While there are two sides to every story, I am happy to share this important information with you. You can now determine if you feel you have been green-washed, and how you can live your own version of a “green and sustainable” lifestyle.

Non-Profit Initiates Next Stage of Its Mission to Stop Green-washing
Two Sides Urges Leading U.S. Companies to End Misleading Claims About Print and Paper

On March 12, 2013 in CHICAGO,IL (via Marketwire) – Two Sides today announced the next stage of its nationwide initiative to urge major U.S. banks, utilities and telecommunication companies to end the use of misleading marketing claims about the sustainability of print and paper. Phase Two will include a second round of communication intended to initiate productive discussion with CEOs and senior management in the target industries, reminding them of their responsibility to adhere to best practices for environmental marketing as outlined in the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s recently revised Green Guides.

Greenwashing (Photo credit: anitasarkeesian

Last year, Two Sides contacted senior bank, utility and telecom executives, encouraging them to follow the yet-to-be-released FTC Green Guides, which say that environmental marketing claims should not exaggerate environmental impacts and must be substantiated. While some responded positively, many of the nation’s top banks, utilities and telecoms continue to tell their customers that switching to online billing and communication is better for the environment than print and paper with no verifiable supporting evidence. With the release of the updated Green Guides in October 2012, the FTC made it official that unqualified environmental language would be viewed as deceptive marketing, strengthening the Two Sides call for change.

Two Sides has NO desire for negative publicity

“Two Sides has no desire to cause unnecessary negative publicity for these companies or to undermine their cost-saving and efficiency reasons for driving customers towards e-billing, but claims that print and paper are environmentally unfriendly need to stop,” says Two Sides President Phil Riebel. “Rather than call these respected companies out publicly with greenwashing complaints to the FTC, we’d much prefer to amicably work with them behind the scenes to help develop messaging that meets the Green Guides standards for environmental marketing,” he says. “However, we’re prepared to use the strongest means necessary to put an end to the use of unsupported environmental claims that are potentially damaging to the paper, printing and mailing sectors which support millions of U.S. jobs.”

Two Sides conducted a similar campaign to get companies in the United Kingdom to drop or revise unsupported environmental claims about printed media with great success. More than 80 percent of the U.K. companies approached — including well-known names like British Telecom, Barclaycard, Vodafone and EON Energy — worked with Two Sides to eliminate misleading or factually incorrect environmental claims about the use of print and paper.

Two Sides states that print and paper have their own story to tell

“The fact is, print and paper products made in the U.S. have a great environmental story to tell,” Riebel says. “Paper comes from a renewable resource — trees grown in responsibly managed forests — and it’s recycled more than any other commodity, including plastics, metals and glass. The continuing demand for sustainably sourced paper gives U.S. landowners a financial incentive to continue managing their lands responsibly and keep them forested rather than selling them for development,which is the number one cause of deforestation in the United States. Thanks in great part to the sustainable forestry practices advanced by the paper and forest products industry, the volume of growing trees in U.S. forests has increased nearly 50 percent over the last half century and the total acres of forestland has remained essentially unchanged for 100 years.”

The direct impact of electronic products and services replacing paper is far from negligible, and the trade-offs between the two depends on how often we use the different technologies and how we dispose of the products. Both electronic and print media are important, and both have environmental impacts that must be taken into consideration.

Electronic communication has a significant and growing carbon footprint due to the energy requirements of a vast worldwide network of servers necessary to store information for immediate access. Electronic communication also relies on significant amounts of fossil-fuel energy and non-renewable raw materials for processing and manufacturing. With electronic waste becoming the fastest growing waste stream in the world and related environmental and health concerns escalating rapidly in many countries, promoting “going paperless” as the best environmental choice is unfounded.

It’s also important to note that equating electronic billing and statements with “going paperless” is misleading. When traditional bills and statements are converted to electronic communication, much of that paper is replaced by home or office printing by those who prefer or require a permanent hard copy. Furthermore, a recent study by NACHA, the Electronic Payments Association, showed that up to 40 percent of consumers receive both electronic and paper statements.

“Some of the major U.S. companies in the financial, telecom and utility sectors are to be commended for implementing sustainability initiatives that focus on true performance measurement and factual environmental claims, but others are lagging behind in terms of credible messaging,” Riebel says. “Two Sides is committed to help change this, and our experience to date shows that we’ve been successful in finding mutually acceptable solutions.”

About Two Sides

Two Sides is an independent, non-profit organization created to promote the responsible production, use and sustainability of print and paper. Started in Europe in 2008, Two Sides is now active in more than 12 countries. The organization has more than 1,000 members that span the entire print and paper supply chain, including pulp and paper producers, paper distributors, ink and chemical manufacturers, printers, equipment manufacturers and publishers. For more information about Two Sides, visit the Two Sides website at www.twosides.us. Together we are working toward greener tomorrows.

Congratulations to Benenson’s Continuing Commitment to Sustainable Design!

On February 14, 2012 an announcement was made by Richard A. Kessler, Chief Operating Officer of Benenson Capital Partners LLC. They are one of the nation’s oldest privately-held real estate investment and development companies. The announcement was made at their  five acre campus located at 1600 Summer Street, in Stamford, CT. The highlight of the announcement was the installation of their state-of-the-art rooftop solar energy equipment and paneling at the six-story, 260,000-square-foot, technologically-advanced  property.

Benenson commissioned energy leader Elliot Isban of American Solar and Alternative Power, to oversee the project at 1600 Summer Street. The site is one of Stamford’s premium office properties, which is currently leased to GE Asset Management, Philips Electronics, North American Corporation and Aon Corporation.

“Over the years, we have transformed the property at 1600 Summer Street to meet the needs of the most innovative and successful businesses,” said Mr. Kessler. “From the newly designed lobby and Euro Café to the Wi-Fi connected public areas and the fully equipped conference center.  Every effort has gone into fostering creative interactions. Providing an efficient energy source for the building was a natural next step, which reflects the Benenson tradition of caring for our communities and standing at the forefront of innovative fossil fuel-free environmental technology progresses.”

The building at 1600 Summer Street is one of only a handful of properties in Stamford to boast rooftop solar panels,while it reflects Benenson’s long-term commitment to supporting environmentally sensitive projects, which benefit not only the building’s tenants but also the larger community.

American Solar and Alternative Power, which has been in the energy conservation business for 25 years. They provided Benenson with an integrated offering of solar solutions, with the ultimate goal of maximizing the potential of the solar array to reduce the property’s reliance on non-renewable resources.

The positive environmental impact of the solar project is extensive, including a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions to the tune of 113,147 pounds per year. Also noted, are reductions in sulfur dioxide (479 pounds per year) and nitrous oxide emissions (189 pounds per year). These savings are equivalent to a passenger car reducing its annual mileage by 139,808. The building features premier Sun Power solar panels, which are the most efficient in the nation, which features a system that tracks the solar power produced and the consequent benefits to the environment.

“Benenson Capital Partners is part of a very elite group of companies that have had the foresight to take such a bold step forward toward sustainability,” said Mr. Isban, CEO of ASAP. “The commitment that the firm has made to utilize solar energy offers tenants yet another example of Benenson’s pledge to consistently provide a best-in-class work environment.”

The Benenson group of companies is still owned and controlled by the Benenson family, and it dates back to 1905 . Benenson Capital Partners, is a leader among privately held operating companies in real estate investment, development and asset management. BCP manages 150 properties, including retail, office, industrial, multifamily, hospitality and land throughout the United States, Canada and Europe on behalf of the Benenson group of companies. The company focuses on core, value-add, and opportunistic investments across all major property sectors, as well as its historic leadership in the ownership of single-tenant triple-net leased properties occupied by major corporate tenants.

American Solar and Alternative Power was founded in 1988.  They provide a range of commercial solar energy solutions for a a variety of companies.  ASAP has also built its success through trusted, long-term partnerships,while working with the best renewable industry professional organizations. Through strong business partnerships, they are able to offer their clients the best solutions and support in today’s market and meet a reasonable budget. Together they are working toward better and greener tomorrows for everyone.

Seventh Generation Earns Rockstar of the New Economy Lifetime Achievement Award
Recognized for Durability and Resilience

On February 07, 2013, in BURLINGTON, VT- Seventh Generation was recognized as a ‘Rockstar of the New Economy’ earning the Lifetime Achievement Award for its durability, resilience, and ability to not just survive, but thrive in an ever-changing marketplace and economy.

In the Fast Company article credited for announcing the honor, Seventh Generation product sales in 2011 alone helped save 77,000 trees, 28 million gallons of water, and enough energy to heat 1,700 U.S. homes for a year. The company also prevented 35,000 pounds of chlorine and 52,000 pounds of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from being released into the environment. Between 2010 and 2011 Seventh Generation decreased normalized greenhouse gas emissions by 8%, a change whose impact is equivalent to the removal of 283 cars from the road for a year. All told, since 1999, the company’s product sales have saved nearly 523,000 trees or 1.8 million barrels of petroleum.

Three businesses nationally were recognized as Rockstars

Three businesses nationally were recognized and honored. Solar company Sun Light & Power and America’s oldest flour company, King Arthur Flour, shared the honor with Seventh Generation. Operating from 25 to nearly 225 years, these companies have maintained their commitment to pioneer their mission through up and down business cycles. They continued to persevere and create high quality jobs and to improve the quality of life in their communities.

“Rockstars inspire us; they make us think, ‘That’s awesome! I want to do that,'” says Jay Coen Gilbert, co-founder of B Lab, the nonprofit that honored these ‘Rockstars of the New Economy.’ “These Rockstars paved the way for a growing community of green, responsible, and sustainable businesses who define their success not just by their financial growth, but also by their social impact.”

“This is a tremendous way to kick-off our twenty-fifth year in business,” said John Replogle, CEO of Seventh Generation. “We only hope that we can continue to inspire a consumer revolution to nurture the health of the next seven generations, so we can see the environmental impacts of our products on an even larger scale.”

Seventh Generation and other Rockstars are highlighted by Fast Company in their “Rockstars” series, a partnership with the nonprofit B Lab which certifies B Corporations as having met rigorous, transparent standards of social and environmental performance. In past months, B Lab has recognized other Rockstars like Revolution Foods, Better World Books, Happy Family, Guayaki, DIRTT, and Sungevity for their high growth and high impact.

B Lab is a nonprofit organization dedicated to using the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. They drive systemic change through several interrelated initiatives by building a community of Certified B Corporations that make it easier for all of us to tell the difference between “good companies” and just good marketing. Then by promoting benefit corporation legislation to create a new corporate form that meets higher standards of purpose, accountability and transparency, they drive capital to high impact investments through use of their Ratings and Analytics platform. This in turn helps companies measure what matters most through use of the B Impact Assessment, and B Lab’s free confidential management tool for measuring a company’s impact on its workers, community, and the environment.

More about Seventh Generation

Seventh Generation is committed to being the most trusted brand of household and personal care products for your living home.  Their products offer solutions for the air, surfaces, fabrics, pets and people within your home — and for the community and environment outside of it. Seventh Generation also offers baby products that are safe for your children and the planet. The company derives its name from the Great Law of the Iroquois Confederacy that states, “In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.” Every time you use a Seventh Generation product you are making a difference by saving natural resources, reducing pollution, and making the world a better place for this and the next seven generations. For information on Seven Generation cleaning, paper, baby and feminine personal care products, or to find store locations, and explore the company’s website visit www.seventhgeneration.com.