Southern California Green Real Estate Blog

INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY TERMINOLOGY

Edited by Jodi Summers

Industrial Ecology is one of the finest concepts to come out of the green revolution. It also has some terminology that is uniquely its own…so we looked all the relevant terms up on Wikipedia (thank you http://en.wikipedia.org/) and would now like to share them with you…

Industrial Ecology - Industrial Ecology has been defined as a “systems-based, multidisciplinary discourse that seeks to understand emergent behavior of complex integrated human/natural systems”. The field approaches issues of sustainability by examining problems from multiple perspectives, usually involving aspects of sociology, the environment, economy and technology. The name comes from the idea that we should use the analogy of natural systems as an aid in understanding how to design sustainable industrial systems.

Circular Economy - Circular Economy is an evolving term that emphasizes strategies which a circular flow of materials and energy for environmental and monetary gain. An example of Circular Economy would be selling waste heat from one process to run another process that requires a lower temperature, thus maximizing energy efficiency by circulating emissions from one business to another.

Closed system - A closed system is a system in the “state of being isolated from its surrounding environment.” The term often refers to an idealized system in which closure is perfect. In reality no system can be completely closed; there are only varying degrees of closure.

Isolated system - In the natural sciences an isolated system, as contrasted with an open system, is a physical system that does not interact with its surroundings. It obeys a number of conservation laws: its total energy and mass stay constant. They cannot enter or exit, but can only move around inside.

Open system - Open system (systems theory), a system where matter or energy can flow into and/or out of the system, in contrast to a closed system, where energy can enter or leave but matter may not.

Eco-Industrial Park - An eco-industrial park (EIP) is an industrial park in which businesses cooperate with each other and with the local community in an attempt to reduce waste and pollution, efficiently share resources (such as information, materials, water, energy, infrastructure, and natural resources), and help achieve sustainable development, with the intention of increasing economic gains and improving environmental quality. An EIP may also be planned, designed, and built in such a way that it makes it easier for businesses to co-operate, and that results in a more financially sound, environmentally friendly project for the developer.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/

http://greeneconomypost.com/retrofitting-industrial-ecology-for-increased-profitability-and-environmental-improvement-7663.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheGreenEconomyPost+%28The+Green+Economy+Post%29

http://www.bsdglobal.com/viewcasestudy.asp?id=77

http://www.enviroscopy.com/uploads/ESYOffer/industrial.s.jpg

http://amassthetruth.com/images/closed-system1.jpg

http://i.treehugger.com/images/2007/10/24/water%20cycle-jj-001.jpg

LOS ANGELES NEEDS AN INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGIST

By Jodi Summers

Industrial Ecologist > the job description would be: To ascertain, catalog and cross reference the inflow and outflow of materials involved in manufacturing conducted in a given geographic area and figure out how one manufacturer’s excretion becomes another manufacturer’s production components. Low temperature steam anyone?

Industrial Ecology is based on the ideology of nature. It claims that industrial ecosystem may behave similar to the natural ecosystem where everything gets recycled. It involves the shifting of industrial processes from open systems to closed systems. The difference? An open system is “a system where matter or energy can flow into and/or out of the system, in contrast to a closed system, where energy can enter or leave but matter may not.”

Industrial open systems may involve the sharing of information, services, utility, and stem by-product resources > the outcome is always intended to add value, reduce costs and improve the environment. This flow is called industrial symbiosis - a type of eco-industrial development which expounds upon the theory industrial ecology.

The most traditional form of industrial ecology is the inflow and emission of materials - energy, water, by-products, finished goods, waste.

Geographic proximity is an obvious factor – which is why warehousing near LAX (in areas like Inglewood + Lennox) + the ports (Long Beach, San Pedro, Torrance, Carson), will always be valuable.

An area offering a superior example of a closed industrial system is the municipality of Kalundborg, Denmark. There is an industrial co-operation taking place between a number of companies and Kalundborg Municipality which mutually exploits each other’s by-products. The brilliant industrial symbiosis of Kalundborg has evolved over several decades, and has grown to encompass some 20 projects. All projects are environmentally and financially sustainable.

It is a beautiful example of industrial recycling which could perhaps be implemented in nearby industrial regions around L.A. As environmental regulations became stricter, firms will become more motivated reduce the cost of compliance, and turn their by-products into economic products.

An added benefit - rekeying industrial usage is a great way to cost justify the expense of greening an industrial property and tapping into those government benefits.

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http://greeneconomypost.com/retrofitting-industrial-ecology-for-increased-profitability-and-environmental-improvement-7663.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheGreenEconomyPost+%28The+Green+Economy+Post%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_system

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_symbiosis

http://www.symbiosis.dk/industrial-symbiosis.aspx

http://www.bsdglobal.com/viewcasestudy.asp?id=77

http://www.industrialecologyinpractice.com/msc-programme

MULTIFAMILY RESIDENTIAL RECYCLING PROGRAM

MULTIFAMILY RESIDENTIAL RECYCLING PROGRAM

by the City of Los Angeles Department of Public Works Bureau of Sanitation

edited by Jodi Summers

Here is a straight forward guide to what to recycle in the blue bins, courtesy of the City of Los Angeles Department of Public Works Department. Please read it, it will make you smarter.

HOW TO RECYCLE

• Please rinse all cans, bottles and plastics before recycling. Crush aluminum cans to save space in the bin.

• Put recyclable items into the blue recycling bin or store them in a bag or container. Do not tie or close the bag.

• Empty the container or bag into the blue recycling bin. Reuse the bag or container or recycle it, if it’s recyclable.

YES – WHAT TO RECYCLE

Brown paper bags

Cans/Metal, aluminum, steel & tin

Cardboard (flattened and put next to the bin)

Cereal boxes

Colored paper

Glass bottles & containers

Magazines

Metal coat hangers

Mixed paper

Newspaper

Office paper

Plastic containers

Plastic grocery bags

Styrofoam

Unwanted mail

For a complete list of accepted items visit www.larecycles.org

NO – DON’T RECYCLE THESE THINGS

Anti-freeze

Appliances & electronics

Batteries

Broken glass

Ceramic mugs

Cleaning products

Clothing

Construction debris

Food-soiled paper (eg. pizza boxes)

Food waste

Furniture

Gardening pots

Glass mirrors

Light bulbs

Medical waste (eg. syringes, bandages, tissues, cotton swabs)

Motor oil

Paint

Pressurized cans

Trash

Waxed cardboard & paper (eg. milk cartons)

Yard trimmings

For additional program information visit the Multi-Family Residential Recycling website at www.larecycles.org or Email us at multifamily@lacity.org. Call the Hotline at 800-773-2489 or 3-1-1

THAT’S IT! IT’S EASY!

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http://www.larecycles.org/pdf/Resorce_Card_english.pdf

THE GREENEST BUILDING IS THE ONE THAT’S ALREADY BUILT

By Jodi Summers

We love this website http://www.thegreenestbuilding.org/. The Greenest Building website is based on the premise of “the Greenest Building is the One Already Built,” and they have the calculators to support that claim.

The goal is to get developers to rehab existing buildings as opposed to tearing them down and building new structures.

For example, the embodied energy calculator will figure out the total energy spent in the production of a building, from the manufacture of materials to their delivery to construction.

The demolition energy calculator is to calculate the amount of energy “needed to raze, load, and haul away construction materials.”

Convert energy to gasoline, figure out BTU usage…http://www.thegreenestbuilding.org/ is fascinating.

BUY NEW GREEN HOUSES -THE ECONOMIC RECOVERY WILL DRIVE GREEN BUILDING

BUY NEW GREEN HOUSES -THE ECONOMIC RECOVERY WILL DRIVE GREEN BUILDING

By Jodi Summers

Here’s a good statistic for you - the US market for “green” building materials generated sales of almost $57 billion in 2008. Enthusiastic pundits are predicting this market is projected to expand 7.2% annually to over $80 billion in 2013, outpacing the growth of building construction expenditures over that period. A solid conclusion, since green building is in the forefront of our economic recovery. The fact that the government is leading our green revolution is confirmed in Green Building Materials, a new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc., a Cleveland-based industry research firm.

Sure, green building materials are expected to account for an increasing share of materials used, but the growth of this market will be driven primarily by the recovery of the residential market through 2013 as it rises from its depressed 2008 level.

Among the products that are favored in our new, green recovery are interior products – like lighting, wall and floor coverings, and windows – as opposed to energy efficient renewables that are leading the change.

This trend is confirmed by a National Association of Home Builders survey of multi-family builders and developers made similar conclusions. While 74% of respondents said that their buyers and renters are willing to pay more for green amenities, the median additional amount that they’re willing to pay is just 2%. Some other stats of note: 89% of respondents (again, multi-family builders and developers, nationwide) said they are currently installing energy-efficient appliances and lighting in their projects, 79% are installing low-E windows, 64% are incorporating recycled materials, and 50% are installing greater insulation than required by local code (that figure jumps to 70% among respondents based on the West Coast).

The Freedonia Group report concluded that the largest source of green building materials demand in the next few years will come from green floor coverings. Green carpets and flooring include Green Label Plus-certified carpets and products made from rapidly renewable resources (e.g., bamboo and cork flooring).

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified wood products will sell out. As controlled forestry moves forward, FSC-certified lumber and wood panels are expected to be the fastest growing green product area. FSC-certified products are produced via environmentally responsible and socially beneficial forestry practices. As supply grows, demand for FSC-certified wood panels is projected to more than triple between 2008 and 2013, growing more than three times as fast as the overall market for wood panels.

Concrete made from recycled materials (e.g., fly ash, blast furnace slag) was the second-in-demand as far as green building materials sales 2008, accounting for over 15% of the market total. The use of recycled materials in concrete not only reduces the volume of waste sent to landfills, but often enhances the performance of the concrete. Going forward, demand for concrete made from recycled materials is forecast to grow 8.4% per year to $14.3 billion in 2013, accounting for an increasing share of total concrete used.

Other products expected to see fast growth through 2013 include water-efficient plumbing fixtures and fittings, and energy-efficient lighting fixtures. Demand for each of these products is forecast to grow at a double-digit pace through 2013, but account for only a small share of total green building materials market.

Sources:

http://www.transworldnews.com/NewsStory.aspx?id=78976&cat=1

http://www.greenbuildingsnyc.com/2008/08/28/green-building-statistics-demand-is-high-design-experience-is-low/

http://www.fypower.org/partners/ilg/statistics/green_building.html

http://greendevelopmentplaybook.net/database/images/display/sb4720d928d50d3.jpg

http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/02/05/is-it-green-concrete/

SUPERMARKETS GO GREEN

SUPERMARKETS GO GREEN

By Jodi Summers

In SoCal, we think we’re so green with Whole Foods and other green grocers, but the Cub Foods in St. Paul, MN, is going for LEED Gold certification from the US Green Building Council – making Cub Foods the second LEED Gold grocery store in the United States–to do so. (Giant Eagle in Columbus, Ohio is the first.)

The 62,900-square-foot Cub Foods store boasts 44 skylights that will illuminate 75% of regularly occupied spaces, using a solar-powered GPS system that redirects sunlight as needed. LED lights are used exclusively in the parking lot.

“We never intended for this story to be green,” says Lee Ann Jorgenson, a community relations manager of Stillwater, MN-based Cub Foods. But President Brian Huff suggested the possibility and the process took off from there, she noted.

Other techniques used at the store include recycling half the waste from demolished buildings on the site, a water-saving landscape irrigation system, and recycling of building construction materials. But those technologies can be used at many other building types.

Because they sell food and other perishable items, supermarkets have special needs require adaptation to be ‘green’. Cub Foods has received an award from the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) GreenChill Partnership at Gold-Level Certification. The award is given for outstanding use of environmentally friendly refrigeration technology. Even lighting refrigerated cases can be managed.

“Our cases use lights that are triggered by motion,” Jorgenson says. The result for all initiatives is a 35% savings on energy.

Packaging is also another important area for sustainability. Johnson Diversey is producing a highly concentrated sanitizer for sinks that automatically dispenses the proper amount of cleaner while reducing the amount of plastic in the store.

Cub Foods is not alone in pursuing sustainability. Corporate parent Supervalu also is building sustainable stores among its other banners, including testing a natural-gas powered fuel cell for its refrigeration system in a Star Market in Newton, MA. Stop & Shop, too, is building sustainable stores, and Fred Meyer hopes to achieve LEED Silver status for a unit in southeast Portland, OR. If it succeeds, the store would be the first grocer in Oregon and parent Kroger’s first unit to do so.

“There is certainly a great deal of interest in building green stores,” says Jeanne von Zastrow, a senior director overseeing sustainability efforts of the Food Marketing Institute, Arlington, VA. “About two years ago, we saw that our member companies wanted assistance to understand this issue.”

The notoriously tight-margin business must carefully track each expenditure, so FMI has created materials for executives to justify the return on investment of green building.

These include simplified carbon calculators to allow companies to assess their energy usage and emissions over a portfolio.

If your grocery store would like consultation, please contact us.

http://www.greenerbuildings.com/news/2008/10/17/giant-eagle

http://www.globest.com/news/1278_1278/insider/175032-1.html

http://www.thefoodtrust.org/…/green.grocery/index.php

http:// www.inspiro.com.au/about_non-woven_fabric.html

http://www.instablogsimages.com/images/2008/02/26/recycled-plastic-clothing_5965.jpg

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/news/article19414.ece

Green News Update

Green News Update

 National News

According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), more than 1,000 builders, remodelers, and other members of the home building industry have earned the Certified Green Professional (CGP) designation, an educational recognition introduced in 2008 by NAHB. You can locate a CGP at www.nahb.org/builderremodelerdirectory.

In related news, NAHB surveyed its builder members and found that 89 percent of respondents reported installing energy-efficient appliances and lighting in their projects; 64 percent are using recycled and recyclable products; and 50 percent are using substantially more insulation than required by building codes (this number increases to 70 percent for West Coast respondents).

Info courtesy of:  www.car.org/newsstand/crem/current-issue/october2008/235686/

California Recycles is offering FREE pick ups in October

California Recycles is offering FREE pick ups in October

Today’s public service announcement…

It’s good to be green, everyone wants to do nice things for you. California Recycles is offering free pick ups for businesses and residence during the month of October in the following areas:

October 13
Downtown LA
Please RSVP by noon on October 9th to be included on our schedule.

October 15
Santa Monica and West Los Angeles
Please RSVP by noon on October 13th to be included on our schedule.

October 21
Woodland Hills and Calabasas
Please RSVP by noon on October 17th to be included on our schedule.

October 24
Beverly Hills and West Hollywood
Please RSVP by noon on October 22th to be included on our schedule.

All Items need to be together and ready for pick up.

To be included in the Free Pick Up please RSVP by sending your completed pick up request form http://www.californiarecycles.com/request.htm via email to info@californiarecycles.com of by fax to 310-478-3005.

It’s easy to be green.