Given that environmental issues top the list of concerns for generation Y, it makes sense that businesses should consider going green as a way to become more attractive to potential employees. According to the Harris poll, "33 percent of Americans would be more inclined to work for a green company compared to an organization that does not make conscious efforts to promote socially and environmentally friendly practices."

Aside from drawing in new employees, going green can also breed company loyalty. Today’s employee is looking to contribute to something they can be proud of, and to be a part of a company that they can feel good about. Incorporating environmental sustainability into the workplace is not only a good way to bring in new employees, but an excellent way to keep them!

New hires are not the only employees looking for more eco-awareness in the workplace. According to a poll by Mortgage Lenders Network USA (MLN), 94 percent of employed Americans prefer to work in a building that is designed to be energy efficient and ecologically sound.

Because job satisfaction greatly affects productivity, businesses tend to take into consideration the desires of their employees. Oftentimes, it takes only one major business implementing a new green technology to get many others to fall into line. Because no one likes to fall behind in the world of business, ‘keepin up with the joneses’ may actually work in the Earth’s favor on this one.

The fact the green building has experienced a growth in popularity is reflected in the 2006 figures from the U.S. Green Building Council (GBC). The GBC has seen its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certifications for newly constructed green buildings jump in the past 3 years by 150 percent, from 167 to 417. If this trend continues, more and more business will feel the pressure to build in a more eco-friendly fashion.

The increase of eco-minded employees can also be seen to benefit consumers. By using environmental sustainability to gain an edge in employment appeal, companies have the obligation to live up to their claims. While customers may not always know what goes on behind the scenes, employees see it first-hand. Employees hired under the pretense of working in for an eco-friendly company will not take kindly to waste and overconsumption. Moreover, eco-employees can be seen as a good resource for new ideas about ways to make their workplace more sustainable.

While the reasons to be a greener business are nearly innumerable, companies can now add ’strengthening the employment base’ to the list. Because Americans are looking to work for greener companies and in greener work environments, the motivations for businesses to become more environmentally conscious are now imperative to the bottom line.

I’ll admit it: I am one of those Californians that everyone loves to hate. I left the “Golden State” and am considering buying a house in another state because, as radio host Garrison Keillor might say, outside of California, “all the women are strong, the mountains are good-looking, and all the Real Estate prices are below California’s average.”

But whether you're a peregrinating Californian or any other homebuyer or seller, consider this: you can generate a huge donation to the non-profit of your choice by working through a company called HomeGift Realty. With a $300,000 home, for example, you can put aside as much as $1,312.50 for your favorite non-profit at no cost to you.

I was introduced to HomeGift Realty via Care2.com’s daily action site. The day after filling out Care2’s “Get Started Now” form, I received a phone call from a very pleasant lady with HomeGift Realty. We chatted about sustainable architecture, and since I didn’t already have a realtor with knowledge of green homes, she put me in touch with one in my area. The realtor benefits by gaining a client and in exchange she agrees to let me donate a percentage of her commission to charity. I love win-win situations.

To learn more about how to use the purchase or sale of your next home to generate funding for the non-profit of your choice, visit HomeGift Realty or Care2.com.

Another exciting green option for homebuyers comes from the increasing presence of green homes on the market. Make sure to ask your Real Estate agent about green buildings in your area. To see what makes a home green, take a look at the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. If your house is a greener-upper, you can get tips and information on making it more environmentally friendly in the Green Home Guide as well as on HGTV's Green Home, where next year you will also be able to enter to win a fully-furnished green home. If you're not sure where to go to purchase the items you'll need to green your home, you can find a great number of them online at greenhome.com. So, with all this in mind, why not throw a house greening party?

References:

HomeGift Realty: www.homegift.com

Care2's HomeCash For Charity: via www.care2.com

Green Home Building: www.greenhomebuilding.com

The Green Home Guide: www.greenhomeguide.com

U.S. Green Building Council's LEED system: www.usgbc.org

HGTV's Green Home program: www.hgtv.com/hgtv/green_home

Green Home: www.greenhome.com

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/terretta/213584770/

Since moving to the Bay Area, attending Green Drinks has been on the top of my to-do list. So last Wednesday, I high-tailed it over to the Triple Rock Brewery in Berkeley to see what the buzz was all about.

Once inside, I met up with Green Options’ CEO David Anderson, who introduced me to a group of solar installers from Berkeley’s own Borrego Solar. When I worked for a green architect in Berkeley last summer, I would bike past Borrego Solar every day and wistfully imagine meeting up with those inside to discuss how they were changing the world. Now here I was, standing face-to-face with these very people, chatting the green chat over a delicious pint of IPA.

Upstairs on the roofdeck, I ran into some friends from the Oakland Ecovillage, where I caught up on the latest with the solar hot tub installation (which you may remember from my first Green Options post on the February 5th launch). Through them, I met the folks from spaceshare.com (providing carpooling networks to green events and festivals), stopwaste.org (reducing the waste stream for Alameda County), and even a co-sponsor of the event from EcoHome Improvement (www.ecohomeimprovement.com).

Looking at the crowd around me, I suddenly realized I had arrived full swing into Berkeley’s green scene… and it was through Green Drinks! In a mere two-hour span of time, I was able to manifest all sorts of green connections, from old friends to new acquaintances, I even managed to line up some options for future green involvement… all for the price of one drink! If you’d like to check out the green scene your hometown or even during your next trip to Italy, please visit www.greendrinks.org.

Back in August of last year, SeQuential Biofuels of Oregon launched the Pacific Northwest’s first retail biofuel station in Eugene. As if that wasn’t admirable enough, the station also serves as a veritable oasis of “renewable energy, energy efficiency and sustainable design”. Incorporating almost every green building practice I’ve ever heard of (including some that I hadn’t), the project centers on the concept that “commerce and the natural environment can co-exist”. Although this may be troubling to economists everywhere, I assure you, it’s real.

Here are the details:

“Approaching the site, the dominant features are the 244 solar panels that cover the fueling islands and the 4800 plants installed in five inches of soil on the roof of the convenience store. The 33kW solar array will provide 30% to 50% of the electrical power that the station will require annually. The “living roof” will help to control rainwater runoff on the site and will help cool the convenience store during the summer. Other eco-friendly design elements include storm-water detention “bioswales” where plants will filter pollutants from rainwater that rinses the roadways and parking areas and will clean the water before it leaves the site. SeQuential also has made a significant effort to source building materials that are made in the Pacific Northwest region. “

The site was built on a former EPA “Brownfield” site - a location so polluted it was originally abandoned - but you would never believe it today. With it’s moat of living green plants and futuristic-looking solar panels, the station appears more like a NASA space colonization prototype than an old fuel dump. It’s a breath of fresh air in one of I-5’s many roadside industrial sloughs.

Meticulous attention to detail and ecological conscientiousness abounds indoors too. Don’t look too hard for Cheetos, Doritos, or Twinkies - you won’t find them here. The aisles are instead loaded with Kettle chips, freshly-made Cornucopia sand- wiches, and other quality local products. Traditional personal- care items like paper towels have been replaced with brands like Seventh Generation. The fridge is stocked with Northwest beer and wine, and organic dairy products. Even the standard soda machine has been replaced by Blue Sky soda with compostable plastic cups (I was so excited I went straight home and threw my cup in the compost bin). The station also houses an annex of a local coffee and pastry shop with fresh made goods and delicious coffee. It’s the only gas station I’ve ever been to that I didn’t want to leave immediately.

In fact, I make a point of stopping there whenever I can.

In terms of biofuels, the station offers several fueling options including E10 (10% ethanol/ 90% gasoline blend) usable in any gasoline engine, and an E85 blend (85% ethanol and 15% gasoline) for flex-fuel vehicles. There are also three different biodiesel blends: B5 (5% biodiesel, 95% diesel), B20 (20% biodiesel, 80% diesel), and B99 (99% biodiesel, 1% diesel). E10 prices are competitive, and I was fortunate enough to get a 15-cent/gallon discount on biodiesel for attending the opening-day festivities. This made B99 $3.15/ gallon - quite a bargain for a clear conscience.

Hands down, this is one of the coolest projects I’ve ever seen. I managed to snap some photos during the site’s official opening celebration (see my album here). I also met Ian Hill, the station’s project developer and SeQuential Biofuels co-founder, who gave me a short tour of the facility. When I asked where the biodiesel was coming from, he said Sequential was currently processing Eastern-Oregon grown canola (the other side of the Cascades from my previous post on the subject). As far as I’ve been told, most of SeQuential’s biodiesel comes from waste-cooking-oil from companies like Kettle Chips in Salem, Oregon. Yesterday, I emailed Sequential and confirmed this. They also told me that due to a lack of in-state production, SeQuential has already used up this years canola harvest and relies on used-cooking-oil at their SeQuential-Pacific Biodiesel plant. When demand spikes, biodiesel is shipped in from virgin Midwest sources, and all the BioEthanol is brought in by rail. In case you were wondering, fuel prices yesterday were:

• E10 gasoline (10% BIOETHANOL)– $2.39
• E85 BIOETHANOL – $2.89
• B5 diesel (5% BIODIESEL)– $2.75
• B20 BLEND (20% BIODIESEL) – $2.79
• B99 BIODIESEL – $3.29

Visiting the station was an experience that left me feeling charged and optimistic. It really was an experience in the integration of green business, building, and technology. I never thought a gas station would do that to me.

Businesses and individuals are increasingly aware of the impact that their choices have on our economy and on our natural environment,” Hill said. “SeQuential is dedicated to setting an example of responsible, sustainable development and to offering product options that create the most positive impact on people’s lives and communities.”

Take a look for yourself:

• SeQuential Biofuels
• Press Release
• Original News Article
• See more pictures here

While most of these green dream amentities are still on the drawing board, the people behind the green exchange have started encouraging discussion of the project online. Their new site not only tells you more about the mall (opening early 2008), but also contains a forum for people interested in trading green ideas or learning more about the potential tenants opening businesses on-site.

You can expect this site to change, especially after the mall opens, as the rich asset of having so many green businesses under one roof will spark a great deal of orginal content and consumer awareness. If Green Exchange plays their cards right, we might one day see something on par with Amazon.com; but for the green world. One stop sustinable shopping online — and in Chicago!

Hit their site for more! We'll keep you updated on Green Options as the ground breaks on what we hope is an trend that will spread across America.

Source: The Green Exchange, Chicago