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The Green Biz Wichita executive team will focus on membership, a commitment made during its September meeting. The group agreed to discuss a formal application process and an official membership committee will be formed. Last month, Roger Carvalho from Pen Publishing joined the executive group of Green Biz Wichita and will serve as its membership chair. In the Bag Cleaners is the organization's newest member after joining this month.
The team agreed to launch a Facebook contest at EXPOsure, set for Sept. 22, giving away an iPad 2. Participants must register at GBW's Facebook page and stop by the organization's booth at EXPOsure to enter the drawing.
A schedule was set for executive members to work the GBW booth during the Kansas Energy Conference, Oct. 4-5.
In addition, a membership survey will be distributed later this month to determine event preferences, education requests, committee work and suggestions for the organization. These results will be shared with Green Biz Wichita members in the fall. --
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MEMBER PROFILE:
Roger Scholfield, Scholfield Honda
Roger Scholfield is so committed to sustainability that he even pays his employee's recycling bill.
As president of Scholfield Honda, he says the automobile business can be guilty of leaving a huge carbon footprint. Service departments regularly use heavy materials like plastics, tires, glass and paper, therefore it is a no-brainer to recycle and reuse each of these products and more at his two dealership locations.
"I believe in recycling so much I pay the difference for those who sign with Waste Connections rate of $3 per month on regul ar trash versus recycling," Scholfield says. "I want each employee to remove all objections. Why shouldn't they recycle?"
Scholfield Honda comprises 37,000 square feet of building space and nearly 80 employees, giving it a considerable impact on the environment. Last year, the business recycled more than 50,000 pounds of batteries and saved 53 trees. When the company replaced its pre-1985 lights with energy-efficient lighting, Scholfield says the return on investment came within seven months.
He also says one barrel of re-refined oil replaces 50 barrels of the crude liquid. Fifteen years ago, Scholfield Honda installed waste oil heaters in its service shops, proving its commitment to a re-refining process for engine oil.
"We recycle our waste oil to reheat shops in the winter time," Scholfield. "In partnership with a company that re-refines oil we utilize a closed-loop process. They sell oil, we buy it and use it in cars when we change oil. Then the company picks up the waste, takes it to a refinery and breaks it down to be re-refined."
This emphasis on sustainability is also placed on heating and air conditioning units, weather stripping, unplugging appliances and chargers, turning off lights and using green-based cleaning products.
"It is simple to maintain and care for the equipment you have," he says. "Quantifying the amount saved makes the action of recycling easier to remember. It might be easier to put items in the trash can rather than a shredder but we try to hammer home what we are doing. It's about being a good steward to the community that's been great to the Scholfield Honda family."
Roger's father and uncle, Vic and Dick Scholfield, began working in the automobile industry in 1952. After a career in sales, the two acquired a Honda dealership in 1971 - the 44th dealership of the brand in the U.S. This year Scholfield Honda proudly celebrates its 40th anniversary in business.
Scholfield himself began working for the family business in 1986, gleaning everything he could from his family mentors. He learned to work with various personalities, prospect sales and enhance marketing from his father. His uncle instilled in him the discipline of starting each day greeting employees and the importance of getting to know company staff. After all these years, Scholfield says recognition can mean more to a person than a paycheck.
In 1991, Scholfield began running the Honda stores on his own and has continued the work for 25 years.
I love the car business because of the people," he says. "My Honda team of associates spends more together than with our own families. For our clients and guests that come through, whether we make a sale or not, we are interested in meeting them and letting them have a pleasant experience. People sales is about matching the needs of the person with the right information and learning to listen, not just be a good talker."
The east Kellogg campus of Scholfield Honda was built in 1985 as a state-of-the-art facility. With an original 30,000 square-feet, Scholfield recently added a 7,000 square-foot express service center to give customers a 45-minute oil change. He also created a deluxe customer lounge with a fireplace, leather chairs, computer station, 52-inch flat screen TV, kids area and complimentary water and Starbucks coffee.
The dealership has received recognition for customer satisfaction, being named a "Best Place to Work" for three years and a top ten finalist every year by the Wichita Business Journal.
Scholfield Honda has been a Green Biz Wichita member since the organization's inception, with Scholfield now serving on the executive team. He says the membership has offered new ideas on sustainability and allowed him to network with business partners who also emphasize green practices.
"When you receive this newsletter, you might appreciate the Green Biz Wichita membership but you'll appreciate the engagement even more," he says. "Rededicate yourself to forming that sustainability team within your company and spend time attending Lunch and Learns or GBW socials. The worst thing you can do is not tell anyone why and how to be sustainable." --
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September 2011
Volume I, Issue 2
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Connect with Green Biz
at EXPOSURE, Win an iPad 2
Your green business organization will be present at Wichita's largest networking event next week. On Sept. 22, the city's Chamber of Commerce will host EXPOsure, a target-rich environment that allows businesses to connect with customers in a dynamic setting. Local businesses in attendance may meet an anticipated 180 company prospects and provide an opportunity to showcase their products and services at the one-day event.
As part of the Green Zone section of trade show, Green Biz Wichita's executive team will host a booth to promote membership in the organization. For one lucky person, stopping by the GBW booth could mean winning an iPad 2.
To be considered for the prize, go to Green Biz Wichita's Facebook page and enter the sweepstakes online. Then register in person at GBW's EXPOsure booth to be entered in a drawing for a chance to win an iPad 2. The runner-up will receive a free Generation Green oil change from Scholfield Honda. We encourage you to tell friends and co-workers about the sweepstakes to help increase awareness of the city's leading sustainability organization.
EXPOsure will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sept. 22 at Century II Expo Hall. To learn more about how to interact with 1,700 attendees, click below:
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 August 28, 2011
Dear Green Biz Wichita,
Thank you for promoting aluminum recycling as the lead story in your first newsletter. While I don't believe that it will be a problem, your readers might assume that aluminum foil can be recycled along with aluminum cans. They can't. Folks who purchase aluminum cans only want beverage cans (they don't even want aluminum cat food cans). Other aluminum can, or course, be recycled but it needs to be kept separate and it typically brings only 25% of what you can get for cans alone. It would be a shame if someone from GreenBiz took bags full of a mixture of different kinds of aluminum to a scrap yard and were paid only a fraction of what it was worth.
Thank you for all of the good work that you are doing. Let me know if I can help.
Roger Lyon
Director, PRoKansas Recycling
rmlyon@cox.net
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Mark Your Calendar for
the State's Energy Event
The leadership of Green Biz Wichita encourages local businesses to attend the Kansas Energy Conference (KEC), Oct. 4-5, to learn more about alternative energy options. Green Biz Wichita is a involved as a financial sponsor of the event and is hosting a booth to feature the organization's educational purpose of making local businesses aware of ways to become sustainable.
A message from Gov. Sam Brownback will open the KEC on Wed. afternoon then breakout sessions are planned on community/small wind, transmission and biomass/biofuels. An evening reception will be held featuring booth vendors, including Green Biz Wichita.
Following the Oct. 5 general session, morning workshops will focus on topics including wind farm development, efficiency, solar energy, transportation and wind component manufacturing. During the trade show reception, the executive team of GBW will once again promote the organization with applications and information to help grow its membership.
For more information, contact Susan NeuPoth Cadoret at scadoret@kansascommerce.com or (785) 296-7198. --
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SMPS Wichita Invites You to Lunch
with Greensburg Mayor
The transformation of the town of Greensburg is nothing short of amazing. Since an EF-5 tornado devastated the town in 2007, Bob Dixson has served not only as mayor but also a regional expert on rebuilding a city based on sustainability and efficiency.
The SMPS Wichita organization is offering a unique chance to hear Mayor Dixson speak about Greensburg's efforts to incorporate green technology, utilize 100-percent wind power, build to LEED platinum specifications and implement local green policy. Make plans to attend his luncheon speech at 11 a.m., Sept. 22 at Larkspur Restaurant & Grill, 904 E. Douglas.
During the lunch, Mayor Dixson will talk about where Greensburg is today, how it got there and what the future holds for the Kansas town that defied the odds to be the Greenest City in America. To register, click on GREENSBURG LUNCH.
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Kansas Ranks Average in Green State Survey
How many Kansans reading this column have considered ways to make our lives greener? According to recent national ranking, it seems every person in our state should be doing something to make Kansas a greener place to live.
The sunflo wer state currently ranks 31st in the nation for its green environment. We are put in our place a Forbes.com survey that ranked each state in six equally-weighted categories: carbon footprint, air quality, water quality, hazardous waste management, policy initiatives and energy consumption.
The main concern for Kansas is its airplane manufacturing plants and industrial centers, of which produce runoff contributing to a significant amount of developmental and reproductive toxins in our waterways. This lends to bad toxicity exposure score. Environmental criticisms are also routinely made regarding Kansas' two major economic engines, aircraft and agriculture.
Our state has a population just shy of 3 million people and a GDP of $124.9 billion. Thanks to our open plains, we are the 10th-highest in wind generation and rank in the top 10 for air quality. Otherwise Kansas does quite poorly, with a carbon footprint of 78.4 million metric tons and a 3.8-percent alternative energy ranking.
It should come as no surprise that the Green Mountain State tops the greenest states list. Vermont spends more per person on energy efficiency - $22.50 - than any other state, largely because it has an office devoted exclusively to this purpose. Vermonters do receive low marks for vehicle miles traveled. Despite the tiny state, they drive about as much as the average American each year. But Vermont can boast stellar rankings in other areas, including carbon footprint per capita, second behind Idaho, and toxic waste per capita, behind only Hawaii.
Following Vermont in the top 10 green U.S. states are, in order: Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, Maryland, Connecticut, New Jersey, Rhode Island, New York and Arizona.
Kansas' claim to green fame can be attributed to something no other state has - and we earned it by default. The city of Greensburg, Kan. is nationally-known for the devastating tornado that hit on May 4, 2007. The EF5 tornado eliminated 95-percent of local homes and businesses, killed 11 people and forever impacted the lives of its families, friends and neighbors. What came from this tragedy was an opportunity and the community embraced it - by rebuilding their town to become an icon for environmentally-conscious construction.
Since 2007, the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), a program of the United States Department of Energy, has documented the development of energy efficient buildings and projects in Greensburg. As new buildings are opened in the city, NREL provides local residents, business owners and governmental entities with the information they need for their sustainable rebuilding projects. Greensburg, with its population of 777, also tracks the energy efficiency of the residential sector and as of July 2009, energy tests indicate that the average Greensburg home uses 41% less energy than a standard code home.
While our state may be among the bottom in pushing energy efficiency there is also a least-green ranking as well. Those states include Alaska, Missouri, North Dakota, Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Indiana and West Virginia. The most common criticism for these bottom ten are production of hazardous waste, CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion, energy consumption, weak state alternative energy budgets and energy-saving programs and water pollution.
So we're not the worst but Kansas is also not the best in terms of green practices. Even as Green Biz Wichita works diligently to emphasize green practices in the office and among our personal lives, there is still more work to do. Check out greenbizwichita.org for ideas on how to promote green living.
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