Guest Blog Series: Jeffrey Hollender, Co-Founder, Seventh Generation
Editor's Note: Over the next few months, longtime KSV friend and collaborator Jeffrey Hollender will be lending his voice and perspective to our blog. He'll share his positions and musings on corporate responsibility, sustainability and social equity.
Yesterday was the 40th anniversary of the Clean Water Act, a piece of legislation that the New York Times described as "a critical turning point in the nation’s efforts to rescue its rivers, streams, lakes and wetlands from centuries of industrial, municipal and agricultural pollution."
Here's an interesting new promotion that popped up on our radar. For the 2012/13 season, Keystone Resort in Colorado is offering free skiing for all kids 12 and under. It works like this:
President Obama and Governor Romney: One debate down, two to go. Last night, Vice President Biden sparred with Representative Ryan.
The candidates have been pointing fingers and casting blame. And now, the real question on everyone's mind is: When will Big Bird get his chance to debate? And more importantly, will he be ready?
When National Grid asked us to help raise awareness about its EnergyWise program for Rhode Island homeowners, we set out to do more than just explain the benefits. We wanted to give National Grid an original, memorable and ownable way to tell people what EnergyWise is really all about.
KSV focuses both on Smart Energy and the financial industry, so I was intrigued when I learned yesterday that PNC Bank, the gigantic financial institution with more than 2,900 branches, announced that it would build its first net-zero bank branch. Net-zero means that the building is expected to produce more energy than it uses. According to the plan, the new building will have LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certification and use 50% less energy than typical branch buildings.
PNC is no stranger to energy efficiency. The company claims to have "more newly constructed LEED-certified buildings (118) than any company on Earth." Even though this is just another step in the right direction for PNC, the details of the proposed new branch are nonetheless impressive. Among other innovative features, the building will incorporate 211 solar panels, solar shading, daylight harvesting, and high-efficiency LED lights and ENERGY STAR appliances.
Last week, Starbucks announced that it would partner with Square, the mobile payments startup, to process all credit and debit transactions in the United States. Starbucks is also infusing the young company with $25 million, and adding Starbucks CEO, Howard Schultz, to Square’s board.
In June, a few KSV team members attended the yearly Vermont Ski Areas Association (VSAA) gathering at Jay Peak. There were representatives from mountains all over the state including many of the mountains KSV has partnered with like Stowe, Sugarbush, and our current client Okemo. The VSAA is a tight-knit community and the vibe is much more about friendship than competition. There were a number of interesting speakers, including Michael Berry, president of the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA). Now that winter is fast approaching, I thought I’d share one or two observations from the event.
Last season (2011/2012) was a tough time for ski areas across North America. In Vermont, skier/rider visits dropped to 3.9 million, down from 4.3 million last season. If you attributed this drop in visitation to the poor snow, you’d be mostly right. However, there are a few other problems that are becoming more and more important for the ski industry each year.
Let’s talk smart grid. It’s here already in a lot of places, and coming shortly to many more. It has the potential to drastically change how we consume energy. And yet, there is a great deal of misunderstanding regarding smart grid.
