Eat Green With The Green Alliance

Marcom4 joins the Green Alliance

Marcom4, a strategic branding, messaging, and content marketing company headquartered in Greenland, was founded on a unique premise: To synthesize the unique talents of four individuals into one, forward-thinking firm capable of meeting the needs of any client.

While each of Marcom4’s founding partners – Dannielle Sargent (Director of Creative Services), Jane Marlow Cutter (Director of Client Development), Kara Steere (Director of Content Development), and Andrea Knowles (Director of Media Strategies) – brings her own uniquely honed skill sets to the fore, all share a common goal: to help clients conceptualize, develop, and implement branding and messaging strategies that best suit their businesses. And with a combined 60 years of living and working in New Hampshire, Marcom4 is uniquely tuned to the needs of their Granite State clients.

In an effort to bolster its green credentials, Marcom4 places special emphasis on working remotely. Marcom4 has sourced materials from RiverWorks Printing, a fellow GA Business Partner renowned for their cutting edge, sustainable products and practices. Additionally, the team actively encourages clients to take advantage of all digital media when and where appropriate, in the process helping them reduce their carbon footprint.

But it’s with whom Marcom4 works that sheds perhaps the brightest light on the company’s green commitments. From renewable energy to public transportation, Marcom4 is proud to tout a client list both local in its geography and green as its aim. Having joined the Green Alliance, Marcom4 is eager to continue broadening its business base to include even more green-oriented local companies, while continuing to prove that thinking outside of the box can help bolster your business’ bottom line.

Remember the GA Discount – Members Save 20% on all services! Save hundreds of dollars on marketing, messaging, and messaging strategies for your business!

For more information on Marcom4, and check out their page, Click Here!

In stormy economy, socially responsible investments a welcome safe haven

If the stock market were a roller coaster at Six Flags, you can bet the line to ride would be short – the prospective riders, thrill-seekers all.

World market jitters – wrought by the slow economic recovery from the 2008 Great Recession – recent have thrown into high relief the precarious state of the global economy. But a lesser known, seldom covered phenomenon is beginning to resonate above the turmoil: The relative success of incorporating environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) investment criteria.

According to the Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment (US SIF), 720 investment funds, combining for $1.01 trillion in assets under management, now incorporate ESG criteria in their investment strategies, an increase of 78% over assets tracked in 2010. Meanwhile, a majority of large cap ESG funds – those which deal with companies valued in the billions of dollars – outperformed the S&P 500 over ten years.

Moreover, ESG itself continues to grow every year, moving away from simply screening out specific industries like tobacco and weapons, and towards “positive screening strategies” which target socially and environmentally responsible companies and sectors.

In fact, according to US SIF, of the $33.3 trillion in total assets under management in the U.S., $3.74 trillion, or 11.3% is invested following ESG criteria. To put it another way, nearly 1 out of every 9 dollars under professional investment in the U.S. is involved in some aspect of socially responsible and sustainable investing.

“Companies thinking about, for example, how to better manage pollution, or how to be more energy efficient, tend to be forward-thinking companies focused on the long-term,” notes Mike Smith of the Progressive Asset Management Group (PAM Group). “In short, they tend to have better management and better corporate governance. Better managed companies in turn tend to be more profitable which is reflected in their stock price.”

Pocos’ new menu aims to be a sustainable trend-setter

For years, Marlisa Geroulo and her husband, John Golumb, would look with equal parts pride and trepidation upon the many organic and local menu options of their favorite eateries – pride at seeing their Seacoast community becoming more sustainable, and trepidation in wishing their restaurant could feature more of the same.

Having owned and operated Pocos Bow Street Cantina for three decades – the restaurant celebrated its 30th anniversary last October – Geroulo and Golumb have by all accounts been way ahead of the green curve. Recycling, composting, energy efficiency – Pocos was an early adopter near across the board.

In 2009, the couple made the most of the city’s waterfront renovations by spearheading an overhaul of their own, incorporating myriad green renovations at both Pocos as well as Two Ceres Street, its neighbor and sister restaurant.

“We’ve always felt that being as green as you can be is the right thing to do,” said Geroulo. “People are looking at green as a differentiator more and more.”

Unfortunately, the calculus is a little more complicated when it comes to food, which accounts for roughly 33% of a typical restaurant’s costs. For years, the Pocos team had been cautious in its efforts to expand their menu’s scope of local, organic offerings – a local option here, an antibiotic offering there.

Finally, after a back-and-forth with Kitchen Manager Kevin Mageara, Golumb and Geroulo decided to go all-in. As of last Wednesday, all of the restaurant’s chicken, turkey, beef, fish, and pork have been replaced with organic, antibioitic and hormone-free fare.

Save Money While Battling Climate Change With Green Alliance

According to a release by 350.org, a global movement to solve the climate crisis, earth's atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have reached an alarming level. On May 9th, for the first time ever, the carbon dioxide counter on the side of Mauna Loa, the most important scientific instrument on earth, recorded a daily average of above 400 parts per million. To those who are unaware of the significance of ppm numbers, let's put it this way--it’s been several million years since CO2 reached these levels in the atmosphere.

350.org was started five years ago, as a movement to try and get our carbon dioxide levels down from 390 ppm (what our level was then) to what scientists identified as the safe upper limit of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere: 350 parts per million. 

While 350.org does have good news -- just an hour after the news from Mauna Loa, the trustees of a fifth U.S. college had voted to divest their fossil fuel stocks, hard on the heels of 11 cities who’d done likewise the week before -- it is clear that the carbon in the air keeps rising, and with it the temperature, and the devastation.

News such as this shows that help is still needed in the climate change battle.  Coming together to reduce our resource use, break our fossil fuel addiction, and support sustainable initiatives is more important now than ever before.  

Here at Green Alliance, we believe that even the simple things--such as shopping local, choosing green products, and investing in sustainable options--are all ways to join the cause.  Joining the Green Alliance as a member is an easy way to get this started.  Not only does a GA membership make it easy to find those locally owned, truly sustainable businesses around the Seacoast, it also gives you a Green Card, with which you get discounts at every one of those over 110 businesses. 

The GA business model basically allows people to save money by going green--what could be easier than that?

To become a GA member and start saving, please visit www.greenalliance.biz/join!

To make a donation with 350.org's initiative to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, check out act.350.org/donate/400_ppm.

GUEST BLOG: RGGI will let the region thrive

From The Portsmouth Herald

By Chris Meyer

Back in 2008, one year into the Great Recession, I started a brand-new business.

Crazy?

Just the opposite.

My company, Yankee Thermal Imaging, makes money by helping New Englanders save money on energy. We test buildings with cutting-edge technology that zeroes in on leaks, and then send crews to fix the problems. We've helped scores of families and more than a dozen municipalities save what will likely turn out to be tens of thousands of dollars in energy waste.

The economic downturn raised a lot of awareness about energy costs, and how much thriftier we can be with the right up-front investments. Even as it ebbs, I doubt Americans are likely to turn back. It's not just that we're saving money, we're also helping clean our air and water, and strengthening our nation by reducing our dependence on foreign oil.

All this also helps explain why I support the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, RGGI, the pioneering pact that joins New Hampshire and eight other states in a smarter regional energy strategy. In the next few weeks, our lawmakers will vote on whether to stay in the 3-year-old project. I hope they understand how much RGGI has been strengthening the state economy — and not just clean-energy businesses like mine. The pact provides major incentives for firms to improve their efficiency, which saves money for other efforts, like hiring and investing, which make our economy grow.

GA Green Jobs Board

Apart from all the other awesome stuff the Green Alliance does, we also have a great Green Jobs Board that is updated whenever a new job opens up from one of our Business Partners.  Keep up do date on green jobs around the Seacoast area by checking our board.  This green job was just posted...

Green Earth Baby Works is seeking a reliable driver for between 3-5 days a week. Driver must be able to pass a criminal background screen, drug test, and driving record check. Applicants must be over the age of 21 for insurance reasons.

We are looking for someone to drive and process laundry between 15-40 hours a week. Our current driving range is from Portland, Maine to Gloucester, Massachusetts and out as far as Concord, Salem, Nashua, Manchester, and Hanover, New Hampshire.

As we continue to grow, we may have two positions available.

Pay is $8-10/hr, and we pay for gas.

This position also has the opportunity to transition into a sales associate position for the right employee.

For more information on Green Earth Baby Works, Click Here!

To check out the Green Jobs Board, Click Here!

Cast Off With the Thomas Laighton for Fun, Festivities and Exploration

PORTSMOUTH — Among the most enduring signs that summer lies just around the corner is the sight of the M/V Thomas Laighton plying its way around Portsmouth Harbor. And while residents and visitors alike associate the vessel with fun and exploration, the Thomas Laighton is also an exemplar of environmentalism in action.

The Thomas Laighton is the cruise ship of the Isle of Shoals Steamship Company, an iconic Seacoast institution. Having been in Portsmouth since 1962, the ISSCo. is truly part of the community. Originally founded as Viking Cruises by Arnold Whittaker, the Steamship Company is still in the family, having been passed along first to Bob, Arnold’s son and most recently, in 1999, to Arnold’s daughter-in-law, Robin Whittaker.

The company offers a variety of tours to New Hampshire’s historic Isles of Shoals and throughout Portsmouth Harbor and the Greater Piscataqua Region, and is thoroughly committed to preserving the amazing history and heritage of the Seacoast.

Beyond those iconic tours, the company also charters the famous Thomas Laighton “party ship,” where during the summer hundreds pack the vessel to hear the best in local music — everything from rock cover bands to reggae to DJs — all while taking in the crisp evening air of summertime on the Seacoast. The company anticipates offering three or four “party cruises” a week this summer.

Running mostly private events for the month of the May, ISSCo. offered its first public cruises on May, for a Cinco de Mayo event with a DJ, proceeds going to the Make A Wish Foundation, and, as part of Pro Portsmouth, on May 5, ISSCo. hosted a Children’s Day an event it does every year.

Redhook Brewery and NH Surfrider Foundation's mixer!

Come on down to Portsmouth's Redhook Brewery tomorrow, May 7th at 7pm for a NH Surfrider mixer!

It's NH Surfrider Foundation's fundraising month at Redhook Brewery! Each Tuesday in May a (large) portion of food and drink proceeds are donated to the NH Surfrider Foundation's Rise Above Plastic campaign. What a great excuse to get together, meet some friends, talk about ocean conservation, surfing, dreams or passions, or just plain hang-out!

For more information, click here!

Redhook Brewery is a proud business partner of the Green Alliance. GA Green Card holders receive $10 off their bill when they eat, drink, and enjoy at Redhook! To see their GA page, click here!

The Green Alliance is...

The Green Alliance is…a membership organization that promotes responsible businesses and informs green-minded consumers.

Our Mission: 
The Green Alliance works to grow businesses that demonstrate environmental and social responsibility while building a community of consumers who will change the world.

Get Noticed; Get Educated
The GA is a nationally recognized resource for consumers looking to buy responsibly and locally. A consumer looking for a green house painter may not have realized that they also would prefer a green hair salon.

A Sustainability Coordinator and Certifier
Every GA Business Partner undergoes an extensive and transparent sustainability certification which includes a 40Q narrative-based sustainability evaluation, a scored Report Card and a Green Story which puts all that information in perspective. In addition to Certification, GA Business Partners receive on-going support in becoming greener.

EZ Bikes & Scooters offers Seacoast bikers more options

Winter’s thaw complete, bicyclists the region over are beginning to untangle bike chains, grease neglected gears, and unfurl their ride day best. It won’t be long before the Seacoasts’ myriad trails – be them hugged by coastline roadways or granite craggy forest beds – pop with fresh tracks beckoning the next in line.

For decades, Americans looking for more room and less congestion were wont to hitch wagon’s west, out of Eastern hubs like Metro Boston and New York and into the vast, distant suburban sprawl. In so doing, certain sacrifices were inevitably made, not the least of which was tight-knit towns and speedy commutes for space, space, and more space – and more time behind the wheel.

But the East Coast’s recent population comeback, reinforced in part by a vibrant repurposing of once-abandoned hubs (think mill buildings), has had another, ancillary effect: a slew of easily accessible town and country biking options for its increasingly outdoors-centric residents.

Likewise, a combination of rising gas prices and general environmental awareness has similarly sparked a growing appreciation for the activity’s more utilitarian advantages.

Perhaps nowhere are these practical needs better met than at EZ Bikes and Scooters, an Exeter-based business specializing in electric bicycles and scooters. Launched in 2009 by the husband and wife team of Tom and Teresa Hemenway, EZ Bikes offers models from manufacturers including Hebb, Ez Peddler, and Pedego, as well as a number of standard one or two-person bikes, three-wheelers, beachcombers, and gas-powered scooters.

Senator Shaheen's commends Favorite Foods, Inc. as leader in energy efficacy

As support for national energy security continues to grow, it is here in our own state of New Hampshire efforts to develop and implement legislation are underway to increase energy efficiency technologies throughout the country. Spearheading the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act, NH Senator Jeanne Shaheen visited Favorite Foods, Inc. to have an example of a business taking the necessary measures to implement energy efficiency technologies. 

Since opening their doors twenty-one years ago Favorite Foods has taken local business to a new level. The family-owned and operated business has stayed true to its values and customer driven philosophies, to distribute to locally-owned independent restaurants. In addition to their value-laden approach, Favorite Foods has an extensive list of energy efficiency technologies at their facilities, including a 140 kW solar PV array, the largest rooftop solar array in New Hampshire.

“When we started the energy upgrades we didn’t intend to become this example of energy efficiency,” Chris Barstow President and CEO of Favorite Foods explained to the Senator. “But we noticed substantial financial savings and kept finding more and more places to reduce our energy demands. And now we are hooked. ”

Joining Senator Shaheen and the Favorite Foods staff were Mike Behrmann and Clay Mitchell of Revolution Energy, the company responsible for Favorite Foods renowned solar array. Revolution Energy and Favorite Foods are both Partnering Businesses of the Green Alliance, and their collaboration demonstrates the positive success that is generated from the GA’s network of 115+ local, green businesses. In addition to working with Revolution Energy, Favorite Foods also contracts with Simply Green Biofuels, another Green Alliance business, for biodiesel to fuel their delivery vehicles and on-site generator.

New Freedom Laser joins the Green Alliance

250,000. When it comes to small business, that’s a huge number, no matter how you slice it. For New Freedom Laser – the Seacoast’s first cosmetic laser center – it’s a number that defines what it means to be a company committed to transparency, quality, and peerless customer service.

Since 1998, New Freedom has conducted 250,000 laser hair removal and skin rejuvenation procedures, in the process giving new leases on life to countless people – of all ages, from all walks of life, men and women alike. Founded by Rosemarie Golini, the business began when the FDA first approved laser hair removal systems, and has since grown to include cutting edge skin rejuvenation, microdermabrasion, skin tightening, and more.

How does laser hair removal work? Simple: By utilizing light at specific wavelengths capable of being absorbed by the pigment within the hair -- and only the hair, permanent hair removal lasers can do the needed job while leaving the skin virtually unaffected. The result is a quick,natural solution to unwanted hair and – more importantly – a renewed sense of comfort and confidence.

New Freedom has begun to carve out an even more unique niche here on the Seacoast, with their growing emphasis on natural and organic sunscreens, anti-aging creams, and products to help sooth and reduce acne. Likewise, New Freedom’s welcoming atmosphere, customer care, and commitment to educating their clients has helped put them a cut above the competition.

Golfing Green on the Seacoast

At the Sagamore-Hampton Golf Club in North Hampton, maintaining grass is a science. And that’s a very good thing. Did you know there are six golf courses in just the Winnicut River watershed alone? And that’s just one small portion of the estuary.

It should come as no surprise that fertilizer is considered one of the major sources of nitrogen pollution. Homeowners – along with farmers – are the biggest users of fertilizer in the watershed. Fertilizer is also used on athletic fields and golf courses.

As Waterkeeper, part of Peter Wellenberger's job is to educate people on how they, as individuals, can help protect the Great Bay estuary from pollution. As documented in PREP’s 2013 State of the Estuaries report, there are increasing nitrogen concentrations in Great Bay. The loss of eelgrass – the cornerstone of the Great Bay ecosystem – is a major cause of concern. Reducing sources of nitrogen pollution – along with other pollutants such as pesticides – is essential to improving water quality.

Sagamore-Hampton is setting an example for other golf courses and the rest of us to follow. According to Richard Luff, President and co-owner, “The Golf Club has been naturally maintained since its inception in the early 60′s, perfecting a maintenance program that is nearly 90% independent of chemically-based fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides.”

On the greens, the weeds are hand-picked instead of using herbicides. On the fairways they cultivate multiple grass species as opposed to a mono culture. This creates a patchwork of grass species that are less susceptible to disease, drought, and pests. They also allow clover, a nitrogen fixing plant, to grow freely on the fairways, tees, and in the rough. When fertilizer is applied they only use an organic, slow release nitrogen mix that is up to 70-90 percent water insoluble. As Richard noted, the key to low input course management is often waiting and seeing, not over reacting and treating.

Last year, the Club decided to go one step further and join the Audubon International Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf. Audubon provides information to help golf course personnel with the key environmental components including chemical use reduction, water quality management and conservation, wildlife and habitat management, and outreach and education. Audubon’s real goal is to make us better stewards of our natural resources. As noted in their program statement, “The strongest part of the certification process is that it forces us to rethink our methods and manner of conducting business. It challenges our “status quo” by directing our thoughts and actions toward environmental awareness and changes our definitions of responsibility.”

To qualify for the program, the club had to initiate a comprehensive water quality monitoring program that looked at physical parameters, nutrients, and the presence of macro invertebrates. With the certification process now complete, the club is required to conduct periodic water quality testing. Wellenberger will be working with the UNH Sea Grant Citizen Research Volunteer (CRV) program to implement testing three times a year.

If you play golf, he highly encourages you to check out the course and learn more about their environmental practices (like CLF, they also are a member of the Green Alliance). And if you are a homeowner and would like to reduce your impacts through better management practices, you can read his previous blog on Lawn Tips for a Healthy Great Bay. You can also read about New Castle’s Lawn to Lobsters program that is designed to assist homeowners in managing their properties.

For more information about the Great Bay-Piscataqua Waterkeeper and Peter Wellenberger's work to protect the Great Bay estuary, visit: http://www.clf.org/great-bay-waterkeeper/. You can also follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

The New Hampshire chapter of the Conservation Law Foundation is now a proud partner of the Green Alliance. The Green Alliance is now offering a special co-membership deal: $50 for one year's membership in the Green Alliance, and 2012 calendar year membership in CLF! For more information, please click here!

The Art of Great Bay Arts & Fine Crafts Show

Get excited everyone. The 8th annual “Art of Great Bay” exhibition is rapidly approaching. It is held the weekend of May 3 to 5 at the Hugh Gregg Coastal Conservation Center in the Great Bay Discovery Center in Greenland, N.H. Every year this art show gathers beautiful three-dimensional arts and crafts from all over New England to help raise funds for one of our most active Green Alliance members, The Great Bay Stewards. This year’s theme is re-imagined art and fine crafts constructed out of re-purposed materials. Whether it’s jewelry with natural elements, collage paintings, or sculptures made of recycled materials, there will be many gorgeous and creative displays of artistic ingenuity.

The weekend will begin Friday night, May 3 at 6 p.m. with an art reception featuring an evening full of culture, art, and music. Enjoy delightful jazz, decadent wine, and the divine buzz of people exploring and discovering new art. Then Saturday and Sunday the exhibit and sale commence going from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days. As mentioned, a portion of each piece sold will go to help the Great Bay Stewards continue its amazing environmental and conservation work.

Local green economy on the rise in spite of economic challenges

What is it about a place that makes you proud to call it home? For most, local pride is rarely found in chain restaurants, franchised merchants or corporate superstores, but rather instilled by the characteristically charming businesses and landmarks that reflect the locale in its own right.

Even before the 2008-marked start of the national recession, economic hardship persisted for local businesses in competition with larger companies that prioritized profit above all other business strategies, including the ethical and sustainable approaches that many small, local businesses were founded upon. It seems obvious to point out the imbalance with pitting corporations that maximize profit by any means necessary against those that practice environmental responsibility and social integrity every step of the way. Yet without change, “business as usual” continues to favor power and profit at the loss of stable local economies.

For Seacoast New Hampshire, change began in 2009 with the start of the Green Alliance. A small business itself, founded by Kittery native Sarah Brown, the Green Alliance was established with the mission to grow businesses that are not only local but also those that strive to redefine industry standards to include environmental accountability, social equality and community involvement.

Four years later, the Green Alliance proudly partners with more than 115 businesses that demonstrate social and environmental sustainability. Through a unique journalistic-style approach to marketing, the GA provides information on local businesses while keeping the community abreast with the latest environmental news and events. Each partnering business of the Green Alliance also undergoes a comprehensive sustainability certification to make company practices and initiatives transparent to consumers.

Celebrate Earth Day with Blue Ocean Society Beach Cleanups and Benefit Concert

 Our friend, Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation is celebrating Earth Day this Saturday April 20th with a full day of activities!  Spend your day with Blue Ocean Society helping clean up beaches in several locations in New Hampshire and Massachussetts.  Help clean up four of the most beautiful beaches in New England in Portsmouth, Northampton, and Rye, NH and in Salisbury, MA.  Then, in the evening celebrate with Blue Ocean Society and Green Alliance member 92.5 the River with a benefit concert and silent auction at the Blue Ocean Music Hall in Salisbury!

Beach cleanup efforts are for all ages and supplies will be provided, enjoy this chance to get the whole family involved with cleaning up mother earth.  The first cleanups will start at 9:00 am with the Northampton State Beach cleaning effort at which time volunteers should meet at the parking lot across from The Beach Plum.  Then at 10:00 am beach cleanup in the Rye at the Odiorne State Park Seacoast Science Center will begin in conjunction with their Whale of a 5k Run and Earth Day Celebration (for more information on the 5k click here).  At 11:00 am cleanups will begin in both Portsmouth and Salisbury.  The Portsmouth cleanup will begin at Pierce Island, meeting at the swimming pool and will include a complimentary lunch by Dos Amigos Burritos.  Salisbury clean up efforts will be at Salisbury beach and will begin at Surfside 5 and at the main courtyard entrance.  

EZ Bikes & Scooters offers Seacoast bikers more options

Winter's chill now departed, bicyclists the region over are beginning to untangle bike chains, grease neglected gears, and unfurl their ride day best. It won’t be long before the Seacoasts’ myriad trails – be them hugged by coastline roadways or granite craggy forest beds – pop with fresh tracks beckoning the next in line.

For decades, Americans looking for more room and less congestion were wont to hitch wagon’s west, out of Eastern hubs like Metro Boston and New York and into the vast, distant suburban sprawl. In so doing, certain sacrifices were inevitably made, not the least of which was tight-knit towns and speedy commutes for space, space, and more space – and more time behind the wheel.

But the East Coast’s recent population comeback, reinforced in part by a vibrant repurposing of once-abandoned hubs (think mill buildings), has had another, ancillary effect: a slew of easily accessible town and country biking options for its increasingly outdoors-centric residents.
Likewise, a combination of rising gas prices and general environmental awareness has similarly sparked a growing appreciation for the activity’s more utilitarian advantages.

Perhaps nowhere are these practical needs better met than at EZ Bikes and Scooters, an Exeter-based business specializing in electric bicycles and scooters. Launched in 2009 by the husband and wife team of Tom and Teresa Hemenway, EZ Bikes offers models from manufacturers including Hebb, Ez Peddler, and Pedego, as well as a number of standard one or two-person bikes, three-wheelers, beachcombers, and gas-powered scooters.

With its small electric motor attached on the front wheel, EZ Bikes gives riders the option of peddling when conditions allow, while offering an easily activated electric throttle for steep inclines or unruly terrain.

In terms of function, they’re not unlike the moving walkways found in just about every major airport; some simply let the walkway carry them from point terminal to terminal, while others choose to walk along with it, thereby allowing them to move faster. The EZ Bike works in exactly the same way.

Spring Cleaning and Spring Greening April Specials!

With the sunny days of spring starting to shine through, Green Alliance Business Partners want to give you deals that are just as bright! That’s why for the whole month of April the GA is offering its members, both Green Card holders and Green Families Club members, exclusive, stepped-up discounts from April 1st thru April 30th.

As we all know, with this great new weather comes not-so-great spring-cleaning. But for Green Card holders, the process will be a lot easier, cheaper, and greener!

GA Business Partner, AutoBeGreen, has a great green oil change deal! Just go to Kerner's Quick Lube in Exeter, NH, Dow’s Automotive Service in Portsmouth, NH, or Keegan Auto in North Hampton, NH anytime in April with your Green Card and you’ll get $5 off an oil change when you choose the green motor oil option! Additionally, if you send your receipt from the oil change along with a coupon available from AutoBeGreen’s website or from the mechanic location, you can get up to $10 back in the mail!
Note to Members: If you have a late model vehicle choose the Green Synthetic Motor Oil, and earlier model vehicles should ask for Green Conventional Motor Oil.

Need your house cleaned, but don’t have the time or the means? Green Maids has a great deal for new customers! Become a Green Maids customer and receive 25% off your first cleaning when you use your Green Card in the month of April!

Also if you’ve been thinking of going green in a big way and delving into the hybrid world, now is a great time to do so! Seacoast Volkswagen is giving all Green Alliance cardholders a $1,000 discount under invoice on all TDI and Hybrid vehicles purchased in April!

So after you’ve taken advantage of these 3 amazing and stepped-up GA discounts in honor of April Spring Cleaning/Spring Greening, make sure you do your part to help clean up our Seacoast beaches. Join 3 Green Alliance Business Partners in an Earth Day beach clean up! Visions Kitchens and Design, Green Maids, and Green Realtor, Hillary Gaynor, are teaming up to clean up! Blue Ocean Society, and the Seacoast Science Center are also helping with this awesome and green way of celebrating Earth Day. It will be held on Saturday, April 20th at 10am at the Seacoast Science Center.

Two days after the inspirational beach clean up is officially Earth Day! And on this day, Green Card holders receive double the percent they would normally get off at The Riverworks restaurant! That’s 20%! So stop in and get a delicious meal with family and friends to ring in a great day!

Learn more about these amazing April specials for Green Alliance members and Green Families Club members by checking out AutoBeGreen, Seacoast Volkswagen, Green Maids, and The Riverworks!
Not a member? Join now to get these great green discounts! Click here to check out the GA events calendar posting for more info on the Earth Day Beach Clean up.

Green Collar Careers: Jim Pender Jr., president and COO of Rockingham Electric

Today, Rockingham Electric is one of the most iconic businesses anywhere on the Seacoast – everyone knows the “big red barn” right off of Route 16. Founded in 1951, Rockingham’s steady growth and ever-increasing popularity were dealt a huge blow in December 1968, when a fire broke out at the company’s Portsmouth headquarters. Within hours the building – along with the inventory, company records, cash and accounts – were gone.
 
Former President Jim Pender – who also happens to be the father of the current President, 49-year-old Jim Pender, Jr. – decided to move the company to Newington, right next to the General Sullivan Bridge, where the company continues to thrive today.
 
While the recession has dealt a blow to the building and construction trades, Rockingham has remained successful in part due to its optimistic embrace of efficient lighting products and design strategies, getting out in front of the forthcoming efficiency benchmarks with great enthusiasm.