In the Great Lakes region, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) and the Indiana Partners for Pollution Prevention (P4P2) will be hosting the 14th Annual Pollution Prevention Conference and Trade Show on Thursday, September 22.

GLRPPR’s sister Pollution Prevention Resource Exchange (P2Rx) center, the Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center (PPRC) is hosting a 20th anniversary banquet for its regional P2 roundtable during P2 Week.  Highlights will include a presentation by Dara O’Rourke, founder of the Good Guide, and former PPRC staff member.

And to kick off P2 Week, P2Rx has announced the launch of the National Sustainable Lodging Network, an online community of sustainable hospitality practitioners and an information clearinghouse to support the work of this community, found online at www.SustainableLodging.org. This site brings lodging operations together with federal, state, local, and tribal sustainable hospitality programs, including environmental agencies, tourism boards, and lodging associations. The goals for the site are to provide forums for sustainable hospitality practitioners to share information on practices and challenges; elevate sustainable hospitality programs and the facilities that participate in them; increase the adoption of sustainable hospitality practices nationwide; and foster innovation in sustainable lodging through the exchange of ideas.

If your organization or community is hosting a special event this week, tell us about it in the comments section of this post.

Copyright (c) 123RF Stock Photos

I’ve seen many guides to green gifts, both generic and occasion-specific. But I realized recently that there are not many, if any, guides focused on green gestures. This is the phrase I use when thinking of gifts related to sustainability that do not involve giving a tangible item to the recipient. Instead, green gestures are more symbolic for the recipient or honoree, but they may indeed have tangible benefits for the environment or for society in general. Green gestures are good to keep in mind for the person who seemingly has everything, or for acquaintances or colleagues for whom you do not have a good sense of interests and preferences. Green gestures are also a good solution to expressing appreciation when ethical considerations can make giving or receiving tangible gifts undesirable or inappropriate. An example would be thanking an elected official for speaking at your event. Such gestures are often also used as memorials or to celebrate special occasions like a birth, a wedding, or a retirement. This list is by no means exhaustive (feel free to share your ideas in the “Comments” section of this post), and should not be construed as an endorsement of any of the items or organizations listed by GLRPPR or its host agency, the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center. This list is for informational purposes only, and is meant to help you start thinking outside the gift box.

Plant a Tree

This is probably the first symbolic gesture that would pop into everyone’s mind. The idea of a lovely tree providing shade, shelter for wildlife and improvement of air quality in honor of a person or event is sure to be well received. If you don’t want to go through the actual process yourself, organizations like the National Arbor Day Foundation make it easy by allowing you to donate a modest amount of money and either print out your own certificate to present or have a special ‘Give-a-Tree‘ card printed for you to commemorate the planting of trees in a national forest.  Of, if you prefer to give actual seedlings and allow others to plant them where they wish, you can do that as well.

Retire Emissions Credits

A few environmental groups sell emissions credits for certain pollutants, which are thus retired, meaning that specific amount of pollution will not be legally emitted in the first place–a different twist on pollution prevention. With fewer credits available for purchase, there is also a theoretical incentive for emitters to change practices to avoid emissions. I once retired a ton of acid-rain causing pollution as a present for an environmentally conscious friend, and felt assured that no one else had gotten such a thing for her. (As a wedding present, for example, it’s a bit less likely to be duplicated than a toaster someone forget to check off a store’s gift registry.) She was delighted and proudly showed off her certificate to her environmental biology students.  The Adirondack Council retires credits for acid rain-causing sulfur dioxide pollution or carbon dioxide credits [retired from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) program]. Certificates are provided. The Acid Rain Retirement Fund also purchases and retires sulfur dioxide emissions credits using member donations. They provide certificates as well. The US EPA Clean Air Markets “Buying Allowances” page provides a list of environmental groups that retire emissions credits, but it should be noted that the Clean Air Conservancy Trust apparently closed down in November of 2010. That’s unfortunate because according to the EPA page, this was the only known environmental organization to retire nitrogen oxide credits. As the EPA page notes, emissions credits are also available via brokers (a list is provided) and EPA auctions, and keeping credits off the market has the same effect whether one purchases credits via an environmental group, broker or EPA Auction. See http://www.epa.gov/airmarkets/trading/auction.html for information on EPA auctions; this page includes links to fact sheets on allowance auctions in general, as well as a fact sheet on how to bid. Using an environmental group as a go-between is surely easier for most individuals looking for a unique gift.

Carbon Offsets

Carbon offsets involve making a donation to an organization that uses the funds toward a project that will reduce emissions of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases somewhere else, in theory balancing out the emissions that an individual or group would be responsible for via a given action or set of actions. Projects typically funded involve the generation of renewable energy (wind farms are a common example) or reforestation. Offsets are measured in metric tons of  carbon dioxide equivalents (see http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/glossary.html#C for an explanation of the term). See the Wikipedia article on the subject for a list of the greenhouse gases typically represented by carbon dioxide equivalents, as well a general discussion of offset markets, sources, related accounting, quality assurance schemes, and the various controversies surrounding carbon offsets. Carbon offsets are somewhat related to the previous two options in that tree-planting projects are sometimes used for offsetting purposes and carbon allowances can also be retired from emissions trading schemes as a method for offsetting carbon emissions. Be aware, however, that a corporation’s purchase of carbon offsets can be seen as a type of greenwashing, in which money is paid for an easy to promote green image without actual behavior change, or at least as something that generates a lot of hype without real effectiveness. Again, check out the “controversies” section of the Wikipedia article for more information. HowStuffWorks also has a good article on carbon offsets, controversies and links to more information to help you make an informed choice. Some of the criticisms of offsets can apply to all of the gestures listed in this post, but the gestures listed here are provided as a positive way to say thank-you or congratulations to someone while also inspiring them to think about their impact on the environment, rather than as the solution to any particular global environmental problem. A Google search on the phrase “carbon offsets” will yield several organizations from which offsets can be purchased, including Carbonfund.org, NativeEnergy.com, TerraPass.

Sponsor Wildlife or Wild Places

Another option is to make a donation in someone’s honor to project that promotes the conservation of particular wildlife species (this is often geared toward endangered species) or a particular ecosystem or protected area, such as a national park or refuge. The Sierra Club, for example, offers sponsorships for multiple national wildlife refuges and national monuments and national parks, with notes regarding the wildlife species that would be helped by protecting these areas.  Other organizations, such as the National Wildlife Federation and the World Wildlife Fund offer “adoptions” of certain animal species that typically come with a certificate and educational information about the animals in question. These types of donations are generally symbolic and the money is used in the way the agency deems best to protect wildlife in general. The World Wildlife Fund also offers an option that allows the recipient to “choose” the animal they are sponsoring, rather than you choosing it for them via an adoption gift card. The Nature Conservancy offers gifts to sponsor specific conservation projects or tributes tied to particular occasions with e-cards sent to the recipient. You could also consider making a donation on someone’s behalf to a local or state conservation organization to protect a state park or fund specific conservation projects that are closer to home for them. If the person in question likes fishing or boating, you might consider a donation to an agency focused on protecting waterways, for example.

Other Charitable Donations & Gift Subscriptions

Think about the three main components of sustainability–economy, environment and society. The gestures we’ve discussed thus far have clear environmental components, and even economic components, but what about a donation to a charity that touches upon the social aspects of sustainability, or all three components? Via Heifer International, for example, you can donate gifts of livestock or plants that will help make families and communities in less developed areas more self-reliant. A flock of chicks, a cow or some honeybees can provide food and income for someone less fortunate. Mercy Corps offers symbolic gifts in a similar vein; you can choose gifts related to environmental issues, health, children’s welfare, etc. A donation to an environmental education project in the recipient’s community could help inspire the next generation of “rethinkers” while also providing the social benefits of engaging young people in constructive, civic-minded activities. A gift membership in the recipient’s local community supported agriculture program would help foster a healthier environment, a healthier lifestyle, a stronger community and a healthier local economy. Check out the Local Harvest web site to find such programs in your recipient’s area. A donation to support medical research obviously touches upon the social aspect of sustainability and could also potentially be linked to environmental issues as well, when you consider the health impacts of pollutants and emerging toxins. Another interesting twist on the idea of tributes that I came across is a donation in someone’s honor to charity:water, which works to provide clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. If none of these ideas strike a chord with you, check out Alternative Gifts International, an organization that offers links to projects administered by other non-profit agencies. They group projects by category in their “Shopping List for the World” to help steer you toward the projects that will resonate with you and your recipients.

Are you aware of other ways to give thanks or tribute while also giving back to the environment or society? Share your suggestions in the comments section of this post.

This year is particularly special, because it marks the 20th Anniversary of the passing of the Federal Pollution Prevention Act (PPA), which established the national policy that pollution should be prevented or reduced at the source whenever feasible. According to the U.S. EPA’s Pollution Prevention (P2) home page, “Pollution prevention (P2) is reducing or eliminating waste at the source by modifying production processes, promoting the use of non-toxic or less-toxic substances, implementing conservation techniques, and re-using materials rather than putting them into the waste stream.” The best way to solve a problem is to revise your actions to prevent the problem from occurring in the first place. Pollution prevention not only protects the environment and public health, it also conveys economic benefits in terms of increased efficiency and lessening the financial burden associated with waste disposal, toxic clean up, and other liability issues.

The following links will help you learn more about P2 Week and some of this year’s celebrations. I encourage you to share what you and/or your organization is doing for P2 Week in the “Comments” section of this post.The National Pollution Prevention Roundtable (NPPR) provides general information about P2 Week on its web site, along with providing posters to promote the week. Each year during P2 Week NPPR presents the MVP2 Awards to the most valuable pollution prevention programs, a P2 publication of the year, a P2 “champion” and a P2 volunteer of the year. Those are actually being awarded today in Washington, D.C., and I’ll be posting about the winners in the near future, so stay tuned!

The U.S. EPA is featuring the 20th anniversary of the PPA on its home page, along with links to information on what you can do to make a difference at home and in the garden; at work and on the road; for industry; and in local government. A press release regarding the PPA’s anniversary is also available. The EPA also has a page devoted to P2 Week, which includes information on webinars occurring during the week, focusing on water efficiency for hotels, the environmental and health impacts of personal care products, and greening your business.  This page also features “soundbites” from Steve Owens, Assistant Administrator of the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP), on ways to help participate in P2 Week. The EPA’s Greenversations blog also features a post on P2 Week. (Thanks to Beth Anderson for sharing these links.)

Indiana is hosting the 13th Annual Pollution Prevention Conference and Trade Show this week, starting tomorrow. Each day during P2 Week, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) is publishing a press release on how to prevent pollution in various aspects of your life, including practicing P2 at home, schools, businesses, in the community and at meetings (in that order during P2 week). See the IDEM press release page for links to the specific press releases. (Thanks to Jennifer Schick for sharing this P2 Week activity with GLRPPR.)

GLRPPR’s sister Pollution Prevention Resource Exchange (P2Rx) center, the Western Sustainability Pollution Prevention Network (WSPPN) is partnering with the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to host the Pollution Prevention Week 2010 Video Contest. See the DTSC web site for details and watch the submitted videos here. The contest’s theme is “What if everyone took one small action to reduce their environmental impact?” There’s still time to submit video responses through October 15, 2010. You can also respond to the question “What small change do you think will have a big, positive impact on the environment?” on the blog of Donna Walden, Regional Coordinator for WSPPN. (Thanks to Donna Walden for sharing these activities.)

So how are you celebrating P2 Week? Share your activities and thoughts by leaving a comment.

Fireworks displays

Pyrotechnics for the Planet: This cover story by Bethany Halford in the June 30, 2008 edition of Chemical & Engineering News (Vol. 86, No. 26, pgs. 14-18) provides information on the environmental hazards associated with fireworks and other pyrotechnics and provides an overview of the efforts of scientists to replace both hazardous substances (e.g. perchlorate, certain metals and combustion products, etc.) and potentially polluting processes (e.g. using compressed air to launch fireworks as opposed to using black powder that produces smoke) to create more environmentally friendly pyrotechnics.

Grilling/Backyard Barbecues

Green Grilling Tips: Best Grills and Fuel:  This 6/27/08 post by Mindy Pennybacker  on the Plenty Magazine web site (now defunct and folded into the Mother Nature Network) provides an environmental comparison of different types of grills and fuel, links to further information and a brief description of why it’s important to consider the environmental impact of grilling.

Also, whether they’re grilled or not, consider local ingredients for the dishes at your celebration to reduce the energy used to bring your meal to your table while supporting your local economy. If you’re not aware of a local farmer’s market or other source for local ingredients, check the Local Harvest web site.

Make it Reusable, Recyclable or Compostable

When it comes time to eat what you’ve grilled, consider using reusable plates, bowls, napkins and cutlery. If that simply isn’t feasible, be sure to consider options that are recyclable or compostable and made with recycled content if possible. Check out the Preserve web site, Green Earth Office Supply, EarthShell, NAT-UR or Treecycle for some ideas.

Other Ideas

For more information or conversation on this topic, check out the U.S. EPA’s Greenversations Blog, where the question of the week is “How Will You Green Your 4th of July?” Also, feel free to share your tips for greening your Independence Day celebrations in the “Comments” section of this post.

If your company or organization is planning a special event or activity for Earth Day, consider sharing your plans in the “Comments” area of this post–you might give another organization a great idea for next year.

• Wind Power: According to Sustainable Energy Ireland, “wind energy provides electricity to the equivalent of 40 million European citizens, and wind farms in Ireland supply enough clean green power to support over 146,000 users.” Their web site provides an interactive map of existing wind farms in Ireland (as of April 2007). A recent post on the Green Tech Blog (“Ireland: Where Wind Power is King” by Michael Kanellos) discusses the great potential for further wind farm development on the island, both on and offshore.
• Cultivate Living and Learning Centre: The Cultivate Centre in Dublin serves as a hub for environmental activities and ideas. Their web site provides a green map of Dublin; environmental workshop listing; a directory of schools, businesses and other organizations in Ireland that are teaching or training and have principles of sustainability rooted in their mission and strategies; information on energy issues and climate change; and a host of other resources. The themes addressed in their educational programs include green building, permaculture and organic gardening, renewable energy, energy conservation, and rethinking urban design and planning.
• Cleaner Greener Production Programme (CGPP): This program of Ireland’s Environmental Protection Agency encourages Irish business and industry to produce goods and services in more environmentally friendly ways. That agency defines “Cleaner Greener Production” as “the application of integrated preventive environmental strategies to processes, products and services to increase overall efficiency and reduce risks to humans and the environment, for example: (1) Production processes: conserving raw materials and energy, eliminating toxic raw materials and reducing the quantity and toxicity of all emissions and wastes (2) Products: reducing negative impacts along the life cycle of a product, from raw materials extraction to its ultimate disposal (3) Services: encouraging and supporting the development of higher environmental performance in the service sector, by incorporating environmental concerns into designing and delivering services.”

I receive their electronic Green Tips newsletter, and was pleased to see them taking the opportunity to tie St. Patrick’s Day to raising environmental awareness. The lead story in the latest newsletter was entitled “Kiss Me, I Recycle” and is an obvious play on the “Kiss Me, I’m Irish” slogan you’re likely to see emblazoned on t-shirts, buttons and hats starting this weekend. (Incidentally, the SWMCB web site provides a handy “Kiss Me, I Recycle” St. Patrick’s Day button template for anyone interested in wearing green and simultaneously promoting green activities.) As eluded to in my previous post, there are likely to be lots of bottles and cans associated with St. Patrick’s Day festivities, and the SWMCB and MPCA are trying to ensure that folks consider recycling and are aware of how to properly recycle as well as what can be recycled. The “Kiss Me, I Recycle” story links to a helpful can and bottle recycling guide on GreenGuardian.com. The guide not only tells you what and how to recycle (which is strictly speaking, not pollution prevention since it’s an “end of the pipe” sort of activity) but also highlights the energy savings associated with recycling, as well as the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, air and water pollution, and water consumption that result from recycling containers as opposed to throwing them in the trash–all of which are important environmental benefits that are certainly complimentary to P2 activities.

This sort of campaign got me thinking about opportunities for similar outreach activities on college campuses. For example, I’ve heard that Mather House at Harvard University has a “green happy hour” for St. Patrick’s Day that involves the promotion of recycling, sustainability and waste reduction. I’m curious to know if other campuses have been involved in similar activities, perhaps on a wider scale. If you know of a “Green St. Patrick’s Day” event or promotion at a college or university, or if your organization, like SWMCB and MPCA, is tying environmental awareness campaigns to St. Patrick’s Day, please take a minute to share what you’ve done in the “Comments” section for this post.

As is the trend with most organic foods and beverages, organic beer is becoming more and more widely available as even big box retailers climb aboard the “green products are good for public relations, profits and the environment” train. Co-op America offers an overview of organic beer and wine as well as the rationale for choosing locally produced beers whenever possible (to reduce negative effects of long distance shipping, among other reasons). You can also search their National Green Pages under “Wine/Beer” for examples of breweries that produce organic beer. There is also a North American Organic Brewers Festival, scheduled this year for June 27-29 in Portland, Oregon. The festival web site lists the participating breweries and the beers they’re presenting.

For those of you, like my husband, who enjoy brewing your own beer at home, you might find the Seven Bridges Cooperative an interesting resource. Based in California, Seven Bridges provides certified organic ingredients for home brewing, such as organically grown hops and grains.

Interestingly, organic beer became the topic of controversy last year, as the USDA added to the list of non-organic ingredients that may compose 5% of a product by weight and still allow that product to bear the label “organic.” Hops were on the list, and while critical to the production of beer, they do make up less than 5% of the finished product by weight. The Organic Consumers Association was outraged by what it termed the “Budweiser Exception” that could allow big brewing companies to mass produce “organic” beers without using organically grown hops; the controversy was covered by MSNBC. Anheuser-Busch has since switched to using 100% organic hops. See the USDA’s web site for more information on organic food standards and labels.

Turning to waste reduction and efficiency in the brewing process, regardless of the use of organic ingredients, the March/April 2007 edition of In Business magazine featured a profile of Mad River Brewing Company in Blue Lake, California, which recycles or reuses 98% of its residuals, with a goal toward generating zero waste. The April 2007 edition of eco-structure Magazine included a look at the sustainable practices of New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins, Colorado. Among other things, the company purchases wind energy to power 100% of its brewery’s operations, the packaging hall was designed with energy efficiency in mind, and the brewhouse features a closed-loop heating system. For more information about New Belgium’s sustainability initiatives, see their web site.

For an example of sustainable initiatives at a brewery within the Great Lakes region, check out Michigan DEQ’s case study on the Leopold Bros. of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Goose Island Brewery in Chicago, Illinois is also a founding member of the Chicago Waste to Profit Network. An article from the October 2000 edition of Conscious Choice discusses several organic beers, including Goose Island’s organic beer production and partnering with Panorama Brewing Company to produce Wolaver’s Organic Ales regionally. Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin was the first brewery in that state and the first business in Milwaukee to receive the Travel Green Wisconsin certification from the state’s Department of Tourism. Check out the brewery’s web site detailing what they’ve done to reduce their environmental and social impact and earn this recognition.

For more resources related to P2 for breweries, check out the GLRPPR Food Processing Sector Resource. I’ll be adding a “Beverage Manufacturing” subcategory in the near future to make finding resources related to brewing and other beverage production within this Sector Resource easier.

Whenever a holiday approaches, I like to consider how pollution prevention applies. In honor of St. Patrick’s Day and my sainted mother, I’ll be taking some time over the next few days to ponder a different shade of “green” than the one you’ll find on “Kiss Me, I’m Irish” t-shirts. Happy Birthday, Ma! [Note that my mother will likely never read this; she doesn't own a computer and is as non-technical as a person can be. Try as I might, I can't get her to understand what it is I do for a living. She knows it involves "environmental stuff" and computers, and that it is somehow tied to the University of Illinois. Still, she's the greatest, and without her I could never have grown up into a person who cares about the environment and concepts such as pollution prevention (P2).]

If you’re interested in finding out more about St. Patrick’s Day in general, check out Wikipedia and the History Channel. Also, the name for this series of posts (“P2 Go Bragh”) comes from the incorrectly spelled, Anglicized phrase “Erin go Bragh,” which is intended to mean “Ireland forever” (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erin_Go_Bragh). Thus, this series of posts is in the spirit of “pollution prevention forever” and sustainability.

The Chicago Edition of Ideal Bite also reports that the InterContinental Chicago is offering a green valentine hotel package for $219 a night and up, February 14-16. They also recently featured information on Ellie Thompson, a Chicago jewelry designer that uses reclaimed metals and fair-trade gems to create wearable works of art, if you’re considering jewelry for your special someone. The national Ideal Bite also offers additional information on organic flowers.

New American Dream’s Conscious Consumer Marketplace can also help you find environmentally and socially responsible Valentine’s Day gifts, such as flowers, chocolate, and jewelry. TreeHugger has also compiled a Valentine’s Day Gift Guide.

Finally, consider an electronic card instead of a paper one. For example, the National Wildlife Federation has Valentine’s Day e-cards available.