Green Team, College to Teach Businesses Sustainability

The San Fernando Valley Green Team is partnering with Pierce College in a program that will teach businesses and homeowners how to better conserve energy and water. The program will consist of 12 workshops, which will begin either late spring or summer and will continue into the fall. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power recently issued three grants for the program. Two $45,000 grants went to the Valley Green Team, in partnership with the Valley Economic Alliance, to go toward outreach for energy efficiency and water conservation, said Carolyn Casavan, the Valley Green Team’s co-chair. Another grant went to Pierce College’s foundation. The Valley Green Team will be working with Pierce College to help the community college implement its grant funds. “Our goal is to help businesses better understand how they can better address energy efficiency,” said Casavan, who is also principal engineer at Casavan Consulting. The grant for Pierce College’s foundation was approved by Councilman Dennis Zine’s office, while the grants for the Valley Green Team were approved by Greig Smith’s and Paul Krekorian’s offices, Casavan said. Casavan spoke as a panelist today at California Lutheran University’s Corporate Leaders Breakfast that focused on sustainability. The other panelists included Craig Perkins, president and executive director of non-profit group The Energy Coalition, and Marla Vasquez, senior vice president and regional president for Wells Fargo Community Bank for the San Fernando Valley. The panelists encouraged businesses to evaluate how they could better conserve energy and water. Some suggestions included monitoring energy use, utilizing energy audits, implementing energy-efficient equipment, eliminating “ghost” power usage – or the use of appliances that use electricity even when turned off – and finding ways to use diverted waste as raw materials for manufacturing and construction. Casavan said now is the time for business owners and homeowners to implement new green technology since a lot of contractors are looking for work and increasing energy costs will likely drive up competition in the future. “We’re likely to see our energy costs increase by 30 to 50 percent, I’d say, over the next 10 years,” she said. Meanwhile, Perkins said rooftop solar costs are at the lowest level they have ever been. The panelists also emphasized the importance of government participation and support in achieving sustainability and incentivizing the use of local contractors for installations. Vasquez said striving for sustainability is just good business practice. Wells Fargo opened its first LEED Gold-certified retail banking store in Studio City last year. The building was the 26th in the country reflecting Wells Fargo’s new building standards. It includes features such as non-toxic paint, solar panels and the use of recycled bottle caps in its countertops. The company also saves on gas while simultaneously supporting the community. “Everything we purchase is done locally, so we support the local businesses,” Vasquez said. Other sustainability measures the bank has taken include offering paperless statements and envelope-free ATMs.