Kentucky Energy Workshop in November

Reduce Energy, Capture $avings
The Kentucky Pollution Prevention Center and the Kentucky Department for Energy Development and Independence (DEDI) have established an initiative to assist companies in the coal counties of Kentucky to capture savings through energy efficiency.

A two part workshop series is planned with part one being offered in the fall of 2016 and part two in the spring of 2017.

This valuable workshop, available exclusively to Kentucky businesses and industries, will be presented at four different locations in Kentucky. The workshop will provide business owners, facility managers, engineers, and anyone concerned with reducing energy costs at their facility with the information needed to capture savings through energy efficiency.

Session topics include:

• Fundamental concepts of energy efficiency along with tools and techniques
• Understanding utility bills
• Opportunities for energy efficiency
• Incentives and working with your utility company
• Energy efficiency resources and financing

Attend one of the four available fall workshops to learn about approaches and opportunities for energy efficiency and interact with local utility providers regarding financial incentives and other programs for commercial and industrial entities. This half-day workshop will be held at the following locations in November from 11:00 am to 2:30 pm local time:

• London, KY – November, 2nd
• Prestonsburg, KY – November 3rd
• Owensboro, KY – November 10th
• Madisonville, KY – November 11th

There is no cost to attend and lunch will be provided.

For more information and to register, visit the Kentucky Energy Workshop event page.

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Cox Interior, Inc. Wins Environmental Sustainability Award

Cox Interior, Inc. has been selected as a Kentucky Pollution Prevention Center Douglas C. Griffin Environmental Sustainability Award winner for 2016. KPPC created the award in 2009 to recognize those Kentucky companies that have demonstrated a commitment to the principles of sustainability by reducing waste, lowering energy use and practicing environmental stewardship. The award is presented each year in conjunction with National Pollution Prevention Week. The memorial award is named for the late Douglas C. Griffin, KPPC’s Board Chairman from 1999 to 2015.

Cox Interior, Inc. accepts the 2016 Environmental Sustainability Award from Lissa McCracken, Executive Director of KPPC (third from right) in recognition of the company’s sustainability efforts.

Cox Interior, Inc., located in Campbellsville, Kentucky, was founded in 1983. The company manufactures interior and exterior finishing products such as trim, doors, and stair parts for homebuilders throughout a nine-state region.

Cox Interior recently completed a lighting upgrade project which replaced over 1,200 fluorescent bulbs and 1,000 metal halide lamps with energy efficient LED lighting. Their facility also uses wood waste as boiler fuel to generate steam and electricity for use on site.  Cox was mentioned in the Kentucky Living April 2016 article “Untapped energy recovered from waste” for this combined heat and power (CHP) system that is capable of producing about 75 percent of the electricity needed by the millwork operations when the factory is running.

Barry Cox, President of Cox Interior, Inc. accepted the award in Campbellsville on September 29. Cox acknowledged the efforts of the staff and management team in the company’s successful sustainability efforts, “We are honored to accept this award for our environmental sustainability achievements. I would like to thank my staff for their hard work and foresight to promote the projects we have been able to accomplish and I challenge them to pursue additional opportunities to further our sustainability efforts. We also appreciate the assistance the staff of KPPC has provided to help us achieve our goals.”

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October is Manufacturing Month in the Commonwealth

Kentucky pays tribute this month to one of its largest and most significant sectors as Governor Matt Bevin has proclaimed October Manufacturing Month in the Commonwealth.  Watch the Manufacturing Month Proclamation video as Governor Bevin shares his vision about making Kentucky the manufacturing and engineering hub of excellence in the United States.

The Kentucky Association of Manufacturers (KAM) will be celebrating with events all month and ending with the Manufacturer/Employee of the Year Awards on October 28th.  Visit the KAM website for more information.
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Newsbits

GBCI to Administer Zero Waste Certification and Credential

Washington, D.C.—(Oct. 5, 2016)—Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI) and the U.S. Zero Waste Business Council (USZWBC) announced today that they are formally joining forces to advance zero waste business practices. USZWBC will be integrated into the global GBCI community that drives sustainability across all sectors. GBCI will assume responsibility for the ongoing management and evolution of the Zero Waste Facility Certification and Zero Waste Business Associate programs created by USZWBC, and the zero waste principles will be aligned with GBCI’s offerings.

“GBCI is taking another important step toward creating a holistic strategy for green business that began when the U.S. Green Business Council (USGBC) launched the LEED green building rating system 16 years ago,” said Mahesh Ramanujam, president, GBCI, and COO, USGBC. “By reducing and eliminating the volume and toxicity of waste and materials and aligning green rating systems, we are one step further in transforming the market to be more sustainable.”

GBCI is the exclusive provider of third-party certification and professional credentials for LEED, the world’s most widely used green building rating program, and other respected sustainability programs including WELL, PEER, SITES, GRESB and Parksmart. As the premier credentialing body for green business, GBCI is uniquely positioned to engage market leaders in accelerating the adoption of zero waste strategies by building upon the work and mission of USZWBC.

“USZWBC is so excited to join the GBCI family. By spearheading a comprehensive certification and training program, we have already made huge strides in shifting attitudes and behaviors of large and small companies to focus upstream with managing waste,” said Stephanie Barger, founder and executive director, USZWBC. “With GBCI’s influence, we will be able to further the integrity and credibility of zero waste and create a zero waste economy for all!”

Zero Waste Facility Certification is based on the peer-reviewed, internationally accepted definition of zero waste developed by the Zero Waste International Alliance (ZWIA), and has been aligned with credit requirements of LEED for Buildings Operations and Maintenance (LEED O+M). Zero Waste Business Associates help implement best practices and measure progress toward achieving zero waste goals and certification. Businesses, organizations and communities that divert more than 90 percent of waste from landfills, incinerators and the environment are considered to be successful in achieving zero waste.

EPA Releases New Report on Green Infrastructure and Climate Change

EPA announces the release of a new publication: Green Infrastructure and Climate Change: Collaborating to Improve Community Resiliency. As different parts of the country become drier, wetter, or hotter, community leaders and citizens are looking to green infrastructure to improve their community’s resiliency to the effects of climate change. In 2015, EPA convened charrettes, or intensive planning sessions, in four cities to demonstrate how this type of planning could be applied to communities dealing with a range of challenges. Each city’s charrette focused on different issues based on the most pressing climate change impacts they were facing and their current level of green infrastructure implementation. This new publication summarizes those issues and the recommendations developed by each charrette.

Teaching about Air Quality with Electric Cars

How do you teach about something you can’t see or touch? Air quality educator Roberta Burnes tackles that challenge with physical activity, a little math and a very special tool: an electric car.

Burnes is the education specialist for the Division for Air Quality. Throughout the school year, Burnes visits schools to help connect students with the invisible world of air quality. “Air quality is a hard topic to wrap your head around,” said Burnes. “The electric car is a great hook that helps students make the connections between their choices, the environment and their wallet.”

In 2013, the Department for Environmental Protection became the first state agency to add electric vehicles to its fleet with the purchase of four Chevy Volts. These hybrid-electric plug-in vehicles achieve more miles per gallon and produce fewer tailpipe emissions than conventional, gasoline-powered vehicles. They are part of the Department’s goal to improve the efficiency of its fleet.

Read the full article on the Kentucky Energy & Environment Cabinet’s Webzine.

See What’s New at ESRC

The Environmental Sustainability Resource Center (ESRC) is a member of the Pollution Prevention Resource Exchange (P2Rx™), a national network of regional information centers. The objective of the ESRC is to provide technical environmental sustainability information and training to industrial service providers. The primary service area for the ESRC is EPA Region 3 & 4. Region 3 includes Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, D.C., Delaware and Maryland. Region 4 includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. ESRC resources and staff are available to users in industry, consulting and universities. Please visit the ESRC website or call toll free (855) 531-3772 for more information.

GreenBiz – Sustainability News & Resources

GreenBiz advances the opportunities at the intersection of business, technology and sustainability. Through its websites, events, peer-to-peer network and research, GreenBiz promotes the potential to drive transformation and accelerate progress — within companies, industries and in the very nature of business. Since 1991, GreenBiz has chronicled and been a catalyst for thought leadership in aligning environmental responsibility with profitable business practices.

Find the latest articles, videos and resources on the GreenBiz website.

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Upcoming Training, Events and Conferences

Air Permitting and Compliance Workshop
The Division of Compliance Assistance (DCA) is providing an educational opportunity with the goal of assisting and educating regulated facilities so they understand and can comply with environmental regulations.
October 26 – Franfort, KY – Find out more about the training and how to register.

EPA Webinars: Portfolio Manager Series

101 – October 25 at 1:00 pm EDT – Attendees will learn how to: navigate the new Portfolio Manager; add a property and enter details about it; enter energy and water consumption data; share properties; generate performance reports to assess progress; and respond to data requests.

201 – October 26 at 1:00 pm EDT – Learn more advanced functionalities such as: managing and tracking changes to your property uses over time; using spreadsheet templates to update property data; setting goals and targets to plan energy improvements for properties; generating and using custom reports; and using the Sustainable Buildings Checklist.

301 – October 27 at 1:00 pm EDT – Learn about some advanced features including: using spreadsheet upload templates to update property data; setting goals and targets to plan energy improvements for properties; creating custom reports; and using the Sustainable Buildings Checklist.

View these plus more training opportunities and to Register.

View recorded ENERGY STAR webinars at any time.

2016 Energy Conservation Conversation
Co-hosted on November 9th by the Louisville Energy Alliance and the Kentucky Chapter of the International Facility Management Association, the 2016 Energy Conservation Conversation will focus on the theme: Save Energy. Drive Profits. The event will feature a vendor expo and three educational sessions on EPAD (a new financial mechanism for installing renewable energy and energy efficiency projects), energy driven profits, and building automation. All sessions will focus on ways to increase profits through innovative energy saving methods and technologies.
November 9  – Kentucky Science Center, Louisville, KY – Find out more about the conference and how to register.

Kentucky Energy Workshop
The Kentucky Pollution Prevention Center and the Kentucky Department for Energy Development and Independence (DEDI) have established an initiative to assist companies in the coal counties of Kentucky to capture savings through energy efficiency. A two part workshop series is planned with part one being offered in the fall of 2016 and part two in the spring of 2017. This valuable workshop will provide business owners, facility managers, engineers, and anyone concerned with reducing energy costs at their location with the information needed to capture savings through energy efficiency.
November 3, 4, 10, or 11 – Find out more about the workshop and register to attend one of four locations. 

To view these and other sustainability-related events, please visit the KPPC Events Calendar.

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