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Press: Inside Bay Area

Area Firms Go for the Green

By Fiona Smith, STAFF WRITER
Inside Bay Area
http://www.insidebayarea.com/portlet/article/html/fragments/print_article.jsp?article=2864800

HAYWARD - CHRISTEEN Kelley likes to imagine the day when society goes paperless: It's a surprising dream for the owner of a print shop, but Kelley is not your average businesswoman.

In 1988, before most printers considered using recycled paper, Kelley, co-owner of ASAP Printing & Promotions in Hayward, was willing to eat the extra cost of recycled paper in hope that more demand for it would eventually drive the price down. Now, years later, recycled paper is the cost-effective standard at most printing businesses.

Like many pioneers in the Bay Area's green business movement, Kelley was driven as much, if not more, by her ideals as she was by her bottom line. And now Alameda County is recognizing more and more businesses like ASAP Printing & Promotions through it's Green Business Program.

The rate of businesses getting certified as "green" by the county has doubled in the past year, according to Pamela Evans, program coordinator. While only 19 of the county's roughly 180 certified businesses are in the Hayward area, many local businesses were among the first on board when the program began eight years ago. Most of them, like ASAP Printing & Promotions, were trying to be green before the county got involved.

"We always want to improve the business; it's an instinct to try tomake things better," Kelley said. "My focus was on the environment early on because my particular business has been a strong offender to the environment."

Recycled paper or not, ASAP Printing & Promotions, like most printers, easily burns through millions of pieces of paper daily. Kelley's latest plan, hatched with her partner Stanley Przepioski, is to go electronic. They are encouraging their clients, to have CDs made instead of printing 10,000 200-page instruction manuals. That sort of initiative is one of the many ways a business can work toward being certified green. ASAP Printing & Promotions also uses nontoxic cleaners and soy-based ink instead of petroleum-based ink.

The benefits can be more than environmental, according to Evans. Many businesses say it improves customer retention, workplace safety, employee morale and community relations.

For Cheryl Bartky, not being certified as a green business would have been absurd, she said. For three years, she has run a feng shui and career counseling business out of her San Lorenzo home. Feng shui, an ancient Chinese practice, involves arranging objects in a person's environment to create harmony.

"It's a green business in its philosophy," Bartky said. "All the work I do, it's about having people live the life of their dreams, and I believe when people are leading a life they love, they're going to be nicer to the environment."

The program sends various regulatory agencies to also see how people can be kinder to the environment. Officials check how businesses are handling their hazardous material, conserving water and energy, reducing waste and preventing pollution.

"It was like having a free class come to me and tell me the things I needed to know without having to do the research, and I feel better about myself and my business because I'm not dumping huge amounts of waste into landfills," said Tim Holmes, owner of Zocalo Coffeehouse in San Leandro.

Green program officials helped him find German light bulbs that cost 30 percent less, use 25 percent less energy, but put out 10 percent more light. The coffeehouse uses 100 percent recyclable cups that cost twice as much as ordinary cups but don't need java jackets. With the money he saves on energy and water conservation, the extra costs of being green balance out, Holmes said.

And Zocalo Coffeehouse is going to be more green in two months, when the cafe reopens after renovation. Holmes will be asking his employees and customers to separate trash into recyclables, organic waste and garbage. More skylights and screen doors will be installed to save on lighting and air conditioning costs.

Although, businesses are listed on a county web site and receive display logos to put in their windows, many green business owners say that an expected upturn in business after getting certified never materialized.

The Green Business Program started in 1997 working solely with automotive repair shops. Andy Andrade, owner of Andrade Automotive Repair in Hayward, worked as a liaison between the automotive industry and the Green Business Program to develop its environmental standards.

He spent several thousand dollars to reduce his shop's pollution, and like Kelley and Holmes, was willing to cut into his bottom line to follow his ideals.

"It's worth it because you're working in a cleaner environment," Andrade said. "It's safe for employees and it's safe for me; when I want to go to Alameda and jump in the Bay or eat Bay shrimp, I'll feel better about it."

Many of the things Andrade did voluntarily eight years ago are now law, but the mechanic is always looking for ways to run a cleaner shop. He diverts the water that becomes contaminated from cleaning brake pads and has it specially treated. He uses rags that are specially cleaned, instead of water or paper towels, to wipe up spills. He avoids changing the oil in a customer's car if it is still good, uses less toxic anti-freeze and uses refillable spray cans instead of disposable aerosol ones to clean certain car parts.

"The type of businessperson attracted to this program tends to be exceptional and a leader in their industry," Evans said. "Everyone's doing all they can day-to-day to stay afloat. It is the people who are very on top of things and very much thought of by their peers as leaders who in turn can pass the word on."

The program currently is focused on working with dentists, garment cleaners and building remodelers to develop standards.

Zocalo Coffeehouse owner Holmes hopes green businesses could become the norm for all industries.

"It should be ingrained in every city's process," Holmes said.

"And if there's anywhere you can get this done, it's the Bay Area."