Celebrate “Common Place” at this year’s St. Louis Earth Day Festival.

Gather in St. Louis’ favorite common place for this year’s Earth Day celebration on Sunday, April 21st  from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the Muny Grounds of Forest Park. At the 24th annual St. Louis Earth Day
Festival, enjoy three stages of entertainment, learn about sustainable products and services offered by local businesses, meet area non-profits that share the mission of Earth Day, and participate in a variety
of hands-on educational activities.

A collection event for hard-to-recycle items returns to the Festival for a third year, including the DEA Medication Take-Back Initiative. The Recycling Extravaganza will take place in the parking lot of the St.
Louis Community College Forest Park campus, off Oakland Avenue, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. A full list of acceptable items, including everything from mattresses and appliances to batteries and carpet, is updated regularly online so you can plan your spring cleaning accordingly.

Start the celebration early at Earth Day Eve – a family-friendly evening with food and music on the Festival grounds, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the corner of McKinley and Theatre Drives in the Earth Day Café
neighborhood, presented by Wells Fargo. All are welcome and a donation of $5 is suggested to support St. Louis Earth Day. Big Brother Thunder and the MasterBlasters headline the event with their soulful
energy and funky tunes.

Before the Festival opens, join Trailnet at the Missouri History Museum for a guided bicycle tour of Forest Park’s ecosystems. Registration starts at 9 a.m. and the ride begins at 9:30 a.m. After your bicycle tour, head over to the Community Stage for free yoga, face painting, henna and an eco-art activity, 10a.m. to 11 a.m. Return to the Community Stage area, just East of The Muny covered walkway, for the St. Louis Teachers’ Recycle Center’s “Great Green Re-Read Outside”. Throughout the day, visitors can select a book to keep and explore areas of the park where you can read outside, sponsored by Great Rivers
Greenway.

At 12 p.m., join the Honorable Mayor Francis G. Slay at the KDHX Main Stage for the opening ceremony, when Earth Day Action Grants will be awarded to successful projects. The Festival officially kicks off
with the All Species Parade. All are welcome to join this costume pedestrian parade through the event grounds, led by the Joia World Percussion Ensemble. A themed-neighborhood layout makes it easy for visitors to navigate the Festival and experience all the celebration has to offer. Visitors can explore the following neighborhoods: Alternative Transportation and Fuels by Ameren; Arts and Crafts; the Earth Day Café; Energy and Green Building; the Farmers Market by Chipotle; Home and Pets by Purina; Nature, Recreation and Wildlife; Reduce, Reuse, Recycle; and, Wellness and Spirituality. Visitors are also invited to reflect upon their experiences and connect with the Earth at the Peace Garden, where activities will take place throughout the day.

Over 30 Educational Exhibitors are scattered throughout the grounds, present in almost every neighborhood with a wide range of hands-on activities for kids and adults. Visitors can engage with
ecosystem models, role-playing games, or create something beautiful with ‘trash’. All are invited to help paint a Metro bus with Metro Arts in Transit and Firecracker Press, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. The Ameren exhibit  provides information about energy efficiency and conservation, and the Chipotle Cinema in the Farmers Market area features short films about cultivating a better world. Over twenty food and beverage vendors will be serving up diverse, local cuisine and drinks throughout the Festival. Schnucks will be showcasing products from its Full Circle organic line in the Earth Day Café where you will find organic vegetarian jambalaya, empanadas, St. Louis style barbeque and everything in-between. Schlafly Beer will be serving Organic Pale Ale and other favorites. Stop by the Nature’s Own booth and enter for a chance to win free bread for an entire year!
Presented by Nature’s Own, the 88.1 KDHX Main Stage will feature Andy Coco’s Rhythm Section Road Show and Little Rachel and The Loot Rock Gang; and, you can enjoy The Root Diggers, Shannon Wurst,
Banjo Kellie and many more on the Folk School of St. Louis Café Stage! Musical performances begin at 11 a.m. and continue all day on both stages. The Green Strum Band Scramble will close the Café Stage when participating musicians put their upcycled instruments to the test in front of local celebrity judges—hosted by Ryan Spearman and Kelly Wells of The Lulus. The Worm’s Way Community Stage features a variety of local entertainment, including dance troupes, a cappella performances, and theater groups, with special programming from the Shakespeare Festival St. Louis Educational Tour and the Wild Bird Sanctuary.

St. Louis Earth Day encourages visitors to use alternative methods of transportation to reduce the event’s environmental impact and to reduce traffic in Forest Park. Metro is “Your Official Ride to Earth
Day”, and the Forest Park/DeBaliviere Metrolink station is only a half-mile from the Festival, with the Forest Park Trolley connecting riders to the Muny Grounds. Trailnet will be offering free bike valet
parking in two locations at the Festival. Park at St. Louis Community College to utilize our free shuttle service – hop on the St. Louis Lambert International Airport biodiesel bus or Super Park compressed natural gas (CNG) bus, leaving every 15 minutes on the hour between 10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Take the Earth Day Challenge by bringing a reusable bag, refillable water bottle or using alternative transportation to get to Forest Park. Visitors who accomplish two of the three challenges receive an eco-friendly prize, like CFLs from Metro Lighting, Better Life products or Metro Transit day passes. St. Louis Earth Day is a non-profit 501c3 organization whose mission is to make every day earth day by  cultivating environmental stewardship and engaging individuals, governments, businesses, schools and the non-profit sector in celebration, education and action to support a healthy and sustainable future.

The St. Louis Earth Day Festival is grateful for the support and partnership of many local businesses, companies and organizations. This event is presented by Nature’s Own, Ameren Missouri, and Metro Transit and sponsored, in part, by Chipotle Mexican Grill, The City of St. Louis, KPLR 11/Fox 2, Missouri American Water, MO Department of Conservation, Schlafly Beer, USAgain, and Schnucks.

For detailed information and a complete list of sponsors, or to volunteer, visit www.stlouisearthday.org.

On April 21st, 350.org will premier “Do the Math,” a film documenting Bill McKibben’s tour around the country last fall to educate and empower the people of our country to take action against our fossil fuel economy.

See the newly released preview of the film here:

These kids give us hope for the future!

Check out this great article in the Webster-Kirkwood Times about these Webster University students taking strides to educate and promote sustainability in their community.

An excerpt:

For many adults, local recycling programs and reusable shopping totes may signal a relatively recent sustainability focus. For students who’ve grown up with these changes, sustainability is more than gathering green glass and newspapers.

Sustainability for younger folks is a lifestyle approach that weaves through their purchasing decisions, their mode of transportation, their education, and how they interact with society as a whole.

“I am very proud of watching the students become passionate about sustainability and protecting future generations and the planet,” said Lindsey Heffner, president of WSES (Webster Students for Environmental Sustainability). “I feel WSES is a vital group that can reach out to students to help us change our lifestyle choices – sustainably.”

Heffner’s passion has led her to get involved in the 2013 Sustainability Conference at Webster University. The event slated for April 12-13 will offer more than 40 sessions, covering everything from a debate about “what is green chemistry” to a look at sustainable business practices by local companies such as Schlafly Brewing Company.”

Read more: http://www.websterkirkwoodtimes.com/Articles-Features-i-2013-04-05-185968.114137-Sustainability-Our-Common-Future.html#ixzz2Q4cc0lnS

Last week to apply for the Sustainable Business Advantage!

The St. Louis Regional Chamber is offering a new and unique program to assist small and medium size businesses to become more sustainable through strategies that reduce environmental impact and improve their bottom line.

The Sustainable Business Advantage is a special four-month program tailored for small businesses that helps explore the first steps in “going green”. This program will help you:

·  Kickstart your company’s “green team” with easy-to-accomplish first steps

·  Create sustainability policies for your employees, vendors and supply chain

·  Introduce utility and energy efficiency programs that aid your company’s bottom line

·  Develop strategies for waste and energy reduction, clean transportation, and carbon footprint metrics

·  Provide educational tools to help teach sustainability at work and at home

The Sustainable Business Advantage starts on Thursday, April 11th with a Green Business 101 Seminar, led by the experts at the EarthWays Center, featuring cost-saving sustainability success stories from local companies. The meeting will be held at the EarthWays Center (4651 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63110) from 7:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.  Registrations must be received by Monday, April 8^th to participate in this exclusive program.

Companies participating in the Sustainable Business Advantage will be recognized at the 2013 St. Louis Green Business Challenge Award Ceremony and in the Accomplishments and Innovations booklet published at the end of the year. The Sustainable Business Advantage will prepare your company for the St. Louis Green Business Challenge, a comprehensive sustainability program completed by more than 100 leading St. Louis area companies who have formed a regional network of sustainability leaders.

Sign up today to start learning how sustainability can help your company’s growth! The Sustainable Business Advantage program is available only to Chamber members for only $195. To register click here or for more information, contact Andrea Harper at aharper@stlregionalchamber.com or (314) 444-1152.

The St. Louis Regional Chamber’s Sustainable Business Advantage can assist small and medium sized businesses on the first steps toward sustainable business practices that reduce environmental impact and help the bottom lines.  Sustainable Business Advantage participants will join a network of companies“going green” that are learning from each other about implementing sustainability policies and actions.

Sustainable Business Advantage will:
• Create sustainability policies for your employees, vendors and supply chain
• Introduce utility and energy efficiency programs to aid your company’s bottom line
• Set waste & energy reduction strategies, clean transportation options, and carbon footprint metrics
• Provide educational tools to help teach sustainability at work and at home

Reasons to Participate in Sustainable Business Advantage
• Learn cost saving strategies and success stories from local companies at two in-depth seminars
• Receive customized coaching from the experts at Missouri Botanical Garden’s EarthWays Center
• Participate in the Green Products and Services EXPO
• Be honored at the 2013 St. Louis Green Business Challenge Award Ceremony and in the Accomplishments booklet

For more information, email Andrea Harper at aharper@stlregionalchamber.com.

The St. Louis Green Business Challenge helps member companies and organizations adopt sustainable business practices that can reduce environmental impact and help their bottom lines. The Challenge was developed by the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association to help improve regional sustainability and help grow our region’s green economy. Seminars, tours and web-based resources stimulate best practices among participants. In addition, the Missouri Botanical Garden EarthWays Center consults with the Challenge teams to help them develop and implement their strategies.

Click here to enroll in the Green Business Challenge. 

Great news from the St. Louis Regional Growth Association:

The St. Louis Regional Chamber is offering a new and unique program to assist small businesses to become more sustainable through strategies that reduce environmental impact and help their bottom lines.
The Sustainable Business Advantage is a special four-month program tailored for small businesses that helps explore the first steps in “going green”. This program will help you:

*       Kickstart your company’s “green team” with easy-to-accomplish first steps

*       Create sustainability policies for your employees, vendors and supply chain

*       Introduce utility and energy efficiency programs that aid your company’s bottom line

*       Develop strategies for waste and energy reduction, clean transportation, and carbon footprint metrics

*       Provide educational tools to help teach sustainability at work and at home

In addition, Advantage participants will receive four months of email and telephone support from the Missouri Botanical Garden’s EarthWays Center . Their staff can provide customized advice suited to your company’s goals and culture.
The Sustainable Business Advantage starts on March 22nd with a Green Business 101 Seminar, led by the experts at the EarthWays Center, featuring cost-saving sustainability success stories from local companies. The meeting will be held at the EarthWays Center (4651 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63110) from 7:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
Companies participating in the Sustainable Business Advantage will be recognized at the 2013 St. Louis Green Business Challenge Award Ceremony and in the Accomplishments and Innovations booklet published at the end of the year. The Sustainable Business Advantage will prepare your company for the St. Louis Green Business Challenge, a comprehensive sustainability program completed by more than 100 leading St. Louis area companies who have formed a regional network of sustainability leaders.

To register click here or for more information, contact Andrea Harper ataharper@stlregionalchamber.com or (314) 444-1152.

Tomorrow, February 28th, Mayor Slay will be holding a press conference at the St. Louis’ Lambert Airport to announce the City of St. Louis Sustainability Plan and the Mayor’s Sustainability Action Agenda of initiatives for priority implementation.  The City of St. Louis Sustainability Plan was formally adopted by the City’s Planning Commission as a Topical Plan on January 9, 2013. The final version is available on the City’s website.

The event will be held in the lower level of Terminal One at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport near the Starbucks at 12:00 noon.

Here’s a great article on the Harvard Business Review website describing why the government stalemate regarding climate change and sustainability is no excuse for private sector inaction.

“Just because Congress — and global climate summits — can’t seem to prepare for climate change, doesn’t mean the private sector can get away with the same. Mother Nature doesn’t do bailouts.

The danger signs are clear. Yet for years, climate change has been off limits for federal policymakers, who have been rendered nearly catatonic over the unproven idea that dealing with climate change or any environmental problem would be too costly for a delicate economy. On the contrary, tackling climate change is an investment that pays off economically as well as socially. A report from Deutsche Bank showed in 2010 that a portfolio with an overweight to climate solutions would have outperformed a benchmark portfolio over the previous 5 years, indicating that climate as an investment was “not merely an investment sector that may hold future promise; it is a sector that has already delivered and is continuing to deliver.”

Moreover, not fixing the problem is quite likely to cost considerably more than addressing it. Particularly now, while there is still time for us to avert even greater damage. Companies that emit a lot of greenhouse gases should know that at some point the burgeoning impacts of climate change will prompt government to act, either at the federal or state level, or both. This leaves business leaders with two options: wait for whatever the government does and react, or pro-actively plan for a carbon-constrained future.

And any company can be subject to the physical impacts of climate change, whether or not they are big emitters. Munich Re reports that natural disasters in 2011 caused insurance companies to substantially spend down cash reserves, with payouts exceeding premiums in the US by 16%. Continuing the trend toward more and costlier climate-related disasters will have the inevitable result that it always has: insurance companies will either raise premiums or exit particularly risky markets, as has happened before with flood insurance in places that are increasingly susceptible to storm surges. Only months after Congress tried to put the federal flood insurance program on sound fiscal feet, there is a real possibility that the program will need to seek additional funds in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Even if additional funds are appropriated, it is widely expected that premiums will have to rise in order to keep the program viable.

Insurance aside, storms (and other severe weather) can have immediate impacts on corporate bottom lines, as well as longer-term impacts on reputational value. For instance, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley has recommended that the state’s Department of Public Utilities issue a $16 million fine to National Grid for its response to power outages during Hurricane Irene in August 2011 and a snowstorm two months later. With the possibility of new fines for outages and lack of prompt response during Hurricane Sandy, the company faces a significant lack of confidence on the part of some of its customers — something no company wants to have.

Droughts and floods also enter the risk picture for any company dependent on an agricultural supply chain. Pepsico, for instance, recently developed its sustainable agriculture program at least partly in response to the challenges of climate change. Every board of every company should be asking itself: “Are we prepared for climate change? What risks does it pose for this company?” Pepsico has thought through at least some of that. Yet for many companies, the only form of climate risk acknowledged in the annual report is regulatory risk.

No company is immune to the risks related to the physical manifestations of climate change. The problem is only becoming more pressing. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Billion Dollar Weather/Climate Disasters’s website shows a generally rising trend in terms of number of extreme weather events between 1980 and 2011 in the United States. Severe storms and tropical cyclones accounted for over 55% of these events, and nearly 60% of the inflation-adjusted damages. Elsewhere in the world the status quo is just as sobering; the Association of British Insurers (ABI), for example, estimated the financial impacts of climate change by looking under some very specific lampposts: inland floods in Great Britain induced by precipitation, winter windstorms in the UK, and typhoons in China. ABI concluded that insured flood losses on 100-year storms in Great Britain could rise by 30%, and insured losses resulting from typhoons in China could rise by 32% as a result of climate change.

Remember: Mother Nature doesn’t do bailouts. And political stalemate is not an excuse for private sector inaction.”

Read full article on the Harvard Business Review website.

You probably don’t think of a college campus when you consider corporate business, but it turns out they actually have quite a bit in common when it comes to considering sustainable business practices.  Check out this great article from GreenBiz.com to read more.

An excerpt:

“You may think that universities and corporations don’t have much in common from a sustainability perspective. But a decent-size university manages the equivalent of office buildings, restaurants, hotels, laundry services, hospitals, auto repair, retailers, waste haulers, and even small energy utilities. As such, universities and companies have a lot to learn from each other.

There’s a good case to be made that higher education is showing the way. More than 665 U.S. colleges and universities have publicly committed to pursue net-zero carbon emissions. Dozens have green procurement policies for everything from carpets to carrots to computers. The country’s largest geothermal system is at Ball State University. Washington University in St. Louis built one of the world’s first Living Buildings.

Why are they doing this? For the same reasons companies are: to reduce costs, improve quality, foster innovation, attract talent, and generally demonstrate leadership in an increasingly competitive marketplace.”

Read the full article here.