Dr. Ron Lembke WHAT MAKES SENSE TO DO?

WHAT IS “SUSTAINABILITY?”  The ability to keep doing something for the indefinite future  If it’s not profitable, it’s not sustainable  What allows a company to survive?  Meeting customer demands  Developing new products  Keeping costs low

 Dimensions of Environmental Sustainability:  Carbon: energy burned by us, by our suppliers  Water: water used  Paper and corrugated used  Solid waste generated  Costs and Revenues:  Lower electricity, gas and water bills  Lower garbage hauling costs  Better public relations  How much do customers care?  If it makes them feel closer, there’s likely monetary value?  How much is your competition doing?  Watch out for GREENWASHING!!!!  Trivial gestures: attention misdirection – ski passes, plastic bags DIFFERENT METRICS The Carbon Footprint of a plastic bag is 1/1000 that of the food in it!

 Packaging redesign  86% reduction in packaging weight  42% more food per cubic volume!  Lower transportation costs  More food per truckload  Less packagin weight per unit of food PACKAGING REDUCTION

 US Green Building Council  Points system  Start with an architect that specializes in LEED  True believers who really know how to find cost- effective methods  No guarantee of savings LEED: LEADERSHIP IN ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN

 “‘Recycling is bullshit, in my opinion. What we should be doing is reducing’… reduce, reuse, recycle is meant to be taken in the order it’s presented in.” “Recycling is really your third and worst option.”  John Sagebiel, UNR Environmental Affairs Manager, UNR Sagebrush, May 2012 Recycling Rate MaterialEnergy SavedNationalCalifornia Aluminum96%45%99% Glass 21% 25%84% Newsprint 45%25% PET #1 (soda)76%31%67% Polystyrene #688%<1%10% Data: Popular Mechanics, CalRecycle.ca.gov  Aluminum is “congealed electricity”  Newsprint demand for corrugated boxes by China  Waste paper largest US export to China  Much “downcycling,” but we’re learning, markets are developing RECYCLING

 Great Basin Brewing Company  Compostable napkins, straws, silverware, boxes, etc.  Slightly higher cost  Vendors not even aware of their own products  Project lead by UNR MBA graduate  Waste hauled by Castaway Trash Hauling  Commercial composting  Landfills emit methane, a bad GHG, and usually don’t capture it  Composting emits less methane 30-70% less COMPOSTABLES

KILL-A-WATT

 Look up impact of things COMMERCIAL COMPOSTING

Carbon = Energy = Money WHY WORRY ABOUT CARBON?

king/Unlocking_energy_efficiency_in_the_US_economy MCKINSEY STUDY

 Look for energy usage  What appliances use the most? TOOLS FOR FINDING CARBON?

ELECTRICITY USAGE MONITORING

 1kg of Tomatoes  0.4 kg organic loose tomatoes, grown locally in July  9.1 kg (20 lbs) average  50 kg (110 lbs) organic, “on the vine” cherry tomatoes, grown in Ohio, in March  Wine Cal. vs. France  French wine comes on a boat  California wine comes on a truck  Flowers  Dutch greenhouses  Colombia – unheated greenhouses, but flown to Europe YOU’VE GOT TO LOOK AT THE DETAILS

 Ecological Intelligence: The Hidden Impacts of What We Buy, Daniel Goleman  Force of Nature: The Unlikely Story of Wal-Mart’s Green Revolution, Edward Humes  How Bad Are Bananas? The Carbon Impact of Almost Everything, Mike Berners-Lee  Hot Flat and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution – And How it Can Renew America, Thomas L. Friedman BOOKS TO CONSIDER