Resources for St. Louis Green Business Challenge


Outreach Resources

ENERGY STAR is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy helping us all save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices. Click here for a list of activities from Energy Star to green your business.


Forming a Green Team

GreenBiz.com published a web article on forming green teams with additional links to how to get your company started and best practices for green teams. Click here for their report entitled: "Green Teams: Engaging Employees in Sustainability".


Community Engagement

Focus St. Louis has completed an Environmental Sustainability Road Map for municipalities and local governments to start on the path to sustainability.


Planning Sustainable Events 

The U.S. EPA provides a manual to organize and plan sustainable events to minimize the impact on the environment (click here).


Purchasing Policies

The U.S. EPA and the Federal Government have established a Green Purchasing Policy and offer green purchasing guides.


Supply Chain

U.S. EPA has several programs to promote greening of the supply chain.


Sustainablity Requests for Vendors and Supply Chain:

Walmart has initiatied a sustainability indexand questionairre for their vendors and suppliers. The questionairre asks 15 questions  covering energy and climate, materials efficiency, natural resources, and people and the community.


Property Management

Energy Star Portfolio Manager is an interactive energy management tool that allows building managers  and owners to track and assess energy and water consumption across their entire portfolio of buildings in a secure online environment. Portfolio Manager can set investment priorities, identify under-performing buildings, verify efficiency improvements, and receive EPA recognition for superior energy performance. The program also includes a benchmarking starter kit.


Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) create a GREEN web page to  provide tips to building managers on sustainability along with 5 ways to green your building during tough economic times.


The Farnsworth Group's  Green Navigation helps lead companies through the numerous opportunities of sustainability and green practices.


Energy Efficiency


Energy Effficiency Programs
Ameren has programs in Illinois and Missouri to encourage electrical energy efficiency in addition to incentive programs to install energy efficiency equipment.  For Illinois customers, click here, for Missouri customers, click here.


Laclede Gas Company offers several conservation and energy efficiency programs to encourage its customers to use natural gas wisely. With the assistance of the Laclede Energy Efficiency Collaborative, the Company has selected a portfolio which provide residential, commercial, and industrial customers with a combination of direct benefits and self-help/educational programs. For more information, click here.


Lighting Efficency and Retrofits

Through the U.S EPA eeBuildingsprogram, there are several tips and strategies to make your lighting energy efficient.


Energy Star Vending Machines

For a listing of Energy Star Vending Machines and a savings calculator on low-energy vending machines click here.


Computers

For a listing of Energy Star computers click here


Renewable Energy Credits

Electricity consumption can be offset through participation in Ameren's Pure Power program. When you enroll in Pure Power, AmerenUE purchases renewable energy credits (RECs) equal to your Pure Power participation level. The purchase of RECs supports wind and other renewable resources right here in the Midwest. 


 

Indoor Environmental Quality

Indoor Air Quality
The U.S. EPA is collaborating with leading professional organizations to provide indoor air quality (IAQ) guidance for the building industry. For more information on their resources on indoor air quality, click here.


Green Seal

Green Seal, a non-profit based in Washington D.C., has been identifying consumer and

institutional products and services that protect the environment and human health since

1989. Green Seal has developed over 40 standards and certified more than 3,300

products and services.  To find a Green Seal product or service, click here.


Waste

 U.S. EPA WasteWise program provides examples and success stories of companies reducing waste.

 

St. Louis Regional Partnership for Electronics Recovery encourages reuse and recycling of unwanted electronics in our region. To ensure electronics are managed in an environmentally safe manner, the Partnership has registered numerous facilities in the area as official collection sites for e-cycle St. Louis.


The St. Louis-Jefferson Solid Waste Management District is a regional agency created to assist the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors in establishing and expanding waste reduction and recycling. The District includes the City of St. Louis, St. Louis County, Jefferson County and St. Charles County. Areas within the district vary from highly urban to extremely rural, which require a wide variety of waste reduction and recycling programs to meet local needs.


ReSource St. Louis is the St. Louis area's construction and commercial materials exchange. The mission of ReSource St. Louis is to divert construction and demolition materials from local landfills by offering environmentally and financially responsible alternatives to the traditional construction process.


Operation Food Search's Furniture To Food and and Metal to Food  takes unwanted surplus furniture, scrap metal, plastic, cardboard, paper, and electronics and sells it to help stock foodshelves and fund community agencies across the St. Louis region.



Water

WaterSense is the U.S EPA program to promote wise water use and to label products using 20% less water. The web site list faucets, urinals, and toilets that meet the WaterSense criteria and tips to reduce water usage at your business.


Rain Gardens

Show Me Rain Gardens is a regional water quality initiative promoting rain gardens to advance low-impact alternative stormwater treatment practice, reduce stormwater related flooding and erosion, and improve water quality. Thie initiative is a partnership between the St. Louis County Soil and Water Conservation District and Metropolitan Sewer District.


Stormwater Runoff

Metropolitan Sewer District Landscape Guide for Stormwater Best Management Practices assists landscapers and building designers in selecting and planting native species to control stormwater runoff.


Clean Rivers Healthy Communities Program is an initiative of the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) to improve the quality of the St. Louis region?s rivers, streams, and creeks by significantly reduce the amount of sewage that enters into the waterways from combined sewers during excessive rains and snow melts.




Transportation

Workplace Commuting

Burns & McDonnell has desgined an employee commute surveyto determine modes of transportation by employees adn to assist in calculating greenhouse gas emmissions from employee transportation.


Ridefinders the St. Louis regional rideshare program, provides ridematching service to help commuters carpool or vanpool to work. Over 1,400 employers participate in the program across the City of St. Louis, St. Louis County, St. Charles, Franklin, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe and St. Clair Counties.


Transit

Citizens for Modern Transit (CMT)assists employers and commuters with transit-oriented options in the St. Louis region. CMT manages the Guaranteed Ride Homeprogram for transit riders and provides information to employers on purchasing transit passes for employees.


WeCar is the City of St. Louis car sharing program to bring an easy and convenient service to downtown St. Louis. 

Trailnet fosters healthy and active communities through innovative programs, planning, and policy that promote walking and bicycling throughout the St. Louis bi-state region.


The St. Louis Regional Clean Cities Program is a voluntary initiative sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to expand the commercial use of vehicles that operate with fuels other than petroleum-based gasoline and diesel. Using clean, domestic, alternative fuels will improve our air quality, reduce our dependence on imported oil and improve our economy.


Travel

Terrapass offers a carbon footprint calculator for auto and air travel and ways to offset CO2 emmissions from travel.