Jul 22, 2008

Solar program exceeds goals

County's green certification catches on as marketing tool

By Sarah Frier / Daily News Correspondent

As global warming awareness continues to spread, Santa Clara County's green business program has doubled the number of certifications it gives out each year, with a stricter checklist.

The 10-year-old program certified 20 businesses in 2005, 47 in 2006, 80 in 2007 and 86 so far this year. Last fiscal year, the county's goal was to enroll 100 in the program, and 250 signed up, said Lisa Rose, who runs the program from the county's integrated waste management division.

"It's just growing by leaps and bounds," she said.

Jerry Brown, who's in charge of energy audits for Palo Alto, said that's because being "green" is a popular marketing tool. Maintenance people have always fought to reduce waste and energy use, he said, but now they have the corporate funding to do so.

"The corporate mentality has changed," Brown said. "It used to be about energy savings and getting your bills down, but now everyone's talking about a carbon footprint."

This summer, Palo Alto's Crowne Plaza Hotel Cabana, at 4290 El Camino Real, was the first chain hotel to get certified in the county.

The hotel draws 18 percent of its power from solar energy, said general manager Mark Hochstatter, and uses a high-efficiency water heater. And it recently replaced its water-thirsty lawn with low maintenance, drip-irrigated vegetation. All the material used in the guest rooms is biodegradable.

"Instead of saying 'Put this marker on your bed if you don't want us to wash your sheets,' we say 'Put this marker on your bed if you do,'" Hochstatter said. "All of this makes sense for the environment, and it also makes business sense."

To be certified "green," participants must meet the program's standards for energy conservation, pollution prevention and waste reduction, according to the county's Web site. Auto body, dental and garment cleaning establishments were recently added to the program's list of certified businesses, and a janitorial certification checklist is in the works.

"What we're seeing is that this is one of the things that matters to the consumers," Rose said. "Being green shows that the business is a good corporate citizen."

The green fever has spread statewide, too. Last Thursday, the California Building Standards Commission announced the adoption of a statewide "green" building code to improve resource efficiency in new structures.



E-mail Sarah Frier at sfrier@dailynewsgroup.com.