Spotlight: Greentown Labs

At last week's Sustainability UnConference, hosted by EcoMotion, we heard from Emily Reichert, the executive director of Greentown Labs. Based in Somerville, Greentown Labs is an incubator for green businesses that also provides prototyping space. Lab space can be difficult to find in cities, even in Boston where there are scientists and creators everywhere. Greentown Labs provides meets this essential need for the next generation of sustainability businesses. The idea, which started with just four companies, is now host to over 40! We love that Greentown Labs truly embraces and encourages the entrepreneurial spirit of the Boston area.

5 Easy Green Lifestyle Tips for Spring

Image courtesy of Lets Go Ride A Bike

1. Forget driving, taking cabs, or even taking the T - bikes rule this time of year, and for good reason, they are a low carbon, quick way to get around the city.

2. No heat or air conditioning. Open up those windows and breath the fresh spring air!

3. Unplug your workout. Now that the weather is nice, there is no need to go to the gym and use energy-intensive machines. Instead, try jogging outside or taking a class.

4. In season, local foods. Strawberry season is right around the corner, so look for locally grown options. 

5. Air dry your laundry. This is one of the best ways to reduce energy use and save money. Plus, you'll be surprised how fast your clothing dries on a sunny day. 

Green Events for April 28 - May 4

image courtesy of Explore, Dream, Discover

MONDAY

• The Future of Population hosted by The Nature Conservancy

TUESDAY

• Getting ready for upcoming weddings, showers, and graduations? Consider alternative wrapping paper solutions. 

WEDNESDAY

• Improve your recycling rate by putting a recycling receptacle in your bathroom for empty shampoo bottles!  

THURSDAY

• Rabbit Rabbit! Make a list of green lifestyle goals for the month of May.
• Oyster and Salt Marsh Impacts on Cape Cod at the New England Aquarium. 

FRIDAY

• Forecast says it will be 63 degrees and sunny, so explore Boston's Harborwalk

SATURDAY

• Make a vegetarian meal with your family or housemates! 

SUNDAY

• Catch up on the latest environmental news by listening to Living on Earth online!

Happy Arbor Day

source image courtesy of flickr

Today is Fashion Revolution Day

Turn your clothes #insideout today and tweet / instagram it as part of the first annual Fashion Revolution Day. Today marks the one year anniversary since the tragic garment factory collapse in Bangladesh. For people around the world, this was an eye-opening moment. Our clothes are often made by unethical and unsustainable means, but as consumers, we have the power to change that. Be part of the movement today!

Spotlight: Sustainable Endowments Institute

This week's Green Business Spotlight was inspired by last night's Sustainability UnConference, hosted by EcoMotion. One of the evening's keynote speakers was Mark Orlowski, founder and directer of the Sustainable Endowments Institute - an incredible organization striving to make green revolving loan funds the norm at universities, hospitals, and municipalities. Full disclosure, I interned at the Sustainable Endowments Institute in 2009, where I helped develop the College Sustainability Report Card. Since The Princeton Review and AASHE now also rate colleges on their green initiatives, SEI refocused and directed its energy helping universities create green revolving loan funds with a project called the Billion Dollar Green Challenge.

So, what is a green revolving loan fund?
If an organization has a certain amount of capital they want to invest in energy efficiency upgrades - such as LED lighting retrofits, they will quickly see the money they invested in the bulbs return to them in the form of savings on their utility bills. SEI helps organizations track these savings so that they can then use the savings for more energy efficiency projects. Since green technology is always improving, it is increasingly difficult to reach a point of diminishing returns. Tracking return on investments for green projects is now easier than ever with SEI's new GRITS project management program

Locally, Harvard and BU have green revolving loan funds. And more large institutions are becoming interesting in implementing similar programs!

Earth Day Giveaway!

In honor of the 44th Annual Earth Day, Boston Green Blog has teamed up with the Nature Conservancy to give away an amazing prize pack!!! The prize includes some awesome Nature Conservancy swag and tickets to ALL THREE Future of Nature events.

To enter, finish the sentence "The #futureofnature is ________." and tweet it to @BosGreenBlog and @Nature_ne.

Each tweet that fits that format will be considered 1 entry to the contest. Contestants are invited to enter as many times as they'd like until Noon on Friday, April 25, 2014. A winner will be randomly selected and announced via twitter and facebook later that afternoon.

Good luck and Happy Earth Day!