The solar industry is on fire… in a good way.  Solar panels and solar farms are popping up all over the nation, but do you ever consider who is behind the production of this hot technology?  Maureen McHale of Advanced Solar Photonics (ASP) took a minute to speak with Kimberly Miller of Green Cities Media at Green Cities Florida to discuss some of their recent advancements and the status of solar in the Sunshine State.  One thing is clear from this interview; Florida is keeping Advanced Solar Photonics busy.  Born from a laser systems producer, Advanced Solar Photonics quickly found a home in the sustainability industry by creating parts for solar panels.  The demand for parts led to the idea of selling entire solar panels and even the production of solar farms.  Green Cities turned out to be the perfect opportunity for this rapidly expanding company.  The media attention and sheer number of participants made it a perfect place for Advanced Solar Photonics to spread their message to a diverse and attentive audience.

In the spirit of true sustainability and the triple bottom line, ASP is a completely American made company, even their productions means are 100% American.  Not only does this mean a more efficient way to produce their panels, but their expansion directly relates to Florida’s economy.  Maureen states that they are expected to fill 1,500 green jobs over the next two years in Florida’s Lake Mary region.  When asked about their future opportunities Ms. McHale responded with one word “Endless”.  She and ASP have plenty to look forward to, especially with the backing of government initiatives from the Obama administration and locally in Florida.

They have no intention on squandering their good fortune, as they are making plans to diversify their brand.  One way in particular are the “Brown Fields” created by past manufacturing sectors in Florida where developers cannot build homes.  Here they found opportunity in crisis as “Brown Fields” are perfect for installing solar farms, which in essence turn the land from brown to green.   These farms range from the size of a city block to a 2,500 acre lot.  This opens the door to become one of the largest energy producers selling power back to utility companies.   Combine this with their assorted list of clients and Florida’s initiative to create solar cities and Advanced Solar Photonics is set to be a major player in the industry for years to come.

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Transcript of Interview
May 20, 2009

I’m Kimberly Miller for Green Cities Media speaking today with Maureen McHale of Advanced Solar Photonics, whose tagline is “innovation today for a brighter tomorrow,” and we’re broadcasting actually from Green Cities here in Orlando, Florida. Welcome, Maureen. Thanks so much for joining me today.
Thanks for having me.

So I want to go ahead and start off by asking kind of the history of the company, where the idea for Advanced Solar Photonics come from and what kind of things were you guys interested in whenever you started this company?
Sure. The owner of the company actually started making laser systems for all different types of industries, everything from flat panel displays, semi-conductor, aeronautical, automotive, industrial applications. A lot of those applications are very similar to the photovotaics where the panels need to be cut; the glass needs to be cut. They need to be scribed. Lots of lasers are used in the making of them so we developed a solar line, and from that point, because there’s so much demand for solar panels, the owner said, “You know what? We should not only sell the equipment that makes the panels, we should make panels.”

Right.
And here we are.

Terrific, so how long ago did that get started?
The company’s been around since nineteen ninety something…in the nineties, and Advanced Solar Photonics spent the last several years making equipment specifically for the solar industry. The first panels are actually coming off our line in July of this year.

Terrific; and whenever these panels come off of your line, what is it specifically that is going to set them apart from other panels that are out there?
Well not only are they made with the latest technology and lasers, they’re also manufactured in a lean way in that all of the processes and technologies used are very efficient making our panels very efficient and also the panels are going to be made of 100% American made components the equipment even is made in America.

Terrific!
So we’re 100% American-made.

Alright, and you know sometimes I think people forget that  part of the triple bottom line and sustainability and this kind of conversation also needs to have jobs here in the United States. That’s really important.
Right; and we are growing so fast. In the next two years we’ll have fifteen hundred new green positions.

That’s terrific. And so will those be located in Florida?
Yes, actually in Lake Mary, which is just north of Orlando.

So you guys are located here in Florida, the sunshine state; seems like it’s a good place for you guys to be. How has the reception been for this kind of technology?
It has been fantastic. As soon as we announced that we were going to be making panels, the phones were ringing, the emails were coming in left and right, and shows like this just attract more attention to what we’re doing and how great renewables can be for everyone.

Certainly; and so who do you see as your biggest client? Is it business people? Is it people who are wanting to put solar panels on their homes? Who’s your target audience?
We’re working with everyone along the chain. We’re going to work with installers, distributors, all the way up to utility companies that want to buy our power. We intend to put solar farms together so that we can sell back to the electric companies.

That’s terrific. So what do you think is the future of solar photonics?
It’s endless. Literally every week we get bigger and bigger, and more things change. It’s nothing but bright and green.

So with the new Obama administration a lot of green initiatives being put into place…do you think that’s going to affect your business specifically? And do you think this is an easier climate with this administration to try and advance this business?
I think more people are talking about renewables because of the government initiatives today. It’s nothing but good. It’s a start at least people are starting to understand and recognizing solar panels. I went down to the beach this past weekend, and I saw solar panels lighting up the channel markers for the beaches and the boats so it’s becoming recognizable. Everybody’s talking about it, and the more government incentives, the more state incentives that can bring down the costs for normal people like you and me to put them on their houses, and the better it is.

So what is it about Green Cities specifically that was attractive for your company to come here?
It’s definitely the number of people we were able to get in front of, the media attention, the government officials that were here, the fact that Orlando is becoming a green city. I mean it’s huge for us. So anything that we can tag along with and be involved in is where we want to be.

So what kind of advancements would you like to see in Florida happen in the next 5-10 years?
I’m definitely excited about the new solar studies about more green everything; from the booth next to us has the pavers that the water penetrates through to, like I said, the solar panels lighting up traffic lights and overhead displays and all those kind of things. Just more and more renewable sources

Right; it seems like a real change towards sustainability is actually happening, and to see it happen here in Florida is exceptionally exciting I think. So are there any upcoming projects that you guys are going to be working on that maybe you’re excited or that you could share with us?
Yes, actually we’re looking to do a project for Seminal County School systems, and trying to put panels on their roofs, and power their buildings. There’s, like I said, solar farms that we’re putting together. There’s something called Brown Fields, where there’s been waste from companies and other manufacturing processes that have gotten into the ground, and they can no longer use the ground for new buildings. They can’t put houses there unless they do a huge cleanup. Our panels and our solar towers are perfect for that because we can make a solar farm, put panels on there, and generate electricity from a piece of land that may not even be usable.

That’s terrific. So with these Brown Fields and solar farms, about how long does it take to complete a project like that?
Well thankfully we have this great technology we’ve just partnered with, a manufacturing fabricator that has a technology that can put a post for the tower into the ground in about three hours time. Normally, it would take a month for the concrete to set and things like that. It’s the same technology that was used to put the fence between Mexico and Texas so it’s like 120 miles plus, and they did it in like sixty-one days. So this is a fast way to do things. So literally we can put a farm up in a matter of weeks and not months or years

Great; so more efficient.
Exactly.

So how big are these Brown Fields and solar farms? Do you have a rough estimate?
There’s all different sizes. Depending on the size of the contamination, it could be anywhere from a city block to acres and acres. We’re looking to cover probably about twenty-five hundred acres. There’s some in Pensacola; some here; other local companies have them. So we’re partnering with these people to make those Brown Fields green. It’s what we’re trying to do.

Right. That’s amazing. Well I wish you the best of luck. It sounds like you guys have an incredible year or five ahead of you.
It’s very exciting

And it’s really nice to meet you and have you here at Green Cities.
Well thanks a lot!

In this interview from May 20th, 2009,  Gillian Coats interviewed Tom Kimbis, Director of the Solar America Cities Program for the DOE. Tom Kimbis explains how the Solar America Cities program is assisting 25 US cities in innovative solar implementation, and he speaks specifically about the solar installation on Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center where the Green Cities Conference is taking place on May 20th and 21st. Subscribe to our podcast and make sure not to miss the rest of the interview series.

In this interview from April 2, Kimberly Miller speaks with Joseph B. Malki, founder of the Green Cities conference.
Malki discusses sustainability, the birth of Green Cities and the importance of working across party lines.

[ Transcript coming soon ]

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Joseph B. Malki is the visionary founder of the new Green Cities™ event series and development platform. He is also the co-founder and a partner at Seven-Star, Inc. He has over twenty years of consulting and industry experience with primary disciplines in green marketing strategy, business development, and information technology. He is a military veteran, visionary marketer with a deep commitment to social and environmental responsibility.

Mr. Malki is a passionate speaker and a representative of the green conservative movement: supporting the science of sustainability and ecology into our nation’s educational and infrastructural development. Joseph was recently featured as a keynote speaker at the International Festival and Events Association in Australia. He is part of the original 1000 students trained by the honorable Al Gore at The Climate Project in presenting the scientific basis for climate change to lay audiences.

Joseph Malki’s background is in green event production, environmental activism, green construction, cooperatives, information technology and creative partnership development has steered his services to America’s top organizations. His consultancy clients have included the State of California, the City and County of San Francisco, Lowe McAdams Health Care, Alcone Marketing and Hample Stefanides, among others. For the last twelve years, he has developed synergistic opportunities between IT, marketing and event production industries for the environmental sector. In 2002, Mr. Malki served as the Director of Marketing for EventPro Strategies, developing projects for American Idol, US Army -NASCAR, General Mills, Turner Networks, and Loews Theaters. There he architected the largest model talent database in the US and went on to develop Seven-Star’s database, also noted as the largest green business to business database in the world.

[ Read Entire Bio ]

In this interview from March 25, Kimberly Miller speaks with Gil Friend, who will be speaking at the Green Cities Conference taking place May 19-21 in Orlando, FL. Gil Friend discusses his inspiration for founding Natural Logic, the urgent need to act on climate change and how his martial arts training keeps him centered each day. Subscribe to our podcast and make sure not to miss the rest of the interview series.

“Let’s face it; we are looking at the opportunity for nothing less than a reinvention of the industrial economy.  It’s possible and it’s necessary.” – Gil Friend

Transcript of  Interview
March 25, 2009

We can start by discussing Natural Logic.  Can you tell me about some of the work you guys do?
Natural Logic is a strategy consulting firm.  We advise companies and cities and governments in delivering what it’s trying to deliver to it’s costumers to it’s business partners, to it’s citizenry, to it’s constituency.  We are just shy of 10 years old.  We’ll actually be 10 years old by the time of the Green Cities conference in Orlando.  We are having, frankly, a frolicking good time as sustainability gets picked up much more substantially across the economy.

The Natural Logic tagline or slogan is:  Building exceptional environmental and economic performance by embedding the laws of nature at the heart of enterprise.  Do you want to talk a little bit about how you do that?
We look at whether we are working with a large company or a small company or city.  We look at the organization from what we call an “Ecological Web”.  Our framework is the 3.85 billion years, give or take, experience that living systems have in creating systems that are efficient and adaptive and productive and resilient.  As I like to say “Why reinvent the wheel if the R&D has already been done”.  Using nature’s playbook we look at a client’s organization and look at opportunities to reduce footprints by reducing waste, therefore reducing lose, reducing cost therefore improving profit.  We use that perspective as a guide to strategy and to design and innovation.  We apply the findings of that kind of perspective to help engage the entire organization top to bottom and side to side.  Side to side being the whole supply chain, The folks who supply what an organization needs and the customers who buy what it produces.  Trying to get everybody to the table on a common framework.  Shared vision, clear, testable and measurable strategies for implementing the changes that the organization decides to produce.

So, is this some of what you’ll be discussing at Green Cities Orlando?
Yes, we’ll be talking about some of the nuts and bolts of how an organization whether it is business or government institution can look at itself, look at itself in relation to it’s goals, it’s measures of success, it’s resources for accomplishing that mission.  It’s policies and procedures, approaches and practices for how to put that into a built in organization practice.  One thing that we’re very clear on is that as great as it is for an organization to have a profound mission and challenging set of goals unless that can be translated into day to day work, translated into what Bob and Mary do on Monday morning and differently than what they did before, then it’s all just theory and philosophy.  So we’ll be focused on the nuts and bolts.  What do you do?  How do you identify the opportunities?  How do you build them into practice?  And a particular concern of mine, how do you measure results so that you can actually help people see where they are and where they are going and how well they are doing at getting there.  Exactly one of the things we’ve learned over the ten years that we’ve been working as Natural Logics, 37 years that I’ve been working in this field, is that it makes a world of difference when people have good clear relevant accurate feedback on how well they are doing in relation to their goals.  So we put a lot of attention on not only helping our clients set clear and powerful goals, but identify the performance measures that will help them track performance towards those goals and how to drive performance in the organization.  Providing real time dashboards whether it’s if this is a level of a business facility, a home, a neighborhood, a city, a county, an industry.  Providing that kind of real time feedback showing an organization’s progress and showing how its doing compared to others like it.  We find its one of the most powerful tools in the toolkit for embedding consistent change in an organization.

How did you get started doing this kind of work?
I got started doing this kind of work way back in the last century.  Early 1970’s, Stafford graduate at college I spent a month in the summer at Southern Illinois University in Carpendale, Illinois working with Buckminster Fuller’s World Game Workshop.  Bucky Fuller is probably best known as the inventor of the geodesic dome, but he was also the force behind World Game, sort of the inverse of war games.  He thought that we have very highly developed technology for training armies on how to be more effective armies.  What if we used the same kind of gaming approach to help us figure out how to have a world that works for 100% of humanity in the shortest possible time through spontaneous cooperation without ecological offense without a disadvantage to anyone?  I heard that and thought:  “My My. That sounds pretty juicy to me”.  I spent a month in a deep dive design shrift for the planet looking in a very rigorous whole systems analysis at the state of the world and state of the needs of the world around energy, food, housing, healthcare, transportation, communication and a host of other areas.  The lesson out of that month long intensive was that there is no necessary physical obstacle to the planetary success.  More a question of what we choose to do and how we choose to organize ourselves to do it.  So that’s what set me on this road to do what I could to contribute that vision that Bucky laid out forty something odd years ago.

How did Natural Logic then spring from this inspiration of Buckminster Fuller?
The quick trajectory is from BM Fuller cofounding the Institute for Local Self Reliance.   A think-and-do tank headquartered in Washington D.C that still works on urban economics that are ecologically rooted.   So the Institute for Local Self Reliance has worked on urban food systems, distributed energy production, waste reduction and recycling as an economic development strategy.  I did that work through the 70’s.  I spent four years working for Jerry Brown, who was governor of California, trying to bring some of these ideas into California state policy.  I ran a marketing communications company in the 80’s and since about 1990 I’ve been doing this work of looking at the intersection of business and environment, because it seemed to me that is where the leverage was both in terms of the change that was needed and the skills that I bring to the game.  Since the early 90’s I’ve been advising companies on these strategies.  In 1999 I created Natural Logic as a corporation that could do what I had been doing as an individual, but at a much more significant scale with bigger clients and the capability of building tools we could leave behind with our clients so they can actually do the work without us as they go forward.  As you could imagine, over that time I’ve had the opportunity to see the sustainability movement really mature and take root as not just a social movement into something that is a major trend in business in the U.S. and worldwide.

What are some of your hopes with the new administration?  Do have any thoughts maybe about the stimulus package or how the economy is going?
Well one of the things that is striking about the new administration is that we have for the first time in a long time political leadership that not only understands these issues and understands the risks and opportunities around sustainability but, that is also committed to a science based, facts based approach to this work.  We’ve seen what I think are stunning appointments at the Department of Energy and the environmental agencies; a real commitment and understanding that shifting the energy economy in the U.S. is key part of the recovery strategy.  Moving from a pollution based fossil fuel based economy will improve the economics  in the U.S. it will improve our balance of payments in the most obvious way.  It can help improve the efficiency of businesses and communities across the country.  It can reduce the so-called “external economic cost” of health and environmental damage.  Particularly important for the stimulus package is the investment in new infrastructure and the investment in new energy economy I think is going to be one of the levers that powers us out of the pit we are currently in.

You recently spoke about Masdar City, which is the world’s first car free, zero CO2 city. To be completed in 2016. You said “I see on one hand Masdar City as a playground for the rich, but on the other hand as an R&D opportunity to deploy and test out technology that if things go well will show up in other cities.”  My question to you is:  What do you think we can end up learning from Masdar City and what do you think is a better approach to sustainable building?
I think what we can learn from Masdar City is the value of the comprehensive, integrated approach.  The advantage that Masdar has is that since money is no object they are able to put everything on the table and say:  “How do we do this in the most comprehensive, systematic way that is can be done now”.  No other city has the money is no object approach, but any city can take that comprehensive approach.  We find, frankly, whether it is the scale of cities or the scale of a building retro fit project, that the projects that put everything on the table that look at every aspect and interconnection, bring all the stake holders together and do this as early as possible in the project have both much greater likelihood of success and far better economics.  The greening projects that sort of slap green on as an afterthought or as an add-on of say “We already got a design and now we want to make it green as possible.”  Tend to be more expensive than the projects that start at the beginning and say:  “How do we identify all of our concerns, the concerns of all of our stakeholders have those as the framework and the context and the drivers of the design process and develop design solutions that integratively address all of those  and produce results that are more economical, have lower environmental footprints and make for much happier residence and constituencies once the project is developed.  The no budget limit of Masdar is a rare event.  The comprehensive approach is something that is within reach of every community and we really encourage communities and companies to think that way.

What are you hoping happens in the environmental/sustainability/building movement in the next 5-10 years?
I’m looking forward for the opportunity in the next 5 to 10 years in the sustainability movement, which you talk about, to put their money where their mouth is.  To take all these ideas that we have been cooking and testing and developing and refining over the last several decades and give them a real run for their money.  Do it with realism and practicality and measurement and testing, but with a high aspiration that is matched to the scale of the challenge that we face as a country and a world.  Let’s face it; we are looking at the opportunity for nothing less than a reinvention of the industrial economy.  It’s possible and it’s necessary.  We need to move from a pollution based society to a carbon free society.  To one that has been profligate with resources, to one that is efficient with using resources for human needs.  I think what is exciting now, and we will see this at the Green Cities conference, that there are enough people now with decades of experience and testing and building these ideas, that have ensured the strategies and techniques and their own capabilities so that we will be able to make a big difference in the quality of life in this country and around the world in the next 5-10 years.  And big differences in the quality of the economy and how that grows and how that moves forward from a new ecological base.

Who are some of your heroes and maybe even some people you hold in high regard that are in your field?
My mentors somehow all seem to have names that start with “B” the people I have really learned a lot from here are:  Bucky Fuller, who’ve I mention before.  Gregory Bateson the anthropologist and cybernetician and Stafford Bier, Welshman who is one of the leaders of both management cybernetics and  this approach to real time reporting as a way to transform organizations.  Those three really stand out a lot for me.  You are asking about the sustainability field per se.  The list is too long and really any list would be too long, because I will probably leave somebody off.   This is a highly collaborative field.  None of us have done this alone; we are standing on the shoulders of other people.  In fact as a measure of that, some of my best friends in this work are my competitors.  We don’t see this as a dog-eat-dog, beat each other out for jobs opportunity.  We see this as an opportunity to grow a pie rather than fight over pieces of a pie.  Even as we are each running our own companies we are all committed to this larger transformation in the economy and society so there’s much more common interest in that than competitive interest.  So there is rich dialogue and a rich exchange of ideas and rich learning from each other and in fact really funny phenomenon any time any number of thought leaders in this field hears another speak there’s a sense of “Wait a minute wasn’t I just thinking that yesterday.  I should write that.”  It’s not anything like plagiarism; it is just that people are developing a shared framework and a shared way of looking at these issues that is very powerful and is really taking root more and more broadly.

I think it’s important to progress collaboratively, because it’ll make it stronger.
Collaboration is one of the messages of the movement.  It’s not collaborative instead of competitive; we find them both in nature.  Back to what I was saying before about nature’s playbook as how we’ve learned to do what we need to do.  We see in living systems we see both collaboration with competition, both aspects are necessary for evolution and success.

You talked about having a house as a regenerative element on the landscape; I thought that was pretty interesting.  So how would a house be a regenerative element on the landscape?
In the same way that a tree is.  Instead of thinking of a house as something that you could build from materials brought in from far away, that you support with energy brought in from far away, water brought in from far away and produce waste of various kinds that have to be taken far away.  We can think about a house that functions much like a tree; sustained by ambient resource flows and the energy that falls on it, the water that falls on it, and the wind that blows through it.  That is made of materials that are at least not toxic and ideally beneficial to the people who live inside the house.   That produces so-called waste products that are edible by living systems.  In other words, that can become composted and soil building or transformed into other useful products through recycling or remanufacturing processes.  We can envision houses that are zero net energy as the city of Austin is going to require as the state of California is soon going to require.  Even houses that are net energy producers, that capture more energy from the sun and the wind than the residents need to sustain the house.  We can envision houses that are net water zero or net produces of clean water.  Here’s the thing; if a tree can produce food and clean air, powered only by sunlight, why can’t we?   If a chicken can produce another chicken with no waste in the process at all, why can’t we be as smart as a chicken?  The lessons are there and now it’s our challenge to adapt to those lessons time tested and to the complex systems of modern industrial society.  The big difference, I think, between this movement now and the land movement of 60’s and 70’s is now we are not talking about sacrifice.  We are not talking lowering standards of living.  We are not talking about doing without the modern amenities that we’ve come to know and love.  We are talking about how we do this in a much more intentional, wise and design elegant way so we can meet the need of more and more people with less and less stuff.

You recently sat down with some other leaders in sustainability for a piece in Natural Home Magazine.  You talked about being both hopeful and concerned about the future.  What are some of your hopes and concerns?
My hopes are that we can do what we were talking about during the course of this interview.  That we can actually invent and promulgate the kinds of technologies and infrastructure and economic systems that can support the kind of vision we’ve been talking about.  I think that possibility is within reach.  We know a lot of what we need to know to do that.  Technologies have advanced enormously.  The economic challenges have opened a lot of ears to these issues and opportunities.  I think we have a good shot from that perspective.
My concerns are that we are in a world of hurt.  We are not just in an economic meltdown and a credit crisis; we’re facing a whole series of crises behind that.  It is like a series of hurricanes stacked up off shore during hurricane season.  Where each storm isn’t the last, there may be another coming to hit you in a few days.  In addition to the immediate financial crisis we have the big question of climate change.  Whether the world will act with enough coordination and enough speed and enough seriousness to mitigate what could be a profoundly dangerous crisis for us.  Behind that we have the challenges of peak oil and peak water and peak uranium. The decline soil fertility and fisheries.  Issues of toxic accumulation and challenges to biodiversity and not to mention that a billion of us go to sleep hungry every night and two billion of us live on less than a dollar or two a day.  Untold numbers of children die every day of preventable diseases.  We got some big problems.  I think we have the knowhow and the skills to address them the question is do we have the will to address them and are we willing to muster that will in a coordinated and political/economic force.

That’s a lot to be concerned about, but I think you are right.  We have the tools to make it happen.
I think we do.  Again the question is do we want to make it happen?  Are we willing to commit ourselves at the level of personal lives and personal practices and the work we do at our jobs and our companies and our voting and our purchasing patterns to actually put our ideals to work in the world?  It does no good for people to know all this stuff and care about it and not act and say “Gee isn’t it horrible.” And “Gee what if those people did that?” and “Gee what if I did this?”

To wrap all this up I’m going to ask you about your black belt and how that helps you.  This is a question from Twitter.
(Laughter).  My martial arts practice is in an art called Aikido.  It’s of Japanese origin and bares resemblance to Tai Chi and other arts that are often called internal.  There are not just about the technique of the attack/combat that someone is engaged in, but also the state of mind and state of being that somebody brings to the work.  The training in Aikido in addition to the visible techniques and grappling and throwing and parrying is really centered on…centering.  Helping you to learn to be centered and balanced and at peace in any situation, including situations of conflict and threat.  The response when someone comes at you with an attack.  The first response is the internal response not the external.  If the internal response is fear or attention or locking up of the muscles then you lose degrees of freedom and you lose the ability to move effectively and respond effectively.  As you can learn to be calm in the face of conflict and centered in the face of conflict you have more degrees of freedom in your motion.  You can move more effortlessly and more effectively and in more appropriate response to the situation that you are facing, rather than any ideas that you may have about the situation that you are facing.  I find this to be enormously effective certainly in the dojo in the training center, on the mat, grappling and throwing and so forth.  Also on the highway, dealing with crazy drivers in big cars.  Also in relationships between people dealing with conflict and stress.  Also in business and negotiations, because  the same phenomenon of being present, being centered, being engaged and being open seems to work very well in all those arenas.

Terrific. Well Gil, thanks so much for talking with me today and I look forward to seeing you at Green Cities.
It’s been my pleasure.  I’ll see you there soon.

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In this  March 5  interview Kimberly Miller interviews Lori Cunniff, who will be speaking at the Green Cities Conference taking place May 19-21 in Orlando, FL. Lori Cunniff discusses why Florida is becoming a sustainability leader, the new Climate Change Center and Orlando as a Florida Green Local Government in this week’s podcast. This is the sixth in a series of interviews with Green Cities speakers. Subscribe to our podcast and make sure not to miss the rest of the interview series leading up to the Green Cities Florida conference.

“Just by planting the educational seed, [sustainable practices] are already growing in our area.”  – Lori Cunniff

Transcript of  Interview
March 5, 2009

I’m Kimberly Miller for Green Cities Media. We’re talking today with Lori Cunniff, the manager for the Orange County Environmental Protection Division. Thanks for speaking with me today, Lori.
Thank you.

One of the exciting things happening in Florida right now is the opening of the Climate Change Education Center. Do you want to talk a little about that?
Sure, we’re very excited about it. We’re opening a climate change center at the same time that we’re putting up a one megawatt photovoltaic system all at the Orange County Convention Center. Part of the goal behind the Climate Change Center is to promote renewables such as solar and renewable fuels, pretty much across the entire state of Florida.

How do you think this Climate Change Education Center and the photovoltaic will affect and lead the rest of Florida?
We’re setting up a nice demonstration. The solar system that is going in at the Convention Center includes some demonstration cells. We’re working closely with the Florida Solar Energy Center to do some demonstrations. It’s also a good size system; it is a one megawatt system. It’s not enough to power the convention center in its entirety but it will help offset the electrical costs. We’re hoping to use the Climate Change Center as an educational facility to promote things that are more sustainable and again a high focus on renewables.

If you could give me an analogy of the size of the solar array that will be on the top of the convention center?
It’s about the size of 5 ½ football fields.

That’s a large solar array. I think I read it is the largest photovoltaic system in the southeast. Is that correct?
I believe it will be, but it will be shortly outdone. To give you an idea, I’m pretty certain that the entire state of Florida has about 1 megawatt in the state tops. There’s an exciting project going on outside of my area in Gainesville, they recently passed a feed-in tariff and they now have applications in to put in up to 4 megawatts of solar on individual homes. So there’s a lot of energy out there in the Florida community where these renewables are getting promoted.

The Climate Change Center will be located in the convention center. How do you think this will affect the conventions that take place there?
We’re hoping that the conventions that come there, it will raise their awareness about some of the environmental things we’re doing and maybe encourage them to do some environmental things at their own conferences. Conventioneers will be able to attend and visit the climate change center if they choose, that can be arranged. But for example, one of the things we’re doing, if you’re coming and holding a convention, you can offset your carbon footprint by working with the Climate Change Center.

That’s great.
Yes, McDonalds most recently did that. They planted some trees and donated money to offset their carbon footprint. We did the calculations for them and we ended up spending the money to subsidize or create incentives for homeowners to put in solar water heater systems. It was a great project and now we have lots of homeowners that got a little help with their solar hot water heating system.

How did the Climate Change Education Center get started?
It started when we as a county decided that we wanted to promote solar and we applied for a grant with the EP to put in this very large solar electric system, or photovoltaic system, at the Convention Center. And we wanted to put in an educational component with that. That’s pretty much how the concept grew out of that. We’re kind of excited about it not because it’s growing all on its own, the concept, for example, recently the city of Orlando has become a Solar City, and we’re partnering with them to again promote solar across the entire state. OUC is also a partner, that’s Orlando Utilities Commission. So you can see just by planting that educational seed it is already growing in this area.

So what does it mean to be a solar city?
It’s actually a DOE project, we received a grant. I don’t remember the exact amount but it was about $200,000. It was to create educational workshops and working with groups to try to promote solar across the state.

How did you get involved in this kind of work to begin with?
That’s a good question, I’m not sure if you have all afternoon [laughs]. Seriously!
I’ve always been involved in environmental work because of my interests and of course my job. I think we started noticing some of the problems that come with the use of fossil fuels. I manage an air program. We have concerns all the time with our air quality. We do have good air quality, however we’re always on the brink of becoming a nonattainment area, which means your air isn’t as clean as you’d want it to be. So, we’re always looking for ways to keep our environment cleaner. And one of those ways is renewable energy. There’s a lot of work out now about carbon and your carbon footprint and a cap and trade program coming down the regulatory pipeline. So, it’s a natural to become more involved with what’s happening. So, climate change itself, when you think of it in the bigger context, it could become a very big problem for Florida being that we’re a coastal community.

Right, exactly. I think it is very telling that Orlando is choosing to do all of these sustainability initiatives. And then Green Cities is happening in Orlando. It seems Orlando is a leader in sustainability. Can you speak some on other things that are happening in Florida?
Actually, I’d love to. Mayor Crotty, who is the mayor for Orange County has been really proactive in supporting our initiatives. We have a climate change plan. In September of 2007 he decided to hold a climate change summit. One for educational purposes and two to announce what county operations; what our government carbon footprint was. So we did a carbon inventory. And from that he set up goals. Some of the types of things we’ve done besides this PV system is, we’ve for example, looked at our vehicles. We have tried to reduce our petroleum consumption. One of the first things we did was to right size our vehicles. So there’s a committee that reviews all the purchases of cars to make sure you’re not just buying an SUV to buy an SUV. The second thing we did, we started looking at hybrids and alternative fuels. So, now 42% of our vehicles are either alternative fuel or hybrid. We’ve installed ethanol tanks and we have e85 available for county cars. And we’re using biodiesel. And we also have two hydrogen shuttle buses that are down at the convention center, which is part of a demonstration project. So, those are some of the different things we’ve been doing as far as vehicles. And we’re also looking at electrical consumption at all of our buildings and making sure all of our buildings have basic things like recycling. We’ve installed solar water systems in Great Oaks Village, which is one of the county facilities. We’re looking at a project to install a solar system; this one would be PV or solar electric, at our cooperative extension building. And we just received some funding to get that started. It’s slowly growing, all the things that we’re doing. We have a green ribbon committee where everyone in the county gets together to talk about their ideas and how we’re going to implement it. And then April of last year we were recognized for our certification as a Florida Green Local Government. It’s a certification program run by the FGBC which is the Florida Green Building Coalition. And you have to go through and show that you’re a sustainable community. And there are many initiatives that you have to take to earn a level, and we earned it at the Gold Level, and I’m proud to say we were the first to earn it at a Gold level. We were the first and we are very happy about that.

So it’s somewhat surprising for me to hear about Florida’s sustainable initiatives, because it’s not the first state that I would think of when I think of sustainability and energy conservation. Do you often get that people are pleasantly surprised about what’s happening in Orange County and throughout Florida?
Well I don’t know if they are surprised but I definitely think most people are happy with the initiatives we’re taking, it is a state wide thing. The Governor has done a lot of work, he’s held some climate change conferences as well; continues to hold them every year in Miami. But I have to ask- why wouldn’t you think we’d be a leader? We’re the Sunshine State!

You know, you’re absolutely right, you guys should be the leader and it’s cool to see that you are.
Well thanks, we’re trying! We’re trying to become less dependent upon petroleum based fuels. It is not only good for the environment but it’s good for the economy, it’s good for security. There are a lot of reasons we should be doing it.

So what are some upcoming projects that are going to be happening in the realm of sustainability in Orange County and even the rest of Florida?
Well some of the things we’re working on besides the PV system coming on board, and we’ll probably be prepared to flip the switch at the Green Cities Conference and the Climate Change Center will officially open. One of our big projects is called Smart Growth. We’re actually rewriting our land development code to allow us to promote more “smart growth.”  So you’ll see a lot of transient oriented development coming up in new developments that are coming up. That’s going to be a very big project. That’s going to take us probably a year to get all of it in place. But I think Smart Growth will definitely influence our area. And the other big thing that’s coming that’s going to change our area is rail. When we get commuter rail into our area it will really change how people start traveling, it will open up some opportunities and it will certainly be environmentally friendly and sustainable.

Do you want to talk a little bit about some plans for Commuter Rail?
Well the Mayor’s been working very hard, well actually all the mayors, and all the community is involved in this. But to run a commuter rail pretty much comes along the I-4 corridor. We’re hoping to get funding this year, and I believe they also have a name for it, it’s called Sun Rail. And the I-4 corridor is extremely congested, a lot of vehicles on it.  People will have the opportunity now to take mass transit to get where they’re going. I think you’ll start seeing different types of developments around the train stations as those come in, and other than buses it will be one of our mass transit options that we’ll have here.

So do you think Smart Growth and these new transit options are going to help out the economy in Florida?
Oh yes, absolutely. We are all hurting right now with the economy with the way it is. And I think anything that creates jobs for building these systems, maintaining these systems, the fact that people will be able to get to locations in a more sustainable and affordable way will be very good. There are a lot of people in our community who take buses to get to work; this will open up another option. This will take more cars off the road. Yes, I definitely think it will have an impact on our economy.

So what would you like to see happen in the world of sustainable progress and smart growth in Florida?
Well I’d kind of like to see us continue to move in the direction, I would never say that I don’t want to see us grow, I’m not anti development, but I would like to see us grow in a way that protects the environment, that gives us lots of open space. We all crave nature so it would be nice to see a development come about in way where you have a walkable community, you have open space and natural lands preserved so you can visit those, and you have mass transit available so you don’t have to get into your car to go everywhere. You can get on mass transit; you can walk around in your community. It would make it a much nicer place to live and I do think our community is moving in that direction and so that’s what I expect our future to be. And I envision that this will happen in several of the areas. Now, I am an optimist but I do envision other cities will be doing the same type of thing. And then eventually we’ll have all our cities connected by a high speed rail. And Florida itself will become a much more sustainable state.

I hope for all of those things too, especially the light rail piece. So going back to talking about the climate change center for just a second, could you walk me through some of the displays and technology used to teach about climate change in the center?
Well one of the things that we’re trying to promote in the center is not so much the education on whether climate change is really happening or not, we’re focusing on what technologies are out there, what options are available to the general public on becoming more sustainable. So they’ll be a lot of workshops held from this facility or because of this facility. We’ll be doing webinars and things like that, a lot of telecommuting and conferencing to reduce travel time.  All the furniture that comes in, we’re trying to use furniture that is either built from a sustainable resource or is recycled or has a sustainable element about it and then we’ll be highlighting what that is. So right now we’re inviting different vendors that have these various products to show us what it is and we’ll be seeing if they’re compatible with the center and the displays will change all the time so new stuff will be coming in to make people aware of what’s available.

Terrific, that sounds like an amazing resource and I think that Orange County is more than lucky to have the Climate Change Center there.
Well thanks, we’re really excited about it and we’re hoping that it will be a great location for people to be able to tap into resources.

So there is a plan to have the Climate Change Center’s grand opening and ribbon cutting on the first day of Green Cities. What’s going to happen during that?
Well I envision it will be the traditional ribbon cutting and there will be some sort of hors d’oeuvres or food. People will be talking, talking about what we have planned and then there will be some displays so people will be able to look around afterwards and see what types of things are happening. One of the exciting features in the Climate Change Center is that we will have a display board that shows you what’s happening up on the roof with the PV. So you’ll be able to see how much energy is being produced, and of course during the peak of the day that will be very exciting to watch. And of course it will also give information about PV systems and solar energy in general.

So why do you think conferences like Green Cities are important? What’s the significance?
I think the significance of it is that it brings people together to discuss the issues, get ideas from one another, and see what works or has been tried and try to generate new solutions. And it helps to talk and again see what other people are doing. It’s kind of a synergy when you talk and get excited about a project. That’s how these types of things are born. Somebody comes up with an idea; somebody else makes a connection and the next thing you know something’s happening.

So you’re also involved with the Florida Green Building Coalition, so what kind of projects are you guys working on right now?
Well right now we, at least my group which is a very large part, is looking at some of the green government standards and seeing if it needs to be modified in any way. But the overall goal of Florida Green Building Coalition is to promote green buildings. So they spend a lot of time highlighting various green buildings that are coming in, people that are getting various certifications and my focus of course is on the government angle, so I’m trying to promote governments to get this green standard; to come in and be a Florida green local government. I promote that a lot through another group that’s called FLERA, the Florida Local Environmental Resource Agencies, and that’s kind of a group of people who are involved with the environmental agencies throughout the state. So it’s a lot of cities, and counties, and private interest, and I’m trying to have them encourage their municipalities and their counties to also go for this.

So do you think it’s important for governments to understand things like green buildings, sustainability, smart growth, and those types of things?
I don’t think we can move forward if we don’t have a good understanding of some of these new, whether it is new planning techniques, I wouldn’t say smart growth is new. But for example let’s talk about green building for a minute, if you think about it as people come in to get a building, they go through a building department, a plan review in Orange County, if we don’t understand what this new concept is or new technique we tend to slow down the process. And that’s exactly the opposite of what we want to do. So what we’ve done in Orange County is actually trained several of our staff to be LEED AP certified staff. And so when a project comes in and they claim to be green, and they are going to meet a green standard such as FGBC they get fast tracked. And so they have a person appointed to them to kind of walk their project through the system to ensure they don’t get hung up some place and they go to the front of the line. So it’s one way that we’re trying to promote green buildings, promote sustainable communities.

Right – so working together with the local governments is actually going to help put these initiatives into play more quickly?
I think so. I think it’s critical to work with local governments and private sector. Only by working together will we get this done.

Alright Lori, so is there anything else you want to mention? Any upcoming projects that you’re excited about? Any news that you’d like to share?
Well I think what we’ve already covered, the fact that the Climate Change Center is going to open and I think once that opens you’ll start seeing more and more projects being highlighted there. The only other thing I didn’t tell you about is that we have a Climate Change Plan but we publish that on the web, that’s more a document on what we’re doing as far as fighting climate change and what we’re doing to reduce our carbon emissions. It also helps to keep us on track to make sure we’ve got forward movement.

Right and that document keeps you accountable to citizens that may be able to view it. So where would I able to find that document?
You can find it on our webpage if you go to www.ocped.gov you’ll be able to find it.

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Lori Cunniff, C.E.P., CHMM, is currently the Manager of the Orange County Environmental Protection Division in Orlando, Florida. Prior to this position, Lori worked as the Environmental Manager at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York (a Dept of Energy Facility), the Environmental Director for the Escambia County Neighborhood & Environmental Services Department in Pensacola, Florida and in various positions with the Miami-Dade County Department of Environmental Resources Management in Miami, Florida. She has been in the environmental field for over 25 years.

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“We are all coming together again, telling different stories through different vehicles that ultimately all have this ultimate goal of market transformation and sustainability and world betterment.” – Marci Zaroff

Transcript of Interview
February 25, 2009

I’m Kimberly Miller with Green Cities Media talking today with Marci Zaroff. Welcome Marci and thanks for speaking with us.
Thank you, it’s good to be here.

So we can talk first about what you’ll be discussing at Green Cities.
Ok, well the topic that I’m going to be speaking about is essentially how building a green business can set your company apart. Especially in today’s economy, while affecting change in the world and focusing on the no compromise solution to business or the shift in paradigm around focusing on profitability, social responsibility and environmental sustainability at the same time.

So with this economy then how do you think green business is going to come to play?
Well I think at the end of the day being green is being innovative and thinking about, not just about, how we can be responsible but how we can save money in the long run and make smarter decisions that have more sustainable solutions. Ultimately there are times when it costs us a little more up front but ultimately it costs us a lot less in the long run. And so in kind of conventional cost models you often don’t see all the true costs. In a green model it’s really a more transparent model, looking at all the different elements in the life process of either a product or a service and looking at how it impacts human’s healthy environment in the future. And so I think green business is one that is a more holistic method of thinking really and approaching the world. From an economic standpoint it incorporates in the context of a full project it looks at how we can save.

So how have you applied these ideas to your company Under the Canopy?
Under the Canopy is focused on sustainable fashion and home products, and so using Under the Canopy as a model of green business we are always keeping the planet in mind in terms of the resources that we’re using, the amount of energy that we’re using, water usage, the fibers, and the resources that are going into our products and we’re looking at ways that we can minimize toxins in the world and pollution. In the case of our core fabrics for instance we use a lot of organic cotton in our products and what most people don’t even know is that conventional cotton is actually one of the leading causes of air and water pollution. And that there are more chemicals, insecticides, pesticides used on the cotton industry than any other industry, and somebody pays for that. So also in the case of dyes, we minimize toxic use, formaldehydes, and heavy metals. In the case of growing something like cotton there are no GMO seeds and the inputs are more natural, more sustainable, we’re building on organic agriculture and then ultimately it’s more sustainable for the farmers as well, they don’t get trapped on these very costly pesticide treadmills. And then for the consumer and the retailer, we’re providing products that still have great style, fit, comfort, color, and everything the consumers looking for but they also have value on another level. The products are affordable and yet they also incorporate values, so they make the consumer a part of something and feeling as if they are making a difference in the world really by just buying great quality, great styled conscience products.

Great, so you’re making it easy to make a good choice and to also get a good product in return that doesn’t do a lot of harm to the environment.
Absolutely.

So what was the pivotal moment that prompted you to get into this kind of work?
Well actually I have been in the world of organic and natural consumer products for almost 20 years. I started a school in New York City back in 1990; today it’s called the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, and the original inspiration was when I was in high school I picked up a book called Living in the Light and it inspired me and was so of a catalyst for me as a business person knowing that I wanted to give back in the world. And I went to business school at Berkley, naturally I was drawn there from Florida and ended up moving to New York and opening up this school where we had a whole community living and learning center with an Aveda organic spa, organic café, magazine and really understanding and recognizing that the foundation of this entire movement is grounded in education. And that without education the consumer, the average person, doesn’t know why. And they need to understand why to make choices, and so being able to inspire people and plant that seed, to then ultimately being able to cultivate that seed was really the beginning of my career. And it dawned on me through working with so many different products that were focused more on the food and the beauty and life style products, that there was a missing link in this whole sort of eco and wellness equation in terms of basic necessities and that was textiles and fiber, and so I coined and trademarked the term “eco-fashion” to fuse the worlds of ecology and wellness into fashion and style to create a new concept that would give the consumer that choice in that category.

So what are some of the other projects that you’re currently working on or some upcoming projects?
Under the Canopy is today’s leading lifestyle brand in organic and sustainable fashion and home and most of the work that I’m doing involves either launching our products into a wide array of retailers into different channels of business, so launching first time initiatives into stores like Target, Macy’s, Bed, Bath and Beyond, and then Whole Foods Market, Origins and the list goes on, and those are really exciting projects bringing the concept of “farm- to-finished product” to the retail market for the consumer, and then at the same time working on collaborations with other industries, because we all are in this together. I mean the whole concept of Under the Canopy is that we all live under the canopy of the planet’s ecosystem together. So, to connect the dots from industry to industry and form alliances and collaborations, ultimately provides that much greater impact when we’re out there telling the story to the consumer. And creating this whole lifestyle mentality where people recognize that being environmentally minded or conscience there’s lots of different ways to do that and it’s a matter of taking one step at a time. But working on new fabric innovations, I’m working on new developments in the global market on fiber technology, and it’s an exciting, never-ending journey that there’s never a dull moment, it’s always a work in progress.

So what new and exciting things are happening then in the field of eco-fashion that are really something to look forward to?
Well I’m about to launch a new fiber that’s never existed on the market called “eco-lyptus” and it is essentially eucalyptus that’s been broken down with a recycled non-toxic detergent and it’s manufactured in a closed loop system and it’s grown on a FSC certified plantations that are on our non-arable land and where the fiber itself is three times stronger than cotton so it has a greater contribution to longevity and no irrigation, or GMOC’s or insecticides, so it’s an amazing new fabric that will be coming to market. And I’m blending it with certified organic cotton to bring it to market shortly.

Wow that sounds really exciting.
Yeah, and I’m also working with Coca Cola, they are committed to bringing all of their Coke bottles out of the landfills through their recovery centers by 2015 and one of the purposes in terms of that recycling that they’re going to be focused on is recycled polyester so creating fabric out of the Coke bottles that are being recovered. So that’s exciting. And also there are a lot of new dye processes development right now that we’re working with water based dying and just on every level of the chain looking at ways that we can improve our manufacturing processes including our dye factories actually being fueled by rice husks instead of burning fossil fuels. So it goes from the fibers, to the manufacturing we’re just looking at ways to make the industry better because historically textiles is one of the worst industries out there in terms of destroying our planet and human health.

So what would you like to see happen in the textile industry that’s currently not happening, as it relates to sustainability?
Well one of the greatest challenges that is now probably one of the greatest opportunities to address that question is in the context of standards and compliance and certification. In the early years when I was involved in the business there were no standards and of course at the end of the day that sort of leaves you wide open for what becomes somewhat of the “wild west” where people are sort of making claims without validation or being backed up. I was part of the groups of people that created the first organic fiber standards for the United States and then we collaborated because manufacturing and textiles is such a global industry. We collaborated with Germany, the U.K., and Japan and their standard boards and their standards to create a uniform set of standards that’s known as the GOT Standard, Global Organic Textile Standard, that has now been approved as of this past July and is coming to market later this year for the first time. It is exciting because it’s really going to be a break through for the industry where we can start to train the consumer to really look for this seal when they look for products on the market that are certified organic, telling them that it’s not just about the cotton but it’s about the entire product incorporating even a code of ethics in addition to dyes and finishes and all the other processes that go into manufacturing cotton garments. So that’s a big break through and I’d like to see more of that, and like to see where compliance is more the norm, not the alternative, where textile, where growers of fibers, where manufactures of fibers and products are held accountable for the materials they’re using and the impact those materials are having on the environment because historically none of that was really looked at and now it is sort of with all of the transparency that’s going on we’re pulling the curtain back, we’re seeing how bad it really is, and so everyday there’s a new advancement in this trend in terms of what we need to be looking at and what we need to be innovating and how we need to be innovating to make this better.

It sounds like a lot of progress is happening.
A lot’s been made and a lot’s still to come. I think the beauty of the industry is that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, we’re all playing a role with the same mission of a greater good and that engagement and when we’re all coming together again, telling different stories through different vehicles that ultimately all have this ultimate goal of market transformation and sustainability and world betterment then our ability to connect through events like this, ultimately can spearhead or inspire even further advancement. Because a lot of times we have to come together to create new ideas.

Well thanks for talking with me today and I look forward to meeting you at Green Cities and wish you the best in all that you are doing.
I’m looking forward to attending the Green Cities Conference.

We look forward to seeing you there!

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Marci Zaroff is the Founder and President of Under the Canopy. She has a degree from the Haas Business School of the University of California, Berkeley. A vegetarian since the age of 16, Marci co-founded a thriving health and environmental educational center, AVEDA spa, national magazine and organic cafe in New York City, known today as “The Institute for Integrative Nutrition”.

After a decade in the natural/organic food and beauty world’s, Zaroff recognized the “missing link” in the wellness equation, and in 1996, seized the opportunity to launch leading lifestyle brand “Under the Canopy”, to coin and trademark the term “ECOfashion®” and to pioneer the market for organic and sustainable textiles. Zaroff is a recognized visionary and leader in organic fiber fashion and home products and has created a unique development, distribution and monitoring business model to ensure that the process and the products remain pure and authentic.

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“My interest is in really looking at the cities and helping the officials look at what they do… and help them learn how to create incentives for people, builders, developers to really start considering the environment more in their future growth.”  – Jennifer Languell

Transcript of Interview
February 20, 2009

I’m Christina Lor with Green Cities Media talking today with Jennifer Languell. Welcome Jennifer and thanks for speaking with us.
Anytime.

Alright, let’s start by discussing what you’ll be talking about at Green Cities. What are some of your interests with the Green Cities Conference?
We’re noticing that cities are really coming together and realizing that in that rapid growth, maybe we weren’t doing as much as we could have been doing to protect the environment. So, as much as the slow down is hurting the economy it’s really giving us an opportunity to evaluate how to protect the environment as we regain traction and start growing again. So my interest is in really looking at the cities and helping the officials look at what they do, their own performance inside their different operations and whether its their operations from an admin stand point or its from an emergency management standpoint or from their own human resources or waste management stand point and really extend that to when the future happens, growth wise again, and help them learn how to create incentives for people, builders, developers to really start considering the environment more in their future growth.

Well I know you have your Ph. D in Sustainable Construction and I would imagine that was ahead of the trend and now you have founded and are the President of your own company Trifecta Construction Solutions. How does that background support some of the projects you’re working on as far as setting the trend for this Green Cities movement?
Well I think the interesting thing is that everyone has heard of cutting edge technology and I have to say that when I started doing green building and sustainable development it was bleeding edge, no one knew what is was, they thought I was completely insane. I had plenty of doors slammed in my face 10-15 years ago, and now of course it’s the hottest topic. So its great to know, at least I have a lot more experience with it than most people, because I’ve been doing it so long. But it definitely was one of those things that getting an advance degree and really creating what the concept was and working with the US Green council when they were first evolving and what their main goals were, really helped form my company as well as helped really drive the Florida Green Building Coalition as well to service the industry, and I left academia. I was teaching in building construction and civil engineering and I moved into pure consulting because I was realizing all the great information and research that we were learning at the University level was never actually making it out into the field. Construction is a very tried and true industry and without someone who could translate the research into what would work in the field, it wasn’t being implemented.  That’s really the role I took on, was taking the information that we were learning and advance technologies and techniques and products and materials and getting that information to the industries so that it could be implemented.

So what’s your take on the current economic situation and the green economy?
Well I have to say quite honestly I don’t think there’s anyone out there who’s happy about the current economic situation. When you look from a stand point of benefits or opportunities, the good thing is that because we’re taking a breather, so to speak, and that will be my positive way of saying, “What’s going on?”  “We’re taking a breather!”  It’s given a lot of individuals time to evaluate what they’re doing and look at how they can do it better. So whether they’re a builder, they’re a developer, they’re a small business a large business, people and companies are really looking at:  What have we been doing? How can we incorporate some of these more sustainable practices into what it is we do everyday and or into our projects? So from that standpoint, I look at this as such an opportunity that if we hadn’t slowed down none of these businesses would have taken the time to learn this or very few of them.  But now that we have, I believe it’s an opportunity for everyone to learn about this so that when things pick up we’re doing and we’re developing in a much more environmentally sustainable manner.

Great, well let’s just say that you as microcosm of the situation lead the parade and, together with education and acknowledgment to the situation it’s definitely spread into the city level. What do you think is the role of cities in the environmental movement? After individuals have been standing up for what they believe in and trying to force progression through change.
Well I think cities play a role as being a leader. We can look to our cities as say, “Well look, if the governments doing it, we can do it.” Most people think inherently, that governments aren’t the most efficient mechanisms for items and so of course if we can look and say, “Well the city figured out a way how to use recycled paper or the city figured out a way how to recycle on a city wide level, we should be able to do that in our own business.” What I look to the cities to do is really to go an incentive route, a positive reinforcement route, much more so than a mandating or requiring or penalizing route. In my opinion it’s very important that we incentivize individuals to do the right thing versus swat them on the hand when they’re not doing what we want them to do. I think it actually makes the builders and developers want to go green, so to speak. I think we can look to the cities for what they’re doing, and hopefully see that they’re saying, “Oh look, we’ll fast track your permitting.  Oh look, we’ll look at the impact fees and realize that you’re developing sustainably, you’re having less of an impact on the environment and maybe you shouldn’t have to pay as large of a fee as others are paying.” or maybe there’s some sort of tax incentive. So, I think there’s a lot of opportunities that we can be researching right now, I don’t know that necessarily all of the cities are in that mind set yet, because of course they’re also struggling with budget cuts. So, right now it’s almost a survival mode but I think once we make it through the survival mode we’re really going to start thinking on a different level of how to incorporate really innovative practices and more environmentally responsible practices in growing.

What are some of the hottest topics or projects happening in your field right now?
I think that if I look at the things that are going on right now, I am seeing affordable housing, obviously being a very important sector in our economy. There’s a huge demand for it, a huge need for it, and we are seeing and realizing that if we provide affordable homes that are inefficient it really doesn’t help the individuals that need the home to begin with.  I’m seeing trends from the cities and the counties saying what can we do to improve the performances of these homes, we want healthy homes for individuals and we want efficient homes for individuals. I’m also seeing a lot of movement from the green lodging standpoint. As we know, the governor passed an executive order that basically said “If we have overnight stays or conferences we are only going to do that in green lodges.” So, we’ve seen exponential growth of the green lodging program. We’re also seeing land developers, because of the new storm water regulations that are coming into effect; those have been postponed till 2010, but of course looking at water quality and I think we look at green and it’s a word we see all the time and we’re use to seeing energy and whether its energy star or energy efficiency, but I don’t think people realize the importance of water when it comes to growth, future growth and sustainability. I think we’re really starting to look at trends on the water quality and water use side as well, and health has always been a driving force. I would say affordability, seems to be affordable housing seems to be one of the trends, definitely more emphasis on water, looks like it’s a significant trend. Of course large planned communities, renewable energies and how do we all work and move that together and forward. And we’re in a unique position from our state because when you look at a national average we’re looking at buildings the maybe use 36% of energy on average in the state. And when you look at Florida, Florida buildings use 83% because our industry is hospitality, our industry is healthcare, our industry is construction so all of those three key industries that we have in the state really go back to large buildings. So they go back to large hotels, large hospitals and so when we look at that we realize we have a unique situation of existing structures, over 50% of our energy in Florida is being consumed by existing single family homes. So from a state level what we’re seeing with the planning for stimulus funds, and how do we really impact and improve what’s happening in our state, we’re seeing a focus on what can we do with the existing buildings. Codes and innovative technologies look like they will be taking care of new construction, but what can we do, how can we create mechanisms and incentives for all of those existing houses and existing hotels and hospitals to help them help us protect the environment.

That’s great. So you also star in the Discover channels newest environmental series, Discovery Project Earth, could you talk about your experience working on the show?
(Laughter) Oh man, the Discovery Project Earth was incredible. The experience itself was well worth the year of no sleep and traveling the globe. It was an opportunity to meet some of the absolute top scientists with respect to climate change and what is really happening and what do we really need to be paying attention to, and if needed can we take these great ideas out of the lab and actually put them into practice and have them work? So, it was just incredible from a standpoint of engineering and technologies. I think one of the things that I didn’t expect, I expected to learn about new technologies and I expected to travel to different places around the globe, but what I didn’t expect was to have the biggest impact on me, be actually from the cultures and the people than the science. I’m an engineer by trade so I immediately go. I look. I see a problem. I try to start solving the problem, and when you’re in Greenland and you realize that 10 generations of individuals have been fishing and that’s been their livelihood and now they’re getting to a point where that’s no longer an option, and they don’t know anything different and that is the industry they have and they’ve grown up with and you’re seeing a culture impacted by a climate change. That I think was the most significant thing for me, much more so than seeing ice melt or glaciers shift or moulins or making clouds, any of the things we did. I think it was actually the human element that had the biggest impact on me.

Wow, that’s really great, really interesting. Well thank you for speaking with us today Jennifer, we look forward to seeing you at Green Cities and you are presenting Standards for Green Homes by the Florida Green Building Coalition. We wish you all the best in all that you’re doing and have a great day!
Thank you so much, I look forward to seeing you there!

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Founder and President of Trifecta Construction Solutions, Dr. Jennifer Languell is a nationally recognized leader in green building education. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Materials Science and Engineering, a Master’s in Civil Engineering and Construction Management, and a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering and Sustainable Construction.

For over a decade, Dr. Languell has been one of the country’s preeminent consultants in the creation of healthy, efficient and sustainable projects in the residential, commercial and, land development sectors and with green building demonstration centers. She conducts approximately 100 educational trainings, seminars and workshops annually for the building and development industries. As a renowned authority on green building, she regularly appears as a speaker at national and international conferences.

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“Its time, in my opinion, to rewrite our zoning codes, our building codes, our health and public work codes to really address what’s needed to have more renewable energy. Less use of fossil fuels, and to take into account how climate change is going to affect our public health systems, our agriculture, and infrastructure.” – Alex Hinds

Transcript of Interview
February 17, 2009

Tell me a little about yourself and the work you do.
Well I’m currently working as the Interim Director for the Center for Sustainable Communities at Sonoma State University, a small university located an hour north of San Francisco. Before that I had a career working in the local government planning and administration up and down the state of California.

So what is it that you will be discussing at Green Cities?
The session that I’ll be discussing at Green Cities highlights several leading green governmental initiatives in California. We’ll be addressing topics such as climate change, land use planning, local food systems, green building, green business and the like. Included in this will be a summary of Marin County California where I used to work, award winning general plan and sustainability programs, along with tips on how to get started, obtaining public support, measuring success, funding and those things. An in addition we have a group out here called Green Cities California and I’ll be discussing initiatives from other member cities as well as examples of municipal cooperation with local universities

I see that you were one of the founding members of Green Cities California, how did this come to be?
Well I should really give most of the credit to Jared Blumenfeld from the city and county of San Francisco, as well as Dean Kubani from Santa Monica, we all met many times and decided working together we could collaborate and help spread various initiatives around sustainability, and that’s been going on for a couple years now.

So why focus on the cities specifically? What is it about a city that can help advance environmentalism and sustainability?
I would say local government in general should play a central role in institutionalizing best practices in regards to energy and sustainability. I think cities, and counties, are a great place to start because they are very close to the public. They can start out immediately with providing technical assistance, and faster permit processing rebates. And probably equally important is by implementing these practices on public facilities so that they can provide a learning opportunity for folks.

What was the thing that interests you most about coming and speaking at Green Cities?
Well I think it’s a great opportunity to not only speak but learn what’s going on, on the East coast. I’ve been kind of a resident of the west coast. It will be great to go there and share ideas, learn what’s happening up and down the states, north, south, east and west.

Is there any specific topic that you are looking forward to learning more about?
Well you know what, out here in California right now it seems that climate change, no pun intended, is the hottest topic and I’m very interested in what other communities are doing. Particularly in Florida where you have a lot of low lying land and a rising sea, so that’s one area that I’m very interested in. Both speaking about and learning about, as well as a variety of various renewable energy practices, green business, and the new green economy. All those things are really important topics that I look forward to getting involved in.

So you just mentioned the new green economy. Do you want to talk about that and your take on the current economic situation and where we are headed?
Well we are obviously in a big mess right now but being an optimist hopefully it’s also a wakeup call. So invest in green jobs and green infrastructure that will reduce our dependence on foreign oil and reduce our gas emissions while creating new jobs and making it more competitive and safe in the long run.

If there is a pivotal moment, what prompted you to do the work you do now?
I guess I’m a product of the environmental awareness and ecology movement from the latter half of the last century. I think the pivotal moment was an appreciation of the natural beauty of certain world places, like the Grand Canyon, Arizona, the Rainforest, and Hawaii. Which lead to a real appreciation for natural systems and an interest in escaping from the city, frankly and working to maintain agriculture and the quality of life in rural areas. However it didn’t take too long to realize there is a real connection between land use planning and other sustainable development practices in both urban and rural settings and as a result I went on to work primarily for local government.

So what are some of the projects that you are currently working on?
Well I am currently the Interim Director for the Center for Sustainable Communities at Sonoma State. I am coordinating their Green Building Certification Program, as well as instructing some of the classes and also providing technical assistance on implementing energy and sustainability to the county of Marin and will be working with students and faculty to assist other local governments on a number of topics.  My background is working in both planning and building and planning departments and environmental health departments. It’s really to help make sustainability a core business practice rather than something we would like to do.

So what would you like to see happen in cities that currently are not happening as it relates to sustainability?
What I would like to see happen is for cities to rewrite their plans, ordinances and other rules to make sustainability the lens which they look through the rest of their practices. Its time, in my opinion, to rewrite our zoning codes, our building codes, our health and public work codes to really address what’s needed to have more renewable energy. Less use of fossil fuels, and to take into account how climate change is going to affect our public health systems, our agriculture, and infrastructure.

How do you think the new administration is going to affect sustainability initiatives, green building, and how cities just build and exist?
Well, I think they are certainly sympathetic. I hope that their model will continue to be “yes we can”. Obviously we are in a tight budget situation, so there will be certain constraints, but I am looking forward to the new policies coming out of Washington D.C. and hopefully we’ll be seeing some investments at the national level, as well as what has been occurring at the local and some of the states.

What’s an interesting project or topic that is emerging in your topic or field that is going to happen in 2009 or the next couple years?
I think one of the most interesting topics right now is, first of all, how to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions so that we can reduce the severity of climate change in the future. Also, it’s rethinking our programs and how to adapt to it, and that’s a topic that is really starting to catch on. We are starting to see that integrated into our land use plans and our building codes and I am looking forward to being a part of that.

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Alex Hinds has managed county land use and resource agencies in California for over 24 years and has directed the Marin County Community Development Agency since 1999. Alex is currently president of the board of the California Planning Foundation and a former president of the California County Planning Director’s Association.

Alex has been responsible for many award-winning planning programs and documents. These include Marin County’s sustainability program which was awarded the coveted American Planning Association’s 2008 National Award for Excellence, and the update of the Marin Countywide Plan which comprehensively addresses climate change and sustainability issues – and was selected as the outstanding comprehensive general plan for the state of California. Mr. Hinds is one of the founding members of the recently established Green Cities of California and a frequent presenter at national, state and regional forums. Alex teaches at California Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo and regularly guest lectures at Sonoma State and other universities. Alex was a former Fulbright scholar in Ecuador.

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“Buildings are very important. They are the world’s largest industry. When you include the products in it and cover the supply chain, which our standards do, it covers about 80 percent of all global economic activity. So it’s a very powerful engine to promote global sustainable improvement and economic improvement and the cities are the leaders.” – Mike Italiano

Transcript of Interview
February 12, 2009

I’m going to be covering our capital markets partnership sustainable investment initiative, which covers several things. Green building underwriting standards, and their use in the market, our capital markets briefing paper which concludes after 4 years of Wall Street due diligence that green buildings certified sustainable products, smart certified, which is consensus standard are more profitable, less risky and preferred by investors without exception in a survey that we initiated with standard of porous governments covering over 3.2 trillion dollars in assets. Part of that will include green building financing programs that we have ongoing pursuant to those activities including a $500 million dollar sustainable building security. That is a bond backed by 100 percent green buildings. Also what we are doing in California with EBA11, which is California statute providing green building financing through local governments and financial institutions, which is taking off and moving throughout the country.

So what interests you about speaking at Green Cities?
Well Green Cities is important because the cities are early adaptators in sustainability. They are farthest along compared to other governments and corporations, so they are the leaders and this is where you know we’re making the most of the progress. This is true both in green buildings and certified sustainable products and other activities.  The cities are the leaders in climate change. This is really where the action is, it’s where things get done. We have a resolution of support by the US Conference of Mayors that’s very much in line with the activity of the Green Cities program.

I was looking into your background a little bit and I saw that you had worked with the White House Science Office. Do you want to talk a little about what was that like and the kind of work you were doing there?
Yeah, I worked there both during the Carter and Reagan administrations, so it was few years ago. What we were doing was placing a priority for, in the federal budget, for eliminating hazardous waste generation, number one, and improving clean air and clean water. So we had a specific relationship with local governments on those activities and improving the priority of science within all government. So those were the primary activities at that time.

So it sounds like you were laying the groundwork there for the environmental initiatives that are happening now in some way with the work that you were doing then.
Yeah, very much so and also other work that we did on standards that the market place has adapted including standards for environmental cleanup, which we worked at and got approved, national consensus standards, as well as standards for dealing with commercial real-estate including the green building standards, the LEED standards. We set up the US Green Building Council. I’m the founder, back in 1992, and put together a few years later the LEED standard. We also put together our sustainable product standard, the SMART standard, which has now been incorporated into the LEED. Sustainable products are a lot more complex than green building, if you can believe it, because you have to cover the entire global supply chain of manufactures so those standards were actually a 20 year process.

That is a lot of time.
That is a lot of time. That is a lot of work, it was very controversial. But it adds enormous value. The leading manufactures certified, that are smart certified, are climate neutral at their manufacturing facilities, and that’s a huge benefit to society.

Could you talk some about founding the Green Building Council?
Yeah, it evolved out of our efforts through a national committee that I chaired on consensus standards. We developed consensus standards for environmental cleanup and commercial real estate. We tried to develop green building standards but the industry trade associations blocked it so we couldn’t make any progress. So we had to create a new organization and set up our own consensus process and have rules for industry trade association participation and the federal government. So that allowed us to developed the standards to get them out in the market, to get substantial traction and success which would not have happened if we did not create a whole new organization. So we also launched it with some funding that we got through our lobbyist from the federal government, it was about 10 million for green buildings, so both those activities really helped. Although it was a long, hard, arduous process because even though we set up our special rules the industry trade association then dominated. The building industry is the worlds biggest and has the most players and still is most controversial. Although now both with certified sustainable products and certified green buildings, the LEED and the Smart standards, they are both motherhood and apple-pie because people have seen the value and our underwriting standards and our briefing paper with Wall Street to show that these are more valuable and that people prefer them.

So what initially got you involved in doing this kind of work? What was the pivotal moment, if there was one?
Yeah the pivotal moment was when I was in high school and a neighbor of ours taught civil engineering at Syracuse University and was working on cleaning up the most polluted lake in North America, which has gotten much cleaner now, Onondaga Lake, because its major industry polluters have closed down. Their manufacturing facilities have shut down. He invited me to one of his classes and I just became fascinated with it and it was the reason I got into both environmental law and environmental science, both professionally and academically.

Speaking of the current economic climate, in a way, what are your thoughts with what’s going on with the economy and how that’s going to affect green building that’s happening?
Well green building is still fairly strong, it slowed down definitely because the economy. Getting the capital market to move forward with green building certified sustainable products can literally get us out of this recession, prevent a depression. And we’re working to make sure that all the ground work is laid and top management can understand that we can get the financial institutions and governments to realize it and move forward in a united front to commercialize both of these activities, which is over an $800 billion market. That’s just in the U.S. We think it will happen globally, the Capital Markets Partnership, which is another organization I run, has four countries as members, the U.S., Canada, U.K., and Australia. We see that this will happen simultaneously. We did this in the past where we commercialize standards in the entire building industry and it generated huge risk reduction and value creation and enormous profits by Wall Street. The investment bank partners that we have now that is working on the sustainable building security believe, as we do, that this will do the same and can get us out of this depression. So there is a lot of money to be made in green buildings and certified sustainable products. We need to launch them, commercialize them to get us out of this recession, and also prevent eminent irreversible dangerous climate change. One of the reports that we put together, with the state of California and also the NASA and the IPCC scientists, calculates how much climate pollution we need to reduce by 2015 to prevent dangerous climate change from going irreversible. We’ve put that into a report and it was peer reviewed by the capital market partnership and was adopted by the US Conference of Mayors as a resolution and specifies that we need 2.8 million green and climate neutral buildings and 2.1 million sustainable certified products by 2015 to stop dangerous climate change from going irreversible. That includes 60 percent margin of safety in using the worse case climate pollution projection of IPCC. So that’s an important milestones that we still have to be very mindful of and try to reach because there is no climate change legislation, and it’s uncertain that we’ll get some soon, and even if we do its uncertain it will move fast enough.

So do you think with the new administration, do you think there will be new climate change initiatives?
There already has been. One of the first things that the president did was to direct transportation to move forward on the fuel efficiency standards, I think by 2010. That was a very important component. The Department of Energy obligated $80 billion for federal green building and the stimulus bill $20 billion more and there is substantial funding for renewable energy financing, which the new administration supports. But there is no climate change legislation to deal with the irreversibility problem, and that’s because the stimulus is taking priority, but he has done some things that will deal with that.

So what do you think is the role of cities in building in the environmental movement? I have spoken with some people who think that buildings specifically are the cornerstone upon which we should be building the environmental movement.
Buildings are very important. They are the world’s largest industry. When you include the products in it and cover the supply chain, which our standards do, it covers about 80 percent of all global economic activity. So it’s a very powerful engine to promote global sustainable improvement and economic improvement and the cities are the leaders. They really control where the buildings are. They’ve taken that lead. They have adopted more green building programs both for their own buildings and the private sector, more than any other entities and also taken the lead on sustainable products and purchasing. So the cities are really critical to the progress we have made and future progress.

So what cities do you know that are on the fore front of green building?
Well, San Francisco is one of the leaders. Mayor Newsom, of San Francisco, is Chairman of the Capital Market Partnership representing the US Conference of Mayors. They have adopted green buildings for their city buildings and also for the private sector. Los Angeles has done the same, Washington DC; I think there might be 10 programs where they mandated green buildings for the private sector. There’s probably over 100 local government programs for green building programs in one way or another.

In these cities, what do you think they do well, and what could they do to make these programs better?
Well I think on the financing side, which is really critical, the cities have moved forward and have the framework in place.  We have partnerships with the state of California and San Francisco and other cities, Santa Monica, but also with the council of development financing agencies. There are 250 local governments that fund private sector activities in the public interest. There is a need to educate the cities on proper underwriting using green building underwriting standards, and consensus certification so that the financing of green homes and green buildings is done in a way that we know will reduce climate change, pollution, reduce conventional energy, and therefore add value. Our underwriting standard documents for commercial buildings on a one to 1000 score for all properties and portfolios. What activities increase cash flow and reduce expenses. That’s how the markets value buildings. For homes it’s what reduces expenses and increases value and our standards cover both of that. Again for all homes and portfolios. So understand this for private sector buildings because the cities now have a very important role with financing, is really critical so that the money that is being spent through California statute and these federal legislation proposed is going to be money that is well spent, is actually reducing conventional energy. Therefore the financial institutions will embrace it and put a lot of capital into it. Without good underwriting everybody will lose because we know from sub prime that we cannot afford to do that in the future.

Do you have any projects that you have on the horizon that you are excited about that you would like to share?
We are very excited about the 500 million sustainable building security because we think that this is going to be copied and can really get securitization going. The securitization market is 40 percent of our economy and essentially dead now and there is no money to be lent so we think this is a way of using good underwriting, having higher valued collateral, in other words these buildings are worth more, generating a lot of improvement to the buildings stock while also making money for people and adding almost a trillion dollars a year to the economy. We have monetized that based on actual green buildings. So that’s very important and we are using the underwriting standards in that. I think the 2nd thing that is very exciting is the opportunity with the local governments and the state governments to move forward on green building financing and sustainable product purchasing.

In your field, in general, what is a hot topic or project going on in the field that is something that is interesting to be aware of?
Well we have one green building financing pilot we are working on which is a billion dollar green building. We are working on creating the financing and also getting the financing at more favorable terms. So what we have done is scored the proposed public. It’s a public/private building with the underwriting standard. It scored an 87 it is at a platinum green building level, LEED certified, and included that in a report that Ernst & Young is recommending including our capital markets briefing paper for financing feasibility. We’re working on a proforma that will show increased cash flow and reduced expenses that will be in a report to the city where this is to recommend the first $500 million in bonds and then we plan on including that proforma also in the official bond statements, so the investors know in this added value and then working with the LEED banks, JP Morgan, Chase, Bank of America, on cheaper cost of capital for the private sector funding the 2nd 500 million.

Wow that does sound pretty exciting. Sounds like a big project.
It’s a big project; it is very exciting because these are all things where we can actually get the financing to work and to have a cheaper cost of capital incentives. This could include actually higher ratings for the $500 million bonds that are issued.

Okay so last question, on a more personal level. Aside from green building and law what else do you like to do?
Well, I do spend a lot of time of this because we are at the threshold of the meeting together of speak, greet, and sustainability which I think will solve a lot of problems, but I also do enjoy a lot of hiking, golf, rollerblading, you know aerobic activity like that, it keeps me occupied.

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Mike Italiano is President & Chief Executive Officer for Market Transformation to Sustainability (MTS) and Capital Markets Partnership. He founded the Capital Markets Partnership, MTS, U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), Risk-Based Corrective Action (RBCA) Leadership Council, and American Society of Testing & Materials (ASTM) Committee E50 on Environmental Assessment. He is a Director of MTS, USGBC, USGBC CEO Board, Sustainable Furniture Council, and former Director of ASTM and Chairman of ASTM E50. Mike has been responsible at over 200 waste sites for expert testimony, litigation, cleanup, settlement, and scientific and technical analysis.

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“We’re tremendously excited about the fact that the Obama administration seems to understand that the future for business is all around sustainability and broad context of sustainability, so that means not only green, but social concerns have to be enveloped in that and profitability has to be addressed.”  – Karyn Barsa

Transcript of Interview
February 11, 2009

So I guess what I first want to start out with is the talking about the projects you’re involved in right now and the companies you’ve been involved with previously and are currently involved with?
Ok, well let me explain a little bit about Investors’ Circle. We are actually the oldest, largest and the only national early stage investor group that is devoted to socially and environmentally responsible businesses. So we are some 225 members strong across country, looking at mission based businesses in a broad spectrum of sectors. So it’s a great opportunity for entrepreneurs who are interested in really making a mark in the world using for-profit business to find funding. So Investors’ Circle being a collection of early stage essentially “angel investors” or private investors each member makes his or her own investment decisions. We don’t manage a fund here that invests on behalf of Investors’ Circle , so at any given time there are a number of different companies that are in play or being considered in a due diligence process by any number of our members.

Ok, and so what is your role specifically at Investors’ Circle ?
I am President and CEO here.

And so what does that mean as far as the kind of work that you get to do?
AH! I get to do all the fun stuff actually because Investors’ Circle is a lot more than just an “angel group” if you will, we’ve been known for 10 or 12 years as a “thought leader” if you will and an organization that helps develop a sector called “social enterprise” and specifically for-profit social enterprise and move that forward. So my big goal is not only to facilitate the process of moving capital from our members and others into social enterprises, but also to help the world understand what are the benefits of for- profit business in creating real and sustainable and lasting change in our communities and the potential for this is just phenomenal. There is so much work that Investors’ Circle really wants to do going forward, and so much creative financing that can be organized for the benefit of social enterprise and ultimately for the benefit of the communities and the world we live in, that its every morning that I get up and it’s a new idea and it’s a new concept to chase down and invite collaborative partnership into. So what I do is really great fun.

Yeah, it sounds like a phenomenal job to have, that’s for sure. So could you give me an example maybe of the type of start up that’s Investors’ Circle helps along?
Sure, because we have such a broad range of members and some individuals who are accredited investors and others who are what we call institutional members, they might be funds, they might be family foundations that sort of thing. We fund a broad range of companies in various stages of development, so yes we do provide some seed capital, but we also provide expansion capital to companies that are more well established. And I can tell you that there are a number of companies that have come through Investors’ Circle and have been financed by our members that you might know about, so for instance, there are very well known brand names like Niman Ranch, or Zip Car or Justice Earth if your out here on the West Coast, companies like that, Guayaki, which have really been able to transform their sort of startup and small enterprise from concept to national and sometimes international brands. So Investors’ Circle is very interested in working with an entrepreneur to say “ok, how can you maximize the impact that you envision?” And in some cases that means staying small and slow in terms of growth and local and in other cases it means, “hey lets take this brand out to the world,” because the brand has a message that we want everyone to understand.

So you talked earlier about social enterprise, what does that mean exactly?
For us that really means, and I have to admit that the term “social enterprise” is used somewhat loosely and could really benefit from greater standardization of definition here, but social enterprise generally speaking are organizations that put missions even ahead of profit, if you will, and it doesn’t mean that they can’t achieve profit and very strong profit, but the reason that they exist is to benefit the communities that their involved with in one way or another. Its really baked into the DNA or the business plan of the company, and social enterprise can refer to organizations that are for-profit companies as we traditionally know them or can refer to non-profit organization that want to develop for-profit entities within them so that their less reliant or sort of the vagaries of contributions as their main revenue source. I’m trying to think of a good example of a non- profit organization that has an embedded social enterprise, and perhaps the most well known is Goodwill for instance with their retail stores, and you know there are a number of other organizations that use it to great impact. It really helps support the community work that their doing.

So whenever you speak at Green Cities are you going to be speaking on social enterprises and how for- profit business can make a social impact?
Yes, and in fact I have to say I’m waiting for some direction from the Green Cities event managers to understand to how I might best add value to the program. But I’m happy to speak from particularly a green perspective or speak from the stand point of the power of for- profit enterprise to make a tremendous difference or whether it’s specifically green, whether it’s a broader context of sustainability or whether it’s a social impact that one wants to put forth.

So switching gears just a little bit, I’m curious to know what the pivotal moment was that prompted you to do the type of work that you do, because it is phenomenal work, it’s very impactful and you’re doing it at such a high level that you actually have a chance to influence and change, it seems, a number of social causes.
Well, you know, I thank you for asking that because it brings a big smile to my face when I think about it. I actually started my career in investment banking and did all of those wildly rapacious things that investment bankers are known for. I eventually moved through hook or by crook and became Chief Financial Officer at Patagonia, and at the time in the mid 90’s Patagonia was really seen as counterculture organization and my friends from Wall Street ribbed me to no end about moving out to a place where I had to wear Birkenstocks everyday and what have you, but Patagonia is involved and committed to its mission of using business to implement and inspire solution to the environmental crisis, to such and extent that the consumer doesn’t even begin to see, really only sees the tip of the iceberg in terms of what Patagonia is involved with. Patagonia reaches back into its supply chain and reaches forward into its customer base really to spread the concept of environmental impact reduction and works very directly with companies all over the globe to help them reach those goals in that regard. So I was so inspired by what was going on at Patagonia and became quite a convert in my understanding what for- profit can do to actually make a difference in the world, that when I eventually became CEO at Smith & Hawkin, which is another company that is known for its commitment to environmental impact reduction and sustainability, it had just become a part of my perspective and my life focus at that point, so to move to Investors’ Circle with two mission based businesses in my background this is an absolute joy, I mean talk about a culmination of everything I wanted to do, I come from a finance background in investment banking and here I get to play with investors and entrepreneurs, there could be nothing better, I have to tell you.

Everyone can only hope to be able to do that kind of work after laying those solid foundations in other companies.
Well you know its true but in all honesty and I won’t take up too much of your time with this perspective, it really is a matter of being open to the sort of inputs that come into your life, and understand what their meaning could be, and not working against them but working with that sort of natural flow. It’s been a phenomenal opportunity for me, I’m just thrilled.

So I guess we could talk about things outside of work for just a moment, just talk about who Karyn Barsa is, what other interest do you have, what other things are you currently involved with?
Well I’m really turned on by business and using business to solve some of the worlds biggest issues and I also serve on a number of other boards. I’m on the board of a wonderful company which is doing phenomenal things; they are a mission based business that sources organic fair trade cotton from India and does a lot of work on the ground to improve the lives of Indian farmers. I’m also on the board of a public company called Decker’s Outdoors Corporation. And Decker’s makes footwear including UGG brand boots and shoes, but they also make a brand called Simple and they aspire to make Simple the most environmentally responsible footwear line in the entire world, and they are working very hard to do that. So when you see this sort of impact that small business can have in communities and large public companies can have it become a very inspiring, sort of get you out of bed in the morning sort of prospect. And when I’m not working with those companies I’m skiing, or bicycling, either mountain biking or road riding. I have to say Northern California provides the greatest access I’ve ever had to whole spectrum of outdoor activities, that frankly if you really enjoy being in a fog enshrouded space, you can find that, and if you enjoy being in bright sunshine all the time, you can find that as well. It’s perfect.

So what do you think about the current economic situation and the future of business? And what socially responsible businesses are going to have to do to stay viable?
You know I have to say that I would guess that the majority of individuals involved in this sustainable business movement and social enterprise and what have you are absolutely thrilled with the current economic environment and the change in the administration. We really feel that we have a wind at our back, first of all the old economic order is falling apart at the seams. We’re going to have to learn now to live with a much less leverage in our society so we’ll start to get down to real value add from a company stand point, rather than the creation of more dollars from a single dollar through what is essentially a leverage or a smoke and mirrors sort of approach. We’re also tremendously excited about the fact that the Obama administration seems to understand that the future for business is all around sustainability and broad context of sustainability, so that means not only green, but social concerns have to be enveloped in that and profitability has to be addressed. So there is a role for business to play that begins to overlap non-profits and the government sectors have been doing for years. And when you consider the fact that we are going into a significant amount of debt from a government standpoint, you wonder whether or not the government should be relied upon to provide the sort of social benefits that it’s been providing as the sole provider for so many generations. And when you think about the opportunity for for-profit business to generate some return in that regard I think that’s a spectacular use of funds to support business in that regard. So, it’s all gonna work out eventually, the economic cycles can be very painful to go through but they always come through in the end, and we see an upswing, and I think that social enterprise and sustainable businesses will be at the forefront of all this as soon as we start to pull out of the tailspin.

So what kind of specific sustainability work have you been involved in? Because I know with Green Cities there is a lot of talk about sustainability as it relates to the municipality. So if you could just talk about some sustainability work.
Well you know sustainability is such a broad term and I know that Green Cities is specifically on environmental and green approaches and I think that that’s really one leg of a three part stool if you will, to use a tired metaphor but, to be truly sustainable community or business or even organism with that you really have to consider all of the aspects of your existence, and that does include the three part process of people, planet, profit. So Patagonia is probably from a personal stand point where I had the most experience in terms of reducing environmental impact and helping organizations understand how to grow in an environmentally respectful matter. We also worked with a number of non- profits, one of which I had experience with was Save Mono Lake organization. And after they had worked so hard to Save Mono Lake which is a large salt water lake in California, I take that back let’s just call it a large lake in California because I don’t know what the salinity or the density is these days. Well once they had worked so hard to save Mono Lake they said, “well now what?” Do we cease to exist or can we turn our efforts to help organization and municipalities learn how to develop a sustaining sort of environment, and at Patagonia we helped them create a business plan that would move their efforts and whatever they had learned through that process into more of a municipal focus. And as well the former CEO at Patagonia, who’s no longer there Dave Olsen, is involved directly with working with municipalities to reduce their environmental footprint. And he does some spectacular work throughout the state of California and nationally. So I’ve been associated with green work from a municipal standpoint by association and also in a small way through Patagonia as well.

Is there anything that you have coming up; any kind of projects that you’re excited about that maybe isn’t out there in the world of news yet, but that your working on and looking forward to?
Sure, you know what, there are a number of things at Investors’ Circle that are very exciting to me but I’ll mention just a couple and the first is that we put on two conferences each year and we have one conference coming up in San Francisco coming up in April, April 19^th through the 21^st. So that takes up a lot of our focus and effort because we try not to just put on a venture fair process where companies come and meet investors and make their presentations, but we have an entire day that is devoted specifically to promoting the social enterprise space forward. So it’s a wonderful conference with really stimulating keynote speakers, plannery sessions and what have you all designed to be very interactive. The other thing that we’re working on I think from a project standpoint is something that might be interesting to a number of socially or environmentally minded entrepreneurs, and that is that there is a, we believe there is a large amount of capital that could be deployed by various foundations under programs called Program Related Investments. And this is actually an IRS construct that allows a foundation to make investments in for- profit and non- profit businesses that are designed to actually return something to the foundation, but the key is in order to qualify from an IRS standpoint, these investments have to be made in a way that is “below market.” So entrepreneurs that qualify for that sort of PRI Investment enjoy very low cost debt for instance that financing and some very interesting and positive and flexible terms and what have you. What we would like to do at Investors’ Circle is do some work around unlocking the potential for more PRI Investment from foundations and partner with a couple of our very well known partners, like RSF Social Finance, to make that a reality and be able to package these deals for our entrepreneurs who come to us for funding. And I’m really excited about that because what makes green investment so exciting to me from an investor’s standpoint is that many of these companies are eligible for subsidized capital, they’re eligible for grants from foundations, and PRI monies from foundations and when they come to an “angel group” or an individual angel for funding, that angel benefits from the capital that’s been put in the form of grants and PRI’s. It’s a beautiful way to construct a very solid capital structure and for angel investors to enjoy a significantly reduced risk profile. So that is one of our chief ways of looking to catalyze the flow of angel investments into green and socially responsible companies.

Well that sounds really, really terrific and all very, very exciting work.
It is it really is. I can’t tell you I bounce out of bed every morning.

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Karyn Barsa serves as President for Investors’ Circle. Formerly CEO of Smith & Hawken and COO/CFO of Patagonia, Karyn has led two vibrant organizations that serve as models for values-centered leadership around the world. With a career that includes investment banking, commercial banking, and turnaround corporate finance, Karyn has specialized in opportunities to meld business and social missions and has been a featured speaker for numerous organizations including the American Management Association, Business for Social Responsibility, and various sponsored conferences. In addition to serving on the board of Investors’ Circle, Karyn is a member of the Board of Directors at Deckers Outdoor Corporation (Nasdaq: DECK) and a member of the Board of Directors of NESsT. Karyn also serves on the Advisory Board of inResonance, Inc. Karyn holds a B.A. in Economics from Connecticut College and a MBA from the University of Southern California.

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