Partnerships for Sustainability 
- IN THE NEWS -

11-23-09:  Reported by John Hill in
CORPORATE REPORT WISCONSIN

A Real-World Roadmap To Sustainability

     The approximately 40 small business owners and employees, economic development promoters, educators, government officials and others at a “Business Case for Sustainability” workshop at Waukesha County Technical College in October weren’t there to hear another exhortation on the benefits of “greening” businesses.
     They wanted concrete advice on how to iniatiate a sustainability strategy or to solve problems they’ve already encountered in building green teams at their companies. Led by Greg Bell, president of Business for Good and a former green team leader at Johnson Diversey Inc., they explored issues, worked through a hands-on exercise in setting sustainability strategies and discussed how to form an effective green team. Mindy Guilfoyle of Focus on Energy and Jennifer Guslick of WE Energies added overviews of how their organizations could help companies get started on energy assessments and efficiencies.
     This free workshop and similar ones in Washington, Ozaukee and Milwaukee counties are a part of the Partnerships for Sustainability initiative of Waukesha County Economic Development Corp. This program also involves companies with strong sustainability records such as QuadGraphics, Johnson Controls and Kohl’s mentoring smaller businesses on developing green teams and strategies. The mentored companies then pass on what they have learned to other companies seeking assistance.
     As Bell said in his introduction, more and more companies are realizing that fostering sustainability is good for top-line revenue and bottom-line efficiencies. Such efforts are also expected by a growing number of customers and are becoming a necessity in an era of declining resources. Further motivation for sustainability, of course, is cap-and-trade laws on carbon emissions and other governmental regulations. But, if these factors weren’t enough, Bell said, Walmart’s announcement last summer that it will green its supply chain by asking its 62,000 suppliers to document energy efficiencies, water savings, waste reduction and other measures of sustainability was like a “two-by-four across the face.”
     Bell introduced workshop participants to his trademarked Sustainable Enterprise Assessment Tool (SEAT), a list of 180 specific actions companies can take to improve on energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions, water use, waste reduction and recycling, travel and transportation, supply chain and purchasing and green product design and life cycle. The actions are adapted from a list of 400 steps set out by Daniel Sitarz in his book Greening Your Business: The Hands-on Guide to Creating a Successful and Sustainable Business.
     One company represented at the workshop took the list of 180 actions in the SEAT process and selected 11 for its initial strategy to improve energy efficiency. These included such things as replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents and upgrading from less efficient T-12 fluorescent tubes to T-8 tubes.
     Bell led the class through a list of 12 ways to build green teams. Included were: obtaining representatives of the various departments or functions in the company, leadership by top management, setting doable goals, making the plan and actions accountable to top management, having measurable goals, making the process visible and informative, making the process learning oriented, finding a champion with the knowledge and passion for sustainability to keep the team focused and making adequate financial and other resources available.
     In a subsequent discussion of roadblocks for sustainability, participants listed:

• Defining where the team wants to go;
• First costs of projects and tight return-on-investment time lines;
• Short-term thinking;
• The mess and hassle of changing existing practices;
• The need for a cultural shift in attitudes about the business, particularly among older employees;
• Lack of resources;
• The perception that sustainability is just another business fad.
 
     On this last point, Bell said, “Sustainability is the business strategy of the 21st century, not only because it’s the right business thing to do, but it’s the responsible thing to do.” For more information on The Sustainable Case for Business Workshops or Partnerships for Sustainability, see: www.partnershipsforsustainability.org or telephone Bill Mitchell, executive director of the Waukesha County Economic Development Corp. at (262) 695-7900.




09-15-09:  Reported by Joe Petrie in
THE WAUKESHA FREEMAN

County Businesses Look To Sustainability

Energy Efficiency Key To Success, Leaders Say

     Waukesha County businesses are looking to the future and how they can use energy efficiency to make themselves more efficient. 
     Bill Mitchell, executive director of the Waukesha County Economic Development Corp., said Monday that its sustainable business practice programs are becoming extremely popular as local companies look to save money by finding more efficient uses of limited resources. 
     “It helps them run more efficiently, for starters,” he said. “It can help them run more cost effectively in a recession and to run more efficiently.” 
     Sustainable business practices are ways companies look to save money and help the environment through cutting back on resources, such as energy consumption. Quad/Graphics has been receiving national accolades for some of the sustainability practices it has implemented. 
     Mitchell said the WCEDC is working with local businesses to get these practices in place in order to help them save money and get in line with initiatives from major corporations that are asking suppliers to cut back on energy consumption. 
     He also said many of them are getting on board to prepare themselves for climateand energy-related legislation working its way through Congress, which would bring major changes in regulation laws. 
     Mitchell said at a meeting held with businesses Wednesday, more than 250 companies showed up to find out more about the business practices and learn how they can get involved. 
     Since it concluded, he said many of them have contacted the WCEDC for more information, while others are lining up to help, and four workshops are planned before February. 
     “Seven large companies have already committed to mentor small companies for free on how they can run more efficiently,” he said. “I can say this is the most exciting thing I’ve been a part of in the last nine years.” 
     Waukesha Mayor Larry Nelson said he’s also excited to see local businesses latch onto the idea of sustainable business practices and the whole idea can aid companies in the entire region. 
     “What I think is very encouraging is that 10 years ago, people thought you couldn’t be both pro-environment and pro-business, and what I think the business and sustainability conference is showing is that it’s a great business practice to embrace sustainable business practices.” 
 
  


09-11-09:  Reported by Thomas Content in
THE MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL

Conference Stresses The ROI Of Green

     Eliminating waste – whether it’s energy, water or recyclable materials – goes straight to the bottom line.
     And that‘s the reason that ROI – return on investment – was as much the focus as GREEN during at The Sustainable Case for Business conference Thursday at the Pfister Hotel in downtown Milwaukee.
     Taking steps to reduce energy use and eliminate waste, business owners can sidestep the debate over whether greenhouse gas emissions while assuring that they won’t be caught flat-footed if the legislation passes, members of the Partnerships for Sustainability initiative said.
     “It’s almost assured that within the next year the U.S. will begin to regulate carbon. Prices will go up pretty quickly and continue to go up,” said Daniel Sitars, author of “Greening Your Business.” “Anything you can do to reduce your costs today will give you a competitive advantage against companies that aren’t doing anything.”
     Greg Bell of the consulting firm Business for Good, a co-founder of the Metro Milwaukee Green initiative, said perhaps an even bigger pressure for small and medium-sized companies is coming through the supply chain.
     Wal-Mart recently announced plans to query 60,000 suppliers about their own carbon footprint and other environmental attributes.
     “Let me tell you, this train is coming. It’s not just regulators any more. Your customers are going to be asking you these tough questions,” Bell said.
     Partnerships for Sustainability, an initiative of the Waukesha County Economic Development Corp., recently launched mentorship programs and sustainability assessment tools for small businesses, designed to enable small businesses to implement green strategies described in Sitarz’ book. 
     In reviewing a list of 180 possible green strategies, Anderson Seal of New Berlin opted to implement 11 strategies first, choosing those that would help the company’s bottom line and provide the greatest return on investment.
     “From a technical business standpoint,” company owner Jennifer Hansen joked, “it’s a no-brainer. Do you want to increase operating efficiencies, save money and help the environment? Of course.”
     The first change being implemented: switching to high-performance T8 lighting in the distribution center, a move that will yield a rebate of $5,400 and save $4,700 a year in energy costs.
     With a payback of 1.5 years, Hansen said, “This goes directly to the bottom line. The question is not why. It’s why not?”




September 2009:  Reported in
CORPORATE REPORT MAGAZINE

Private-Public Sustainability Initiative Launches In Waukesha County

      Waukesha County Economic Development Corporation (WCEDC) has launched Partnerships for Sustainability (PFS), a private-public initiative designed to provide practical steps that improve top-line revenue streams and bottom-line efficiencies through sustainable business practices for small- and medium-sized companies.
      "Our core focus rests solely on the fact that businesses can only be sustainable if profitable," says Bill Mitchell, WCEDC executive director. "We see this as an initiative through which businesses across southeast Wisconsin can benefit."
     "Government regulations are coming that will change how businesses operate," says Joe Muehlbach, PFS Sustainability Advisory Team member and Quad/Graphic's director of environmental policy.  "Partnerships for Sustainability is a great resource to help prevent your businesses from becoming a casualty of regulation. Those businesses unprepared to respond by operating in a more efficient and environmentally sensitive manner will struggle to exist going forward."
     Driven by achieving growth and efficiency, PFS creates a mentoring environment where businesses learn, share and profit from one another. Companies with demonstrated success in sustainable business practices have agreed to serve as mentors to companies with fewer than 250 employees, which comprise 90 percent of businesses in the M7 region.
     "Quad/Graphics, Johnson Controls, Kohl's and others will serve as inaugural sustainability mentors," says American Transmission Company's Franc Fennessy, who also serves on the PFS advisory team. "Mentored companies will in turn serve as mentors to others based on what they learn. Pay-it-forward sustainability, if you will."
     PFS' innovative approach to sustainability as an economic driver for the region's businesses received public support in the form of a $90,000 grant awarded by the Waukesha Community Block Grant Board in April.  Waukesha County Executive Dan Vrakas views sustainability as a crucial component to achieving business efficiency and economic development.
     "The momentum behind sustainability from the federal level to the local level is creating a real need for businesses to become more efficient in their daily operations," Vrakas says. "But it also is creating the opportunity for innovation, which historically has led us to real economic growth."
     PFS is using the grant to research, test and pilot practical tools to help companies improve top-line revenue streams and bottom-line efficiencies through sustainable business practices. In addition to the corporate mentorship program, PFS is developing a survey/assessment tool to identify savings in energy efficiency, water utilization and waste stream management, as well as communication tools including a best practices website, e-newsletter and workshops.
     "For leaders of small- to medium sized businesses that want to move beyond the theory of sustainability," Mitchell says, "Partnerships for Sustainability is the one and only organization focused on providing actionable, practical sustainability tools through business-to-business mentoring."
     Business owners seeking more information on Partnerships for Sustainability can contact Bill Mitchell at bmitchell@wctc.edu or 262.695.7901.




08-11-09:  Editorial in
THE MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL

Green Equals Profits 

Efforts to help businesses go green are good for the environment - but they're just as good for economic development.

     Green jobs are predicted by many to play a significant role in future job growth. At the same time, businesses are looking for ways to be more efficient in their use of energy use and to deal with increased government regulations aimed at reducing industry's impact on climate change.
     The Waukesha County Economic Development Corp. has started a program to help employers in Waukesha County meet those goals. It's a worthy effort that deserves support from those businesses.
     The program, Partnerships for Sustainability, seeks to train companies with fewer than 250 workers on steps they can take to become more sustainable and save on their operating costs.
     Bill Mitchell runs the economic development corporation for Waukesha County, where the county is basing its business-growth strategy on greening its business community through a new initiative called Partnerships for Sustainability.
     "This is about jobs," said Bill Mitchell, executive director of the economic development corporation. "The job growth over the next decades in green jobs, that's what got our attention, with companies adapting their products and processes related to green."
     But, as the Journal Sentinel's Thomas Content pointed out, another driver is the prospect of more government regulation. A global warming bill pending in Congress would make businesses responsible for monitoring and reducing their carbon dioxide emissions. That's expected to boost investments in energy efficiency.
     The new Waukesha initiative complements other local economic development initiatives, including the Milwaukee 7's focus on freshwater technology and advanced battery research, and the New North's effort to build a wind-power supply chain and next-generation biofuels.
     It's also one of several other green-business initiatives taking place. In Milwaukee, businesses have been meeting monthly to exchange best practices and ideas as part of the Metro Milwaukee Green initiative. The Racine business community has a similar project.
     This is all good news - for the environment and for economic development. The region needs to get behind these efforts in a big way.




07-26-09:  Reported by Thomas Content in 
THE MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL           

Shining A Green Light on Growth

Initiative helps businesses boost energy efficiency

     For more and more businesses, going green has gone from being viewed as an extra to a critical path to staying competitive.
     That's the view coming from Waukesha County's business community, where the county's Economic Development Corp. believes use of sustainability and green business practices could help the region set itself apart over the long term.
     Bill Mitchell runs the economic development corporation for Waukesha County, where the county is basing its business-growth strategy on greening its business community through a new initiative called Partnerships for Sustainability.
     The initiative seeks to train companies with fewer than 250 workers on steps they can take to become more sustainable and save on their operating costs.
     "This is about jobs," Mitchell said. "The job growth over the next decades in green jobs, that's what got our attention, with companies adapting their products and processes related to green."
     Clearly one of the drivers is the prospect of more government regulation.
     A global warming bill pending in Congress would make businesses responsible for monitoring and reducing their carbon dioxide emissions. That is expected to boost investments in energy efficiency.
     Although it's unclear whether the global warming bill will pass, businesses are feeling other pressure to go green.
     This month, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced it would be evaluating all 100,000 of its suppliers based on their commitment to sustainability. Suppliers will be asked if they track their water use, greenhouse gas emissions and the social responsibility of their own vendors.
     "If you can reduce the environmental footprint of the people you supply then you become a strategic partner and more valuable," said Karl Robe, a member of the board of directors of the Waukesha County Economic Development Corp.
     "Our goal is not to convince businesses that it's great to go green for the sake of going green. That's not our mission," said Mike Simpson, who leads the environmental practice at the law firm Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren. "Our mission is to help clients understand this world we're going to be living in from henceforth and how to get involved and get their business focused on sustainability."

Big firms spurring effort

     Simpson sits on a sustainability advisory committee with other local companies that are spearheading the new effort, including Kohl's Corp., Johnson Controls, JohnsonDiversey and Quad/Graphics and smaller businesses such as Environmental Systems Inc. of Pewaukee.
     With 70 employees, Environmental Systems Inc. specializes in selling systems for buildings that help reduce energy use and save on operating costs. Company President Paul Oswald said he knows not everyone's caught up in the current wave of hype over green. All businesses want to cut costs, though, and they need to know where to start.
     "One of the things that attracted us to this was that it wasn't just a feel-good exercise," Oswald said.
     What catches business owners' attention about sustainability is that reducing waste and energy and water use saves on operating costs year after year.
     "I call it the gift that keeps on giving," Waukesha County Executive Dan Vrakas said, referring to the ongoing savings the county has seen on energy bills from converting to LED traffic signals, recycling asphalt during road resurfacing projects and using waste heat in the county's ice rinks to help heat the air inside the building.
     The Waukesha initiative will provide environmental assessments for businesses, line up small businesses with big companies that will work with them as mentors, and develop educational materials on sustainability.
     One of those big companies is Quad/Graphics, which has reduced its carbon footprint by 19% over the past five years through a variety of changes that reduced the company's energy use and energy costs.
     Joe Muehlbach, Quad/Graphics director of facilities and environmental policy, said sustainability has become overcomplicated for many.
     "It's really about efficiency, maximizing your output and reducing your consumption of resources and waste generation."
     Water and energy prices are going up and that pressures businesses to become more efficient.
     "It can have a direct impact on their bottom line. It should give them a marketing advantage and a manufacturing advantage and hopefully lead to growth," Muehlbach said.
     Ensuring the supply chain is sustainable is critical, and the Wal-Mart announcement may stimulate even more interest, business leaders say.
     "We do critique our supply chain," said Muehlbach of Quad/Graphics. "If you've got a dirty partner, you in fact are somewhat tainted by that relationship, so we're very careful about the business relationships that we establish."
     That work throughout the supply chain and internally to save energy and go green has won Quad more business, giving it contracts to print magazines for National Geographic and major environmental organizations including National Wildlife Foundation, Nature Conservancy and Sierra Club, Muehlbach said.

Work in progress

     Mitchell said it's important for businesses to know that the initiative is still a work in progress, with testing of the new tools taking place at some firms and changes being made in response to concerns those firms have raised.
     One business owner claimed it was exhausting, prompting a need to streamline the process even further, Mitchell said.
     A conference in September will explore case studies involving an initial group of businesses that are going through environmental assessments and working with mentor firms.
     Paul Linzmeyer sees opportunities for the state as a whole in sustainability.
     Linzmeyer left his job running a Green Bay-area manufacturer to found a sustainable-business consulting firm.
     "It's really all about differentiating and preserving your business into the future," he said. "Quite frankly, there are two approaches: We can continue doing business as usual and suffer the consequences, or we can be sort of a leader in these initiatives."
     The new Waukesha initiative complements other local economic development initiatives, including the Milwaukee 7's focus on freshwater technology and advanced battery research, the New North effort to build a wind-power supply chain and next-generation biofuels.
     It's also one of several other green-business initiatives taking place. In Milwaukee, businesses have been meeting monthly to exchange best practices and ideas as part of the Metro Milwaukee Green initiative. The Racine business community has a similar project.
     "This is something where Wisconsin could try to position itself," Linzmeyer said. "Then regulation doesn't mean as much, if we're already ahead of the curve."

07-07-09:  Reported by Emily Bultman in 
THE WAUKESHA FREEMAN

County Starts Public-Private Plan for Businesses

Program is perfect for Milwaukee 7 area     
     
     The Waukesha County Economic Development Corporation announced its new program Monday, Partnerships for Sustainability, a public-private endeavor designed to provide practical steps that improve top-line revenue streams and bottom-line efficiencies through sustainable business practices for small- and medium-sized companies.
     “Our core focus rests solely on the fact that businesses can only be sustainable if profitable,” said Bill Mitchell, WCEDC executive director. “We see this as an initiative through which businesses across southeast Wisconsin can benefit.”
     Mitchell said the program stems from the findings of a 2008 study on the future of economic development, which included increasing innovation and sustainability.
     He said this program makes sense for the area because 90 percent of the businesses in the Milwaukee 7 region have fewer than 250 employees. The Milwaukee 7 was started in 2005 to help develop business throughout southeastern Wisconsin.
     “This program shows how serious we are about helping these businesses,” Mitchell said.
     Businesses from Waukesha and Milwaukee counties make up the PFS Sustainability Advisory Team, which has worked for almost a year designing this innovative business development strategy.  Companies represented include Quad/Graphics, Kohl’s Department Stores, American Transmission Company, Johnson Controls, RA Smith, Engberg Anderson, Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren, Karl James and Company Public Relations and MSI General.
     Selective mentoring will begin this month before the program opens to additional businesses in fall.
     Donald Frost Jr., MSI General vice president of design and estimating, said the new program creates an environment where businesses will learn, share and profit from one another.
     “Mentoring is definitely a goal of the partnership. We will mentor companies and they will mentor others to pay it forward,” Frost said.
     The efforts of the PFS are made possible through major underwriting from Aurora Health care, Pabst Farms development, Quad/Graphics and Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren. Support was also shown with a $90,000 Waukesha community block grant awarded in April.
     The PFS program will use an assessment for businesses to identify savings in energy efficiency, water utilization and waste stream management. Communication tools include best practices Web site, E-newsletter and workshops being developed.
     MSI General President Craig Coursin said the Nashotah-based company has demonstrated success in sustainable business practices and wanted this new opportunity to assist others.
     “The idea of sustainability has been running around businesses for a while now. Many businesses don’t know what needs to be done,” Coursin said. “They may think drastic changes are needed to the building when the real need is to become more efficient in their daily operations.”