- Most water providers offer free water audits for commercial customers. Take advantage to get personalized recommendations. Or, you can always for quotes on an overall sustainability assessment that will look at water, energy, waste, green purchasing, alternative transportation, and occupant behavior/education opportunities at your facility. contact Sundowner
- Outdoor landscaping can represent 5-30% of a building's water use in commercial buildings, so it's important to check for the following efficiency opportunities:
- If you're thinking about replacing your water-intensive plants with water-friendly ones, definitely check your water provider's rebate opportunities. Many water providers will NOT provide a smart landscape rebate unless they perform their free water audit first, so don't miss out due to poor timing!
- Check the outdoor watering schedule to make sure you're complying with drought restrictions, and test sprinkler coverage. If hard surfaces instead of the plants are getting sprayed, it's time to adjust sprinkler heads. There are also some cheap retrofit and equipment options, like installing rotating sprinkler nozzles (~$5/head), getting a rain sensor (free from most water providers), or just doing general repairs to fix leaks.
- Indoor water use generally comes down to your fixtures:
- Sink aerators can be retrofitted down to 0.5gpm models for very low cost (~$2-$5/sink), with showerheads and toilets at higher cost.
- Don't forget about your commercial kitchen appliances. There are generally excellent rebate opportunities for major water-using appliances like spray nozzles and ice machines, so don't forget to talk to Sundowner about our free rebate application service to tap into those!
- Occupant behavior is also critical to keeping water use down, so don't forget about signage reminding people to turn off the tap.
One of the most popular questions we get from clients is, "how do I save water during the drought?" There are a few major ways commercial customers can save gallons and dollars, and we generally recommend the following:
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As a special web exclusive, here is a free laundry poster download containing a variety of helpful sustainability tips. Post it up in any common laundry room to make sure users save you water and energy, and minimize pollution impacts with their laundry habits. Enjoy! Having trouble seeing the preview below? Click here to download this free PDF file. Be sure to contact Sundowner for a quote if you have additional custom sustainability signage needs!
Did you know improving your recycling and trash diversion rates can literally stop your business from throwing money away? Trash haulers throughout the tri-county region offer significantly discounted hauling fees for non-trash bins. Consider upping your diversion to recycling, greenwaste, and/or foodscraps bins instead of traditional trash bins and see the savings pile up! Check your waste hauler's rates to figure out the best deals. Click here for the City of Santa Barbara's online bill calculator to see how much you can save! In order to provide a meaningful research project for our student interns this past fall, we helped them design a marketing survey that would gauge local business owners' attitudes towards "going green." Based on the survey responses our intern Paulina collected from business owners in Isla Vista, we're proud to unveil the results of these canvassing efforts!
We'll let you read the infographic for the full details, but here are some highlights on the more interesting findings:
Click below to open the infographic in a new window. Ramada Santa Barbara was recently designated a Gold Certified Green Lodging Property by environmental nonprofit Audubon International. The hotel is the first in Santa Barbara and the sixth in California to receive certification from Audubon International. The hotel’s environmental highlights include a pool heated by solar panels, electric vehicle charging stations, LED lighting, permeable pavers, water-conserving fixtures and plates made from sugarcane. "Because we care about our local community, we're constantly looking for new ways to reduce our environmental footprint," Ramada Santa Barbara general manager Tom Patton said. "Earning a gold-level certification through Audubon International allows us to further communicate this environmental commitment to our guests, and provides great encouragement to our staff to keep up the great work." Sundowner Sustainability Consulting, a Santa Barbara-based company, is also thrilled with Ramada Santa Barbara's latest environmental achievement. As the hotel's consultants during Ramada Santa Barbara's successful bid to achieve Green Business Certification through Santa Barbara County last year, Sundowner continued to partner with Ramada to ensure its best practices were highlighted throughout the Audubon International review process. "Ramada's willingness to adopt green practices whenever feasible has really helped solidify their position as a local environmental leader in the hospitality industry," Sundowner Sustainability managing partner Ellie Perry said. "It's been a pleasure to see how quickly they continue to evolve and innovate with each environmental certification they pursue." Ramada Santa Barbara is one of 64 Audubon International Certified Green Lodging Properties around the United States and the Caribbean. Certified properties are rated in the categories of Communication and Education; Waste Reduction, Reuse, and Recycling; Water Conservation, Energy Efficiency, and Indoor Air Quality. To earn certification, all properties receive a site visit by an Audubon International staff member and undergo a recertification process every three years. “Ramada Santa Barbara demonstrates a clear passion for adopting measures to lower their environmental impact,” said Katie Hopkins, director of communications at Audubon International. “From the installation of electric vehicle charging stations to incentivizing staff to use alternative transportation, Ramada Santa Barbara is setting a great example in the Santa Barbara community.” For the full press release, see Noozhawk's article here. |
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December 2016
AuthorSundowner offers a full range of sustainability ("green") consulting services to help organizations improve their environmental performance while saving time and money in the process. Read on for more tips and case studies on how to make our mission part of your mission! Categories
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