Archive for October, 2008

The Triangle Business Journal recognized 28 winners who view the environment as a top priority for themselves and their businesses. The debut GREEN Awards luncheon, held at the North Ridge Country Club on Oct. 23, 2008, was born as a way to recognize the many businesses, government entities and nonprofits that are employing environmentally friendly practices as part of their daily lives.

Publisher Charlene Grunwaldt recalled an old Kenyan proverb laid out ages ago. “Treat the earth well. It was not given to you by your parents; it was loaned to you by your children.”

The following leaders and companies were honored for their accomplishments with GREEN Awards:

For-Profit Business of the Year
• Skanska USA Building Inc.
• Moseley Architects

Non-Profit Business of the Year
• RTI International
• Triangle Land Conservancy

For-Profit Business Leader of the Year
• John Replogle, Burt’s Bees, Inc.

Non-Profit Leader of the Year
• Bob Koger, Advanced Energy

Non-Profit Education Program
• City of Raleigh
• Duke Smart Home Program

For-Profit Education Program
• Burt’s Bees, Inc.

Entrepreneurial Effort/Innovative Idea of the Year
• Green Planet Catering
• Hamlin Energy Solutions

Advocate of the Year
• Sig Hutchinson, Sig Hutchinson & Associates

Government Leader of the Year
• Julian Prosser, City of Raleigh

For-Profit Marketing Program
• CB Richard Ellis

Non-Profit Marketing Program
• Green Home Builders of the Triangle

For-Profit Action Program
• Crosland

Non-Profit Action Program
• N.C. Solar Center

Land Development
• Scientific Properties
• Kane Realty Corp.

Building Management Project
• Rex Healthcare

Residential Remodeling Project
• Carolina Country Builders

Single-Family Project
• Alphin Design Build

Multi-Family Project
• Greenfire Development

Commercial Renovation
• BBH Design, PA
• Empire Properties

Commercial New Construction Project
• Wake Technical Community Campus
• RTI International and Duke Realty Corp.

The 2008 GREEN Awards program is a Triangle Business Journal event presented by Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment, and sponsored by NC GreenPower, Mulkey Engineers & Consultants and Phillips Architecture.

Profiles of the honorees will be featured in a GREEN Awards special section that will be published in Triangle Business Journal on Oct. 24.

Eco-friendly and lightweight, a new line of clothes called Sublet Clothing is available for those who want to dress green.

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Per Press Release

DURHAM, N.C. — The Duke Smart Home Program, a high-tech, 10-student residence for green living and learning, has been selected as the Green Nonprofit Program of the Year by the Triangle Business Journal.

The 6,000-square-foot live-in laboratory, designed by students and advisers, opened in November 2007. From its roof of plants and solar cells to the rainwater cisterns and sophisticated electronics in the basement, the Smart Home was designed to be adaptable, environmentally sustainable and technologically integrated.

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RALEIGH, N.C. — Rather than risk $40 billion public dollars and fueling climate change by building new coal-fired and nuclear power plants, North Carolina can protect power bills, boost its economy and dramatically cut greenhouse emissions by joining the emerging transition to clean, efficient energy. That’s the hopeful message national energy expert Arjun Makhijani will deliver in Raleigh on Wednesday at an event hosted by NC WARN.

“[Arjun's] Roadmap could liberate us from an energy policy that is trashing our climate and our mountaintops,” said David Freeman, former head of power company TVA, who wrote the forward to Dr. Makhijani’s recent book, Carbon-Free and Nuclear-Free: A Road Map for US Energy Policy. This groundbreaking analysis shows how the U.S. economy could feasibly and cost-effectively shift to renewable energy sources without use of fossil fuels or nuclear power. (more…)

By Jaclyn Asztalos, NBC17 Reporter

APEX, N.C. — Developers of the Villages of Apex are giving away electric cars to everyone who bought a house, now they are taking things a step further.

Fleets of electric bikes from the Great America Electric Bicycle Outlet downtown along with the cars will be presented as a choice to all those who move into the all-in-one community. They could receive one car to share, or bikes for the entire family.

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Per Press Release

Durham, N.C. – To celebrate Energy Awareness Month, Durham County Government and the City of Durham are sponsoring the first-ever Durham Energy Fair on Tuesday, October 21 to help provide information to employees and citizens about the many ways to reduce energy and save on energy bills. The event is scheduled from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Durham County Main Library, located at 300 N. Roxboro Street.

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The Raleigh Eco News is reporting that Arjun Makhijani, one of the nation’s top experts in energy and the environment, is scheduled to speak in Raleigh on Wednesday, Oct. 22 at 8 p.m. at the Community United Church of Christ.

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RALEIGH, N.C. – Just beside Gate 11 at the State Fair is a semi-large tent. The tent looks like most other tents, but even at the entrance, most fairgoers can see something is different at this one.

“We are in a society now where we really need to be thinking green,” said Wake Tech Dean Sammie Thornton. Thornton is volunteering at the Green NC tent, demonstrating how biodiesel works.

“Putting the product, used oil, in to the machine, adding…something like lie as an activator, and 24 hours to 48 hours later, you got biodiesel,” Thornton explained. (more…)

Going green is on the minds of many political candidates. State Senator and Democratic U.S. Senate Candidate Kay Hagan made a stop for the cause on her campaign trail in Pittsboro.

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RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina recycling businesses continue an upward growth trend, according to a newly released study by the Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance’s Recycling Business Assistance Center.

The study’s major findings include:

• N.C. supports 14,490 private sector recycling-related jobs
• Private sector recycling jobs have increased 13.4 percent since 2003
• N.C. recycling businesses support an annual payroll of $376,890,000
• Forty-five percent of recycling businesses surveyed anticipate creating more jobs over the next two years
• Thirty-nine percent of businesses surveyed report manufacturing a product using recycled materials
• Recycling businesses target a wide variety of recyclables for collection, processing or utilization in manufacturing; no single recycling commodity dominates the market
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