Business Network News

March 5, 2010

Innovation in Packaging from GBN Member Salazar Packaging

Salazar Packaging, Inc is releasing the Globe Guard Reusable Box, the first of its kind, a corrugated cardboard box that can be easily turned inside-out to create a like-new shipping container. The Reusable Box makes it possible to double the life cycle of shipping containers.

Watch President Dennis Salazar demonstrate the Reusable Box »

Faces of the Green Pages: Angel Wind Energy

Read our interview with Ben Harroun, an Illinois wind energy contractor who shifted his housing-sector business after the 2008 downturn to start helping individuals and businesses get off of dirty coal and start producing energy that pays for itself.

Greening NASCAR

NativeEnergy joined with other green business sponsors to form an “Eco Dream Team” founded by NASCAR racer Leilani Munter. An ambassador for the National Wildlife Federation, Munter became the first racer to use an eco-themed race car on the Daytona International Speedway. She purchases an acre of rainforest to offset every race.

Learn more »

Support Haiti through Fair Trade

In this time of great need for Haitians, we have been amazed by the outpouring of support from citizens around the world. Here are two Fair Trade organizations that have pledged to help:

Beyond Borders has devoted 100% of its profits from its Help Haiti line to support earthquake victims. Each individual sculpture is handmade by artisans in Haiti, recycled from a 55 gallon oil barrel, and signed by the artist.

Dean's Beans, an organic and Fair Trade company, is selling Healthy Haiti coffee to raise money for Partners in Health, a healthcare nonprofit organization that has been working in Haiti for over 20 years.

Support Haiti through Beyond Borders Art »

Support Haiti through Dean's Beans Coffee »

Mudslides in Peru affect our Friends

On January 16, mudslides devastated artisan communities in Huancavelica, Peru. There were no causalities, but four artisans' homes were completely destroyed, and the community's Fair Trade livelihood has been disrupted.

One of the artisans who lost her home was Ayde Riveros, who was part of last fall’s "Resonating Change" tour. Riveros joined Green America at our Denver and Chicago Green Festivals and toured several Midwestern communities, educating Americans about Fair Trade.

Partners for Just Trade are accepting donations for the Huancavelica artisans.

Donate through PJT »

2010 Bavaria Awards Accepting Nominations

Ceres and Trillium announced a call for nominations for the third-annual Joan Bavaria Awards for Building Sustainability into the Capital Markets, the joint awards program launched in honor of Joan Bavaria in 2008. The deadline for submitting nominations is March 5, 2010. The awards will be presented at the May 4th Ceres Conference in Boston.

Nominees must come from the investment, corporate, or NGO communities and must share the spirit of collaboration and coalition building demonstrated by Joan Bavaria and the organizations she founded (Trillium, The Social Investment Forum, & Ceres).

Submit nominations »

New Solar and Wind Expo in Maryland

The first annual Solar and Wind Expo will convene at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium from May 7 – 9. The event will be the first consumer show in the state devoted to renewable energy, bringing together green manufacturers and tech suppliers, government representatives, and institutions that finance green building.

Mayor Bob Dixson of Greensburg, Kansas, will give the keynote. After a tornado destroyed the town in 2007, Greensburg chose to rebuild as an entirely green city, with a wind farm by NativeEnergy. Under Mayor Dixson’s leadership, every structure in Greensburg is being build for LEED Platinum certification.

Learn more and register »

Apollo Alliance Reports Show Green Job Opportunities in Hard-Hit Midwest

Apollo Alliance has released reports in Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin that identify components of those states’ workforce development infrastructures that can be better integrated and scaled up to help fill jobs in the clean energy sector. The reports recommend strengthening existing training infrastructures to build workers’ skills to fill new green-collar jobs in construction and manufacturing, addressing huge losses in those sectors due to the recession. These new green jobs are projected to account for 55 percent of all new jobs in the emerging renewable energy and efficiency industries.

Read the reports »

Green For All’s Portland Program

Clean Energy Works Portland cuts energy bills, reduces pollution, creates green jobs, and expands business opportunities through a home-weatherization program that Green For All sees as a possible model for the entire country. Their report and video details the program’s revolving loan fund, and how it creates jobs in the communities that need them most.

Watch the video »

Green For All Goes on Tour with Black Eyed Peas

Six-time Grammy Award winning group The Black Eyed Peas is using its 2010 tour to raise awareness about climate change and the clean-energy economy, with the help of Green For All. On the U.S. leg of their current tour, Green For All will conduct community outreach and educational events about jobs and opportunities in the green economy, along with other non-profit partners League of Conservation Voters and Rethink.

Sign up to keep up with the tour »