<![CDATA[Sundowner Sustainability Consulting - Blog]]>Mon, 18 May 2026 22:45:07 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!]]>Fri, 23 Dec 2016 20:30:52 GMThttps://www.sundownersustainability.com/blog/merry-christmas-happy-holidays
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Be sure to contact us at info@sundownersustainability.com if you need help going green in 2017!
]]><![CDATA[Looking for a job in sustainability?]]>Fri, 12 Aug 2016 07:00:00 GMThttps://www.sundownersustainability.com/blog/december-23rd-20168967965If so, please don't contact us!  Kidding...sort of.  Around this time of year, we receive unsolicited resumes from all across the country looking to us for hiring opportunities.  As a boutique firm, we take great pride in ensuring each of our clients are serviced by an actual Managing Partner/Owner who is 100% invested in the company, not an employee.

While that may seem harsh, our number one committment is to our clients and ensuring they get personalized, experienced, professional advice in building top-of-the-line sustainability initiatives and projects.  Unfortunately, that doesn't leave a lot of need for more hands on deck, though we will always be sure to post available openings on our website if they arise.

In the meantime, here are a few resources for sustainability job-seekers we highly recommend:
  • Indeed.com- Not just for sustainability, this is essentially the Google of all job searching engines and is totally free.  It also lets you sort by proximity to zip codes/geographical location. 
  • Idealist.org- Another job search engine that focuses on nonprofit opportunities.  Great resource for nonprofits that are looking for interns as well.  
  • Here's a directory/blog post written by the Community College Sustainability Collaborative that does a really great job of pulling together all the job-search resources out there when it comes to finding a sustainability job.  
​Best of luck in your job search!


]]><![CDATA[R2:2013... Do I need it? ]]>Tue, 19 Jul 2016 07:00:00 GMThttps://www.sundownersustainability.com/blog/r22013-do-i-need-it
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If you're in the refurbishment industry for electronics, you probably have heard of R2 certification, or may be experiencing pressure to get certified from other vendors or customers.  You may have been putting it off, overwhelmed by all the requirements the R2:2013 standard seems to be throwing at your company.   Confused by why there are so many different topics ranging from legal review to data security when it's supposed to be an "environmental" certification?  Are you wondering if you can avoid getting certified and it'll go away?

Let's break down this certification a bit and shed some light on these requirements.  
  • Why so many topics?
There are some basic "environmental" requirements involved with this certification, but if you've ever taken a look at the R2 Standard (https://sustainableelectronics.org/) it covers everything from insurance requirements to whether you're complying with import/export laws.   The idea is that part of responsibly recycling electronics involves clearly de-lineating whether something is "junk" (requires disposal) or is valuable product (that is presumably high quality).  As a result, much of the standard scrutinizes your operating procedures to ensure your product is taken care of, and your "junk" is secure from data breaches and isn't getting shipped and offloaded illegally or will end up in a landfill somewhere because your company wasn't responsible.  This brings us to the second question...
  • Why are my customers and vendors pressuring me to get certified?
The R2 Standard also has another critical requirement which involves tracking "downstream" vendors.  If you're receiving pressure from customers and "upstream" vendors, they are probably looking for reputable businesses to give their used electronics to.  The R2 Standard also requires any companies that are R2 certified to only do business with other downstream vendors who are also R2 certified or face extra scrutiny and paperwork.  So much so, that many companies will simply opt to only use R2-certified vendors to keep things simple.  So you see, R2 certification can be critical in ensuring you don't lose business and in ensuring you're seen as a reputable vendor.  

This covers just the tip of the iceberg, so be sure to contact Sundowner at info@sundownersustainability.com if you'd like to use your free one-hour consultation to learn more.   


]]><![CDATA[Need a building permit? Don't forget MWELO!]]>Thu, 05 May 2016 07:00:00 GMThttps://www.sundownersustainability.com/blog/december-23rd-2016
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​To help combat drought, the state of California has raised the bar on how much water landscapes can use beginning in 2016.  The Model Water Efficient Land Ordinance (MWELO) now requires anyone seeking a building permit for new or retrofitted landscapes to meet the new water efficiency requirements.

A key component of these many changes, however, is the need to have your proposed landscapes checked by an EPA Watersense-certified professional to calculate whether your water budget meets the requirement.  Fortunately for you, Sundowner has an EPA Watersense-certified Watershed Wise Landscape Professional on staff.  This means you can work with us to have your landscapes and water budgets calculated at an affordable rate to ensure your building project can move forward quickly.  Be sure to contact us at info@sundownersustainability.com for any of your landscape water budget calculation needs.     
]]><![CDATA[The Sundowner Approach to Sustainability]]>Mon, 18 Apr 2016 07:00:00 GMThttps://www.sundownersustainability.com/blog/the-sundowner-approach-to-sustainabilityMost sustainability consulting firms have unique specialties.  Perhaps they only focus on alternative transportation, or food issues, or green building, but Sundowner takes a different view.  When you're building a giant commercial building, it makes sense to have a large, specialized, general contractor come in to manage the many electricians, plumbers, drywall installers, etc. that are needed to complete the project.  However, what do you do when you just want your kitchen remodeled?  You could hire a tiler, a carpenter, a plumber, etc. separately with a great deal of coordination and time investment on your end.  Or, you could hire a really good handyman with the skills to pull all these disparate tasks together.  As you know, good handymen like that are hard to find.

Here at Sundowner, we like to see ourselves as the general handymen of the sustainability world.  We have advanced level skills in energy, water, waste, alternative transportation, purchasing, and education which enable us to pull together complex projects in-house as well as see the bigger picture on how your project can support your business.  This broader expertise is especially handy when it comes to achieving general environmental certifications that look at environmental impact in multiple areas, not just one particular topic.  So if you find yourself struggling to pull all the pieces together, just e-mail Sundowner for your free one-hour consultation today!  
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