Guest Blog: Cross Roads House in Portsmouth Chooses Solar

By Amanda Landry

This week a massive solar hot water system installed by representatives from Seacoast Energy Alternatives (SEA) and Granite State Plumbing and Heating for the new building at Cross Roads House in Portsmouth, NH, nears its finish. The system is made up of 16 flat plate collectors and a 900-gallon water storage tank, and are being installed as the new building is constructed. Only finishing touches remain in the basement, and the system is expected to be completed this week.

Cross Roads is an emergency and transitional shelter with a program to help the homeless get jobs and housing. Cross Roads needs this new building because the old building simply cannot adequately care for the number of people that stay there, which can rise up to 88 people per night. “We had safety and health concerns. The new building will not be increasing the number of people we can take in; it will increase the quality of the assistance we can give,” said Chris Sterndale, Executive Director at Cross Roads House.

One of the first things people do in the morning is take a shower, especially before a big job interview. “People are waking up at 3 and 4 am to take showers in order to make sure there is enough hot water for everyone,” said Jack Bingham, owner of SEA. “The biggest challenge for the homeless is entering the workplace and they need to be able to take a hot shower to start off the day right and present themselves well at interviews and for work.” When asked why Cross Roads chose to install a solar hot water system, Sterndale responded, “Cost is always a challenge for us. We go through quite a lot of hot water and this solution is the most cost-effective and meets our needs.”

Guest Blog: Clay Hill Farm on their October 12th Eco-Fest and 2010 Green Wedding Giveaway

Live music, local food, crafters, artists, farmers, green businesses and kids organizations all come together on the beautiful lawn of Clay Hill Farm in Cape Neddick for their 1st annual Fall Eco-Fest on Monday, October 12th , from 11-3. Admission is free. This will be a rain or shine event, courtesy of Sperry Tents.

Many of the participating crafters and businesses will be in the large Main tent, but several farmers and artisans have chosen the expansive lawn for their EZ-up tents and farmers market set-ups. The event will feature numerous Green Alliance Business Partners, including: ReVision Energy, Ultra Geothermal, Green Fashion Line, Kimberly Mosher of Arbonne International, and more.

A 'Kids Korner' will be set-up under a separate tent, with activities and local environmental resources for kids. There will be fairy house building in Clay Hill’s fairy meadow, a scavenger hunt all around the farm and nature trails to explore. Live music at the gazebo and local food hot off the grill will add to this family fun day of seasonal celebration

GA to host Green Card Holder Appreciation Night at Portsmouth Brewery

On October 15th the GA will be hosting our first ever Green Card Holder Appreciation Night, to be held at the Lapanza Lounge, downstairs at the Portsmouth Brewery.

Way back in March, on a blustery and snow-infused night, the GA, along with Portsmouth GreenDrinks, hosted what was our biggest and most successful business partner meeting to date. With well over 100 greenies crammed into the 60-capacity basement abode of Alliance-member Brewery for this unprecedentedly well-attended event, Director Sarah Brown and Co. conducted a four-hour "Know Your Local Green Economy" round-robin, inviting both established members and potential allies alike to share in what Brown termed a kind of "green speed-dating" night.

Out of that incredible meeting numerous new Business Partners and individual Green Card holders ended up joining the greater GA fold. We want to duplicate that feat.

Between now and the 15th, every Green Card Holder will be receiving a direct invitation to attend. For you Green Card holders, the event will be a great opportunity to meet a vast range of Business Partners face-to-face. Ever wanted to know how a restaurant institutes a comprehensive recycling and composting program? Come meet Mariah Roberts, who has turned Beach Pea Bakery in Kittery into one of the most prominent green businesses on the Seacoast. Curious about solar power -- its costs and benefits? Jack Bingham of SEA Solar Store will be on hand to discuss potential savings opportunities for incorporating green power in your home's overall energy grid. Thinking about building a green home? Shane Carter from Ridgeview Construction, fresh off a Cornerstone Lean Green award for green building and featured in Business NH Magazine, will be there to discuss the growth of green construction. 

Peter Ellinwood of GreenPoma.com, a Concord-based online distributor of green lighting products, will be on hand to accept used compact fluorescent lamps (GreenPoma enjoys a business relationship with Northeast Lamp Recycling, a permitted fluorescent lamp recycling company in CT). Also, anyone who drops off a spent CFL will receive a coupon code good for $5 off an order of $25 or more at GreenPoma's online store. This is in addition to the discount they’d receive as a Green Card holder.

Dozens of other Business Partners have already RSVPd, and each will be given a two-minute spotlight to talk about the tremendous opportunities to be had by joining the GA -- either as a partnering business or as an individual Co-Op member. Green Cards, tee shirts, and other items will be available for sale, so if someone you know is thinking about joining the Green Alliance, be sure to bring them along.

For more information,

please email info@greenalliance.biz

Authentic Green Credentials Gaining Ground

By Sarah Brown

In September I received a call from a reporter at Newsweek regarding their extensive evaluation of the nation’s largest companies’ environmental performance. The reporter wanted to know our take on greenwashing – the ugly specter of companies capitalizing on “green” while not actually practicing it. Having labored the last 18 months to provide transparent data on local businesses’ environmental performance, I was thrilled to be included in the national conversation about sustainable commerce.

Here at the Green Alliance, one of the most important services we offer our partnering businesses -- and the customers that frequent them -- is our GA Toolkit. Consisting of an extensive 50-question Evaluation, resulting Report Card, and publish-ready Green Story, the Toolkit is a way of systematically and objectively evaluating businesses and their green credentials. It is also an important service to the community, providing transparent data on local companies’ products and practices – ultimately empowering the consumer to make better choices. We publish the results of our Sustainability Toolkit for all to see on our website www.greenalliance.biz.

With 63 green Business Partners joining our Alliance in just over a year, it is clear that commerce is paying attention to the new-found environmental values of the consumer. And what we have experienced right here on the Seacoast -- nothing short of an explosion of individual and commercial interest in sustainability -- is clearly rippling across the nation.

Newsweek completes massive "green corporate rankings"

Here at the GA, one of the most important services we offer our partnering businesses -- and the customers that frequent them -- is our GA Toolkit. Consisting of an extensive 40-question Evaluation, resulting Report Card, and publish-ready Green Story, the Toolkit is a way of systematically and objectively evaluating businesses and their green credentials.

While we've been proud to say there isn't another evaluation out there like it, last week we were informed by one of the nation's largest publications that they had undertaken their own massive evaluation -- only instead of local businesses, this one had its sights set on some of the country's largest corporations.

In a project that took 18 months to complete, Newsweek Magazine this week will be publishing their first ever "Green Rankings" -- an extensive and incredibly detailed snapshot of where every corporation on the S&P 500 stands in terms of green initiatives, environmental impact, and overall "reputation". The three categories were weighted as follows: 45% for environmental impact; 45% for green policies / initiatives; and 10% for reputation.

Included on Newsweek's impressive advisory panel was Climate Counts executive director Wood Turner, who also happens to sit on the GA Board of Director's and who was himself enormously influential in crafting the GA's own sustainability Toolkit.

The calculus -- rigorous to say the least -- incorporated over 700 individual metrics to come up with a composite score, including some that took into account the no-doubt daunting task of comparing businesses across industries.

To read Newsweek's complete list of green rankings, click here. To read the entire article summarizing the project, click here.

Green Card Testimonial: "GA made me feel like part of a community"

When Renee Fifield moved to the Seacoast from the small ski resort town of Breckenridge, Colorado with her husband and brand new baby a year ago, the Green Alliance was only a few months old and a handful of Business Partners strong. But while having breakfast recently at Beach Pea Bakery, Renee started leafing through a folder of materials on the table, and came across a GA discount flyer. After checking our website and discovering how much she could save by becoming a member, she bought a Green Card online. She recently emailed us this amazing testimonial:

"Hello GA Folks!

I saw you the other day in Reenhabit and you asked me to make some comments on the GA. With pleasure! Here goes....

Recently moving to the Seacoast area, the GA has provided me with a sense of community already. Although I have not met many of it's members, I feel like a part of a community seeking to make change with greener options. Through the GA I have found out about businesses I never knew existed and now enjoy making purchases at these businesses. One of my favorite businesses is the Acorn Organic Salon where I enjoy fabulous treatment while feeling good about the toxic free products they use on my hair. Zev Yoga provides 5 classes for $5! I thoroughly enjoyed Jonas' classes and met some stellar members of the seacoast community while doing practicing yoga. Empower Yoga also provides a discount and a warm welcome to all folks that practice yoga with them."

When I talked to Renee on the phone, she was even more excited to talk about the Green Card. "Sometimes when you have a discount card people at stores kind of look down at you, like 'oh, she's just looking for her discount,'" says Fifield. "But with businesses in the GA, everyone is incredibly cool and actually excited to see you using the Green Card!"

Renee is just one of over 500 Green Card holders, but her story illustrated perfectly how incredible of an investment it can be, especially if we keep adding new businesses like we have.

Portsmouth LEED-certified home to be featured in upcoming green homes tour

by Jim Cavan

PORTSMOUTH – When Marc and Cheryl Batchelder decided to build a home that was as energy-efficient as possible, they didn’t just go for the gold – they went for the platinum.

In late July the Batchelder home, located on Lawrence Street in Portsmouth, was awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design’s (LEED) Platinum certification, the organization’s highest mark. The home, which was visited by Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter in June, will be one of a number of Seacoast properties on display for the upcoming New Hampshire Sustainable Energy Resources (NHSE) Green Homes Open House on Saturday, October 3rd.

While the home was the 218th nationwide to achieve such recognition, when the project began there were only 28 Platinum certified homes throughout the country. Still, Marc Batchelder knew from the get-go that he wanted his home to be a trend-setter.

“We weren’t really considering LEED when the project began, but we knew we wanted the home to be as green and efficient as possible.” says Batchelder.

In fact, the green-blue Cape was already under construction when local “green” builder Chris Redmond of Little Green Homes found out about the owner’s vision for the home. “Basically Chris found out about the property through a friend of mine and dropped a letter of interest off at the house,” says Batchelder. “When we started talking to him, there was a mutual interest in going for LEED, and when we saw that the points we could get would land us on Platinum, we decided to go for it.”