California leading the cap-and-trade movement

Last Thursday the California Air Resources Board, with a 9-to-1 approval, voted in a critical piece of AB32 (the climate change law set to reduce emissions to 1990 levels by 2020). Beginning in 2012, the nation’s most comprehensive carbon trading program will take effect in California.

This program will incentivize, through allowances and credit/offset purchases, businesses and factories to curb their emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases. Each allowance represents one ton of greenhouse gas emissions. The allowances will be mostly free for the first three years with the allowed emissions level declining annually.

When it comes into effect, companies over the allowed levels will either have to reduce their emissions or buy credits from other businesses to cover their excess. With a huge incentive to invest in clean technology, companies seeking reduction in emissions will be turning to green tech businesses to help shift their current emission levels. Also, green businesses already below the levels will be able to sell their credit to other companies and earn a profit.

Although it is too early to truly tell, this major change sounds like a great boost for green businesses everywhere and will hopefully spur economic recovery.

To learn more, check out the LA Times article: http://articles.latimes.com/2010/dec/17/local/la-me-1217-climate-cap-trade-20101217

or the NPR article: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=132100915

Spread Joy to Mother Earth and Local Communities

With the holiday season upon us, it seems impossible to celebrate and enjoy the holidays while being environmentally friendly. But have no fear! There are many ways to support your community and be an environmentally sensitive and responsible consumer.

Rent a Christmas tree! Instead of cutting down a live Christmas tree or buying a synthetic one, rent one! A company called The Living Christmas Co. rents out locally-grown Christmas trees to residents and business owners in Southern California. You pick from a variety of trees, they deliver to your home or office, you keep the tree throughout the holiday season, and when the time comes, they pick it up and return it to their nursery. The room will have that pine scent people love about live Christmas trees, there will be less mess since the tree will not be dying, you won’t be buying plastic, you won't have to worry about finding storing space, and the tree will ever-so-slightly help offset carbon emissions. What I love the most about this option is that you can even adopt the tree, so that year after year, you receive the same tree and get to watch it grow.

Think differently about wrapping presents. Instead of buying wrapping paper, try using cloth, shoeboxes, newspaper, or reuse gift bags from other occasions. During my childhood, my family would collect shoeboxes and gift bags that we received from shopping or parties and use them for all our celebrations. We also would try to save as much tissue paper as possible and refold them for future use. I didn’t realize it back then, but every year we were being environmentally-conscious! It was easy, cheap, and I grew to have “favorite” bags that I would look for.

Buy from local businesses. Support your local community this holiday season and head to some fun events where you can find the most unique and memorable gifts for your loved ones.

Here are some excellent ones to check out in the Los Angeles area:

A great upcoming event is Unique L.A. happening next Saturday and Sunday (December 11 & 12) at the California Market Center on 110 East 9^th St in Los Angeles. From 11-6pm each day, explore the handcrafts, clothing, housewares, and food from over 300 local designers and artists. It will be the largest independent design and gift show in the country and only costs $10 for admission, which includes a limited edition tote bag, free drinks, contests, and workshops.

Another wonderful event happening those same days (December 11 & 12) from 10am-6pm is the SPIRAL Foundation Holiday Bazaar, taking place at 211 Vance St. in Pacific Palisades. A non-profit humanitarian organization, the SPIRAL Foundation fundraises money to help those in Nepal and Vietnam find employment, receive education, and treat life-threatening diseases.

Once you are done shopping at Unique L.A. and SPIRAL’s Bazaar on Saturday, that same evening head to the Mahasukha Center’s 3rd Annual Festival of Bliss at 6512 Arizona Ave in Los Angeles. From 7:30 to 10pm, there will be a silent and live holiday gift auction and entertaining music and theater performances by award-winning artists. All proceeds will benefit the Mahasukha Center, where they offer donation-only yoga, meditation and in-depth study classes in the Dalai Lama’s lineage.

LA County Pushing to Ban Plastic Bags

It’s finally happening! Two days ago, on November 16^th, 2010, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors took the first step to ban single-use plastic bags. The final ordinance will be come up for a vote next week!

If approved, beginning in July 2011, sixty-seven supermarkets, convenience stores, pharmacies, and drug stores in the unincorporated county area must discontinue providing plastic bags at check-out counters. By January 2012, the ban will cover 1,000 stores throughout the county. Even more progressive than San Francisco, the ordinance will also place a 10-cent surcharge on paper bags to deter shoppers from turning to other disposable bags.

Interestingly enough, the American Chemistry Council (consisting of members who make plastic bags) have already sought to use the recently passed Prop. 26 (refer to my previous blog post for more information on this initiative) to prevent the 10-cent fee from becoming enacted. Tricky tricky ACC, but the 10-cent charge would be exempt from the fee approval because the revenue from the charge would be given to the store owners, not the government.

Keep an eye out in the coming weeks for a news update from the LA Times. Maybe in a year we’ll see less of these “urban tumbleweeds” drifting across the freeways, clinging to the trees, and slipping into our ocean waters.

Check out the full story from the LA Times.

Café Gratitude

I recently discovered two amazing business leaders - Matthew and Terces Englehart – the creators of  San Francisco’s beloved Café Gratitude  and authors of Sacred Commerce: Business as a Path of Awakening.  This dynamic partnership demonstrates perfectly how a business prospers by being grateful and generous. 

During a panel discussion on social enterprise at the Leaders Causing Leaders Conference in Long Beach, the Engleharts candidly discussed how they are able to stay profitable while embracing the needs of their 200-plus employees and keeping their customers happy.  In their daily business practices the company employs the concept of “Oneness.”  Meaning that any decisions made are based on what would be the most beneficial for the entire community. 

For example, when San Francisco changed their laws to require employers to provide health care insurance to all employees, the Engleharts had a choice to only provide health care to the employees within that local jurisdiction, leaving some employees who don’t work within San Francisco without insurance, or insure all employees.  The decision, based on oneness, was obvious:  insure all employees.  

Another “oneness” business decision that the Engleharts made in 2009 was to create the “I am Grateful” Bowl Program in response to the economic challenges in their community  - a pay by donation bowl of delicious organic food.  Essentially, customers are able to receive healthy and sustainable food based on what they can pay - even if it’s only 5 cents - while other customers who feel abundant can donate funds to support the program.  The program is not charity; it is community taking care of community – and instills a cycle of gratitude and generosity. 

In today’s economy, businesses are feeling the pressure to keep their overheard low and cut costs.  However, Café Gratitude operates on a much different model – they ask the question how can we give more – how can we support the community?  The shift in perspective is powerful and is the kind of thinking that has kept the company growing and more popular than ever.

As we move into the holiday season  - re-discover your capacity for gratitude and generosity.  Use Café Gratitude as a model to think about how your organization can transition from thinking about cutting costs – to  how it can give more to the people and community that make it profitable in the first place.  

Matthew and Terces Engelhart