TSL has posted on The Food Project, a nonprofit organization devoted to promoting urban and suburban sustainable agriculture before, but here’s a quick rundown. The program is essentially split into two parts:

•  The Youth Program, where teenagers from Greater Boston and the North Shore cultivate farmland, participate in workshops, work with hunger relief organizations, and lead volunteers in the fields.
• Serve & Grow Program, where volunteers help the Food Project achieve their mission by visiting our farms to help tend the fields planting, weeding, harvesting, washing vegetables, and preparing beds.

Naturally, after hearing about this volunteer experience, TSL wanted to know more, so we touched base with Staci Rubin of Alternatives for Community & Environment (ACE), who serves as Co-Chair of the Environmental Law Public Service Committee to learn more about the experience.

1)      Why did you choose The Food Project as a volunteer opportunity?

We chose to volunteer at the Food Project because we wanted to continue the BBA’s practice of supporting The Food Project’s work and exposing the legal community to a rewarding community service opportunity.  One recommendation of the BBA’s Sustainability Task Force was that a group from the BBA volunteers annually at The Food Project.  The Food Project manages 40 acres of farmland in Eastern Massachusetts (Beverly, Boston, Lincoln, and Lynn), primarily through the work of young people and volunteers.  At the West Cottage farm in Dorchester, we had the opportunity to help maintain crops that will be sold to farmers’ markets and donated to hunger relief organizations.  This event was a nice follow-up to the urban agriculture brown bag lunch on February 28 sponsored by our committee.

2) What was your experience like?

We began the day learning about the food system: the process of getting food from the earth (through cultivation, production, transportation, distribution, and consumption) to people.  The youth from The Food Project led us in a series of exercises to learn facts about the farm bill, worker conditions, and the average price growers get for producing a pound of food.  We then divided into groups to focus on weeding and maintaining the pathways between beds.  We spent three hours working the land, with plenty of time for water and food breaks.  We then had a short closing conversation to reflect on the day.   A highlight for me was meeting new people and engaging in good conversations while weeding the beet beds.  The aroma from the nearby chives and hot sun provided the perfect setting for a morning on the urban farm.

Kudos to our volunteers for their commitment to continuing the hard work of the BBA Sustainability Task Force and working with a community initiative that increases the accessibility of fresh produce to low income families. On a 91 degree day, no less.

So you’ve probably heard of Hubway at this point. If you haven’t, you must have seen the ports of bikes in Downtown Boston and spanning to Cambridge, Somerville and Brookline. For Hubway newbies, here’s a quick history lesson for you.

• In 2007, Mayor Menino and the Director of Boston Bicycle Programs Nicole Friedman began looking into bike sharing programs and got the Metropolitan Area Planning Council involved, figuring (rightly) that this effort would need to encompass more than just Boston.
• After doing copious research, they settled on Hubway (or Alta Bicycle Share if you want to get technical about it), who launched in 2011 with 600 bikes at 60 stations in Boston. One year later, after gauging Boston’s success, Cambridge, Somerville and Brookline added ports of their own.
• Fast forward to today– it’s popular. Like really, really popular.  There are currently 108 stations with more than 1,000 bikes across Boston’s metro area, and no signs of slowing down. If that doesn’t impress you, this will: in less than two years, Hubway has logged more than 810,000 rides, including 130,000 since April 2 of this year.

If you’ve read TSL before, you know that the BBA has taken multiple steps to be more sustainable, from building changes, participating in Grounds to Grow On (the K-Cup Recycling plan), undergoing an energy audit and even replacing all of its exit lights. This one’s a little bit different. Rather than making changes to the energy consumption of its building or day to day procedures, the BBA has given its employees the opportunity to be more sustainable on their own time – at significantly discounted rates.

Thanks to a few particularly industrious BBA employees, who surveyed staff interest and wrote up a proposal, the BBA elected to participate in Hubway’s Silver Corporate Sponsorship –which provides staff with a convenient, economical and environmentally form of transportation, for just $25 bucks a year per person. The best part? Rides inside 30 minutes are free of charge with a membership. So unless you get lost on those cow paths, it should be smooth (and free) pedaling.

If you’re worried about the safety of the BBA Staff, don’t be. In a few weeks, Boston will be rolling out Helmet Hub, a helmet sharing program (whose dispensers were invented by MIT), the first in the nation to do so. Did we mention the helmet dispensers were solar powered? Can’t beat that.

See Hubway’s Corporate Sponsors here.

As we know, the BBA has a reputation for developing cutting edge programming on relevant legal and business issues both state and nationwide. Some recent examples? The BBA’s Update on the Jamaica Plain Drug Lab Crisis, and  Apple-Samsung $1 Billion Judgment and its Impact on the Smartphone Market. So why Urban Agriculture? Staci explains:

“When it comes to urban agriculture, there is great public interest on the topic, and the pace of policy development in this arena in the last few years has been swift, which makes this an ideal topic for the BBA — there is much new information to report. This is an area of great opportunity for our legal community in terms of providing support for the growing urban agriculture movement and this program will provide clarity as to how they can get professionally involved in this movement – by providing pro bono legal services to urban gardeners, farmers and food entrepreneurs and by engaging in public service with urban agriculture focused organizations.”

TSL gets that not everyone wants to listen to a panel of speakers during their lunch break, but frankly, this program will be worth it. How do we know? Jennifer Rushlow gave us a primer on the speakers and their topics, so you can make your own decision:

“Panelists will address recent developments in environmental and land use laws that will impact environmental lawyers’ work, illustrate how environmental lawyers can provide support for urban gardeners facing legal challenges, comment about the recent policy developments affecting urban agriculture and the Boston rezoning process and share expertise on interagency efforts related to sustainable food production.”

Speakers:

Gregory Watson – (Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources)
Attorney Philip B. Posner – (Volunteer, Massachusetts Environmental Justice Assistance Network
Paul Locke – (Director of Response and Remediation for Bureau of Waste Site Cleanup, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection)
Danah Tench – (Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection)

So far so good, right? But that’s not all. The program will also highlight one of TSL’s favorite things, environmental pro bono and public service opportunities for lawyers! Yes, the program is a week away, but TSL is already getting excited to hear from our panelists on how to:

1) Represent groups of low income residents and residents of color to convert vacant lots into green space for gardening,
2) Find transactional pro bono work on behalf community gardeners,
3) Serve as a board member for organizations working on urban agriculture and
4) Participate in an upcoming (June 1^st) public service day with the Food Project (remember them?).

For now, TSL is signing off, but we will see you next Thursday…right?

When we spoke with Michael he let us know about an E-waste program (that the Trial Court has participated in since 2008) run by the City of Boston is only weeks away on Saturday, September 29^th. The event, which will be held from 9am to 3pm (rain or shine), at the Bayside Expo Parking Lot at 200 Mt Vernon St, Dorchester, MA. Here you can recycle computers, monitors, televisions, cell phones, microwaves and much more. For more information and a list of what is and is not accepted as e-waste, click here.

TSL has talked about the benefits of recycling e-waste before, but for now, here is a quick refresher:

• In many instances, computers, laptops, telephones, cell phones, TV’s, inkjet printers and other gadgets can often be refurbished to working condition and given to non-profits or local schools.
• Everyday appliances are made from materials including plastic and precious metals such as gold and silver, tantalum, mercury, lead and more. Reusing these products rather than making more plastic or mining more metals can significantly impact the environment.
• According to E-Steward.com, electronics include lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, beryllium and brominated flame retardants. If improperly decommissioned, these materials can potentially cause serious health risks to both workers and their communities including cancer, reproductive disorders, endocrine disruption, and many other health problems.

So for law firms and offices or anyone with old electronics lying around that they need to get rid of, save the date for September 29^th to make sure you are disposing of your electronic waste properly. Take a hint from the Trial Court. Since participating in the City of Boston’s e-waste program in program 2009, the Court has collected more than 199,000 lbs. of e-waste, and saved more than $276,000 in disposal costs.

Saving the environment while saving money? Sounds like a win-win.

Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more on the Trial Court’s Green team.

1) Put Pedal to the Metal. Everyone knows that riding a bike or taking the T to work is the way to go. That said, in the sweltering head or in a time crunch (no offense, MBTA) it might not be for everyone. That said, why not bike rather than drive to a friends for a nice weekend lunch? Want to go to the beach? TSL knows from experience that the Blue Line takes you right to Revere (and Kelly’s Roast Beef) for a fun day out with the family. And don’t scoff, with brand new sand and a renewed emphasis on keeping the beach clean, you might just mistake Revere for a quasi-tropical paradise.

2) Skip the Supers. Farmers Markets are all the rage of late, and for good reason. Who can resist op notch produce coming from countless farms across Massachusetts? The sustainable benefits go without saying, but naturally, we are going to say it anyways. Farmers markets:

1. They help reduce food miles, thus vehicle pollution and fossil fuel use.
2. Help to reduce packaging.
3. Help to improve diet and nutrition by providing access to fresh food.
4. Cut out the middleman allowing increased financial returns through direct selling and price control
5. Stimulate local economic development by increasing employment and encouraging consumers to support local business.

So whether you are stopping by a market on in Boston on your way home, or making a weekend trip (bike ride to the farmers market, anyone), support local farms and pick up some of the fantastic produce they have to offer. Here’s a list of Massachusetts farmers markets and their hours of operation.

3) Cool it with the AC. Pamela Harvey recommends turning off the AC and having a relaxing dinner on your deck or patio. Worried about coming home to a sweltering house? If you have central air – use it to your advantage. Michelle O’Brien recommends installing (or using) a timer so you can come home to a cool home without blasting the AC all day. If your unit has an energy saver mode, always use it. It’s the little things that count.

4) Lay off the bottle. Summer is hot, and water is necessity. That said, try and stay away from bottled water whenever possible, or as Pamela Harvey says “enjoy the Quabbin on Ice.” Use a Brita if you are a stickler for filtered water, and if you need water on the go, buy a water bottle (a green one if possible). Vapur.com tells us that 17 million barrels of oil are used each year to make water bottles.  Whoa…let’s put a stop to that.

Think we missed some tips? Want to hear more? Sound off below!

Here’s the deal — whether they are practicing before a judge, meeting potential clients or going for a job interview, most lawyers know how important it is to dress appropriately. Looking good requires more than just fashion sense, it means keeping your suits freshly pressed and super clean – which is why a good dry cleaner can be a lawyers’ best friend. Most people might not know that the current process for dry cleaning is not exactly earth friendly, primarily because of a cleaning solvent called perchloroethylene, commonly known as PERC. About 90% of drycleaners in the United States use PERC as the solvent to lift stains from clothing in the dry cleaning process. Problem is, it’s bad for the environment, and hazardous to boot. Here are a few not so fun facts:

• Studies conducted by the National Cancer Institute, the National Toxicology Program and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established PERC as a potential carcinogen and the EPA regulates PERC as a hazardous air pollutant.
• Respiratory exposure to “high” levels of PERC,  can cause depression of the central nervous system, damage to the liver and kidneys, impaired memory, fatigue, nausea, confusion, dizziness, headaches, drowsiness, and eye, nose and throat irritation. Skin exposure to PERC can cause dry, scaly, and cracked dermatitis.
• Workers in dry cleaning shops are at greatest risk. Because PERC can travel through floor, ceiling and wall materials, people living near or co-located in the same building as dry cleaners have also reported respiratory, skin and neurological problems.
• A United States EPA report states that repeat exposure to of PERC in air may cause cancer in humans
• PERC is also environmentally very unfriendly and when improperly handled can create health and environmental risks in the atmosphere, soil, groundwater, drinking water, and waterways threatening many forms of life. Small amounts of PERC have been shown to be toxic to some aquatic animals where it is stored in their fatty tissues. Small amounts of PERC contaminating soil or irrigation water can also damage or kill many kinds of plants.

So, what can you do about it? Don’t worry, we are not going to ask you do clean and press your suits professionally at home. In the past few years, many dry cleaners have made efforts to remove the use of PERC from their operations and are using biodegradable soap, liquid CO2 and liquid silicon. No need to whip out your smart phones, because TSL did all the work to find the green cleaners, many of them right here in the Boston area.

Clevergreen Cleaners: Boston, Medford and Cambridge – Use liquid silicon solvent called Green Earth

Bush Quality Cleaners: Boston (multiple locations), New Bedford, Fairhaven, Dartmouth – Use liquid silicon solvent Green Earth.

Oxford Laundry: Cambridge – Use “eco-friendly detergents and organic solvents”

Zoots: Statewide – Use a “cleaning fluid that’s 100% biodegradable.” More on their work here.

Dependable Cleaners: Statewide – Use “high quality, recyclable dry cleaning solutions that are environmentally friendly.” More on their green work here.

So do us, and everyone else a favor next time you need to freshen up your suit for that important meeting. Dry clean green.

A quick history — back in 1992, before an inconvenient truth, the global warming debate and countless other landmark environmental events, the United States Environmental Protection Agency introduced Energy Star as a labeling program that identified and promoted energy efficient products to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The first labeled products were computers and monitors (I know, who knew there were computers back in 92!? – just joking). In 1995, additional office equipment and residential heating and cooling equipment was added. It didn’t stop there. The next year the EPA partnered with the US Department of Energy to develop particular product categories, which currently include new residential, commercial and industrial buildings.

Now that that’s squared away, let’s get down to the real question: how does a product obtain an Energy Star rating? How the product is rated and evaluated depends on the product, but there are set basic standards for all products. They are:

• Product categories must contribute significant energy savings nationwide.
• Qualified products must deliver the features and performance demanded by consumers, in addition to increased energy efficiency.
• If the qualified product costs more than a conventional, less-efficient counterpart, purchasers will recover their investment in increased energy efficiency through utility bill savings, within a reasonable period of time.
• Energy efficiency can be achieved through broadly available, non-proprietary technologies offered by more than one manufacturer.
• Product energy consumption and performance can be measured and verified with testing.
• Labeling would effectively differentiate products and be visible for purchasers.

Want a specific example? Sure, let’s talk about the process for certifying windows, doors and skylights. In this case, there are three main categories. They are:

1)      Products must be manufactured by Energy Star partners. A comprehensive list of partners can be viewed here.

2)      Products must be independently tested and certified for energy performance by a third party. That party is the National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC). If you want to learn more about the nitty gritty of their individual rating system, check it out here.

3)      The NFRC ratings also must meet the energy efficiency guidelines set forth by the U.S. Department of Energy. These guidelines are greatly dependent on region and can be viewed here.

So there you go. While it’s impossible to delve completely into the complicated world of Energy Star products from process to certification, TSL hopes you have a bit better of an idea what that label means and why it’s important to buy Energy Star products.

How do we define sustainability?

What do law firms need to do to be more sustainable?

If you look around at work, there is probably a lot of sustainability already going on in your operations:  purchasing of recycled paper; mandatory two sided printing, purchasing of Energy Star computers; time sharing and telecommuting options for your employees; contributions to local charities; code of conduct for ethics; and a variety of social well-being efforts such as diversity and wellness programs.  In many cases it is more about the firm needing to capture these and other activities so that it can show that it is indeed “walking the walk” with sustainability. One firm I work with, Nixon Peabody, does an excellent job owning their sustainability initiatives and even has a Chief Sustainability Officer within the firm. In many cases firms need to do a better job of owning their initiatives as part of an overall sustainability plan.

What are some pitfalls when it comes to measuring and evaluating success when it comes to sustainability?

There is a growing trend for larger companies to require all of their suppliers to submit answers to questions regarding their sustainability practices as part of the sourcing and procurement process.  Law firms have not been spared in this activity. I have found that law firms are often perplexed when the boilerplate questions are asking for information that does not pertain to them directly.  The questions seem to be more germane to a manufacturing firm.  There is further confusion because we often advise our clients on sustainability matters, but may not see that as theirs or their firms green practices.

After a great first talk with Bob, TSL is thinking of teaming up again to delve into some deeper issues. Sound off below if you have specific questions you want us to ask Bob.

If you have ever seen the Moakley Courthouse, you would know it is a beautiful building. What you might not know is that the courthouse consumes more energy and water than any building in the GSA New England Region. So…what to do? The answer (in theory) is simple: use less. The courthouse works with the General Services Administration (who oversees and tracks their process on these initiatives) so our courthouse  contact directed us to a GSA Public Affairs Officer who gave us the lowdown on what the Moakley Courthouse has done to reduce their environmental impact.

Moakley Courthouse’s green initiative can be broken down into two main parts, the GSA Shave Energy program and single stream recycling:

• Shave Energy is a new GSA program that assists field offices to identify and implement simple and no cost energy measures on this like inefficiencies in operations, reduction of energy consumption and the like. According to the GSA, the program bridges the gap between identifying energy-saving opportunities and implementing energy retrofits by outlining actionable items based on best practices. If that line confuses you, how about this one: Since 2007, the Moakley Courthouse has reduced its electric consumption by 4.27% and water consumption by 23.49% since 2007.
  • In addition to the no cost energy measures, the GSA installed lighting occupancy sensors, higher efficiency lighting in the garage and demand response ventilation to improve indoor air quality within the courtrooms. As a result of some of the observations from the Shave Energy program, the Moakley courthouse underwent a Variable Refrigerant Flow Project (essentially a modified HVAC system designed to minimize efficiency losses and provide sustainable energy benefits. With a building as big as Moakley courthouse (945,423 gross square feet – whoa!) this can make a huge difference. Expected annual cost savings of this project (completed in May 2011) is $271,800.
• TSL has touched on single stream recycling in past posts, but single stream is the best way to make recycling easy. GSA recently signed a contract with Save THAT Stuff Inc. a full service recycling and solid waste removal business that specializes in single stream. In addition to helping reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills, single stream also results in cost savings by eliminating waste hauling fees. AS a result, the courthouse is achieving a 35% recycling rate, recycling over 30 tons from Jan-May2012. This is equivalent to 185 adult trees, 308 cubic yards or landfill space or 9,655 kilowatts of energy or 114 barrels of oil.

Big building = big savings. Hat tip to the GSA and Moakley Courthouse for taking on some serious initiatives.

First, some stats. Now I am sure you believe us that altering your coffee consumption can make a difference, but just hear us out. TSL turned to the National Coffee Association and The Specialty Coffee Association of America to find out how much coffee Americans drink:

• Over 50% of Americans over 18 years of age drink coffee every day, which represents 150 million daily drinkers.
• 30 million American adults drink specialty coffee beverages daily; which include a mocha, latte, espresso, café mocha, cappuccino, frozen/iced coffee beverages, etc.
• Among coffee drinkers the average consumption in the United States is 3.1 cups of coffee per day, 400 million cups of coffee per day making the United States the leading consumer of coffee in the world.

Enough stats. You get it, Americans drink lots of coffee. So what can you do to reduce the environmental impact of your daily dose (or doses) of caffeine? TSL has three suggestions:

1) Make your own.

Making your own coffee is more sustainable in a few ways, but for the sake of space, let’s talk about 2.

• When making for yourself, you have more control over the amount of coffee you make, water you use and waste that is created. At home you can use a permanent coffee filter rather than using other filters (and they are cheap, as you can see) and you can compost your grounds for that garden you were thinking of starting this summer. Ever wondered what coffee shops do with all the extra coffee that is made? You shouldn’t. It gets tossed.
• When brewing from home, you also have the ability to choose which coffee you buy and make (duh). The reason TSL mentions this is because buying fair trade coffee is the way to go. Fair trade coffee 1) was grown and harvested under fair labor conditions, 2) is purchased directly from growers/producer groups, eliminating the middle man and allowing the farmer to compete in the global market and 3) is made by farmers and workers who invest in community projects like scholarship programs and quality improvement training.

Plus, when you make your own coffee that means you will:

2) Use a reusable cup or mug. To be honest, this one is fairly obvious. We don’t even need to do the math of what impact 400 paper, plastic or even *gasp!* styrofoam cups per day can have on our environment. So if you want a reusable cup or mug that gets the job done, look no further. TSL himself uses a biodegradable Gordon Sinclair travel mug (that you can find here) and a porcelain mug for drinking coffee at the desk. The problem with the travel mug is that you can’t microwave it. If that is a deal breaker, you can get other types of reusable mugs. If you want to go on the cheaper side, try something like this for 5 bucks. If you want to get fancy, go porcelain designed with some of these options.

3) Now even TSL knows we can’t convince everyone to swear off coffee shops forever. If you must head to your nearest Dunkin, Starbucks or Au Bon Pain, so be it. But just for us, ask them to fill up your reusable mug instead (Starbucks even offers a 10 cent discount).  If you’re an iced coffee person, try one of these. Whatever you do, please don’t be one of those people who asks for a separate styrofoam cup to cover you iced coffee so your hands don’t get cold. Buy a coffee sleeve, they are cheap and you can use them 100 times over. You can get super artsy with these or basic here. Heck, you can make them yourself if you really want.

Just remember, even out of 400 million, every cup makes a difference.