Also included in the profile is the larger “adaptive green economy,” businesses that are transforming typical products and services to be more sustainable, through projects such as: Boeing’s “Green Hornet,” an F-15 that can fly on biofuels; Enterprise Holdings recently renovated energy efficient retail offices around the country; and the Missouri Department of Transportation’s sustainable highway landscaping to manage stormwater runoff. The profile will serve as the basis for a strategic plan for the St. Louis green economy.
57 businesses have completed the RCGA “Green Business Challenge,” an eight-month project started in January of this year. These companies significantly improved energy and water efficiency, recycling, waste reduction, and formed green teams and policies. RCGA will continue their work with a Green Economy Symposium in January, focusing on how St. Louis can prepare its workforce for the green economy.
LED lights up across the country
Greater Washington Board of Trade: LED Streetlight Program
Eight LED street light pilot projects in the DC area are up, running and gathering data, while new projects continue to crop up around the country. In Arlington for example, $500,000 of federal stimulus funding is going to a large-scale conversion to LED, and there is discussion of expanding to a $12 million investment to include thousands more lights. Around the country, projects are in progress from Alaska, San Francisco, Omaha, Ann Arbor, Pittsburgh and dozens more. Early results show the new technology is doing well. In Palo Alto, three pilot systems resulted in a 44% reduction of energy use, more uniform light output, and lower light pollution. Officials estimate that the initial LED investment will be paid back in about 10-12 years through energy cost savings.
National award for “greenest” city
Chapel-Hill Carrboro Chamber of Commerce: Green Plus
Green Plus, an organization that strives to make sustainability more accessible, is partnering with Next American City and Partners for Livable Communities to award the first “Green Plus City Award.”
Read more about these and other green economy partners across the country in Partners’ publication, “The Dollars and Sense of Green Business” or read the individual city profiles here.
St. Louis reveals its “green” power
St. Louis Regional Chamber & Growth Association (RCGA): Climate Prosperity Project
The St. Louis Green Economy Profile, completed this summer, revealed 700 businesses in the St. Louis region as part of the “core green economy” businesses whose main functions are to “conserve natural and energy resources, provide clean energy alternatives or reduce pollution and re-purpose waste.” These businesses employ nearly 9,000 people in the St. Louis region, and have grown at a rate of 54% over the last decade. Also included in the profile is the larger “adaptive green economy,” businesses that are transforming typical products and services to be more sustainable, through projects such as: Boeing’s “Green Hornet,” an F-15 that can fly on biofuels; Enterprise Holdings recently renovated energy efficient retail offices around the country; and the Missouri Department of Transportation’s sustainable highway landscaping to manage stormwater runoff. The profile will serve as the basis for a strategic plan for the St. Louis green economy.
57 businesses have completed the RCGA “Green Business Challenge,” an eight-month project started in January of this year. These companies significantly improved energy and water efficiency, recycling, waste reduction, and formed green teams and policies. RCGA will continue their work with a Green Economy Symposium in January, focusing on how St. Louis can prepare its workforce for the green economy.
LED lights up across the country
Greater Washington Board of Trade: LED Streetlight Program
Eight LED street light pilot projects in the DC area are up, running and gathering data, while new projects continue to crop up around the country. In Arlington for example, $500,000 of federal stimulus funding is going to a large-scale conversion to LED, and there is discussion of expanding to a $12 million investment to include thousands more lights. Around the country, projects are in progress from Alaska, San Francisco, Omaha, Ann Arbor, Pittsburgh and dozens more. Early results show the new technology is doing well. In Palo Alto, three pilot systems resulted in a 44% reduction of energy use, more uniform light output, and lower light pollution. Officials estimate that the initial LED investment will be paid back in about 10-12 years through energy cost savings.
National award for “greenest” city
Chapel-Hill Carrboro Chamber of Commerce: Green Plus
Green Plus, an organization that strives to make sustainability more accessible, is partnering with Next American City and Partners for Livable Communities to award the first “Green Plus City Award.”
Read more about these and other green economy partners across the country in Partners’ publication, “The Dollars and Sense of Green Business” or read the individual city profiles here.
