>>ANNOUNCER: More than eight hundred people with one mission:
promoting a healthy environment.
We are the West Virginia Department of Environmnetal Protection.
>>KATHY COSCO: When you think of the color green, what comes to mind?
Apples? Emeralds? Ivy? The point is there many shades of green and that was
the message of a recent conference in Charleston.
Shades of green is about helping West Virginia businesses make more sustainable
choices that conserve energy and resources and in the long run, help
create the jobs.
Business leaders learned about how to use tax credits finance green
initiatives and market their commitment to sustainability.
Conference organizers say going green is not an all or nothing proposition and that being
any shade of green helps the environment and their bottom line.
>>PAM CURRY: It's not a hard sell. People are getting it.
They're saying yes, that makes sense to me. I can take the first steps.
I know that I'm not going to be one of these really dark green businesses we're
hearing about somewhere out there in the world but I can be my own
green business and be some shade and start making a commitment and
letting my customers know what I'm doing.
>>KATHY COSCO: Making more sustainable choices is nothing new for many West Virginia
businesses. The DEP's Greg Adolphson profiles three local businesses that are taking
different approaches to reach the same goal.
>>NARRATION: While most people see this as a pile of scrap lumber
fit for nothing but a trip to the dump or the bonfire, John Petretich sees
a potential gold mine.
Petretich runs the Virgin Timber Lumber Company in Oak Hill -
taking lumber from dilapidated buildings slated for demolition and
giving it a new life as handcrafted hardwood furniture
>>JOHN PETRETICH: the whole underlying aspect of what we're trying to do is is
pretty green. I mean we're a wood shop but we
really only want to deal with reclaimed wood. Here in
West Virginia we have
just a really special opportunity here with some these
dilapidated structures - to take these houses down responsibly and harvest some
material from them that you really can't get anywhere on right now.
>>NARRATION: Wood from West Virginia's old-growth forests -
Hemlock, poplar, oak, American chestnut - popular as building materials at the turn of the last century -
DIfficult or impossible to find today. >>JOHN PETRETICH: Like the easiest thing to do is just bulldoze it and take it
to the landfill because it... I see it as such a waste. We're not going to have a
forest like that again ever so we
have a chance to get
some of these...
some of this, you know, some of these natural resources before they are
gone forever.
>>NARRATION: Recycling is a theme that is repeated often.
>>MARK ADAMS: We promote ourselves as being green and a recycler. Goodwill is
the original recycler
and I thought we do so well in some areas but I wonder there's
always room for improvement.
>>NARRATION: Mark Adams is Director of Industrial Contracts at Goodwill Industries
in Huntington.
The facility there recycles used electronics
and things like cardboard junk mail and office paper.
>>MARK ADAMS: We actually send that to a local recycler who then brokers that to the
paper mills so it's all recycled.
Our electronics,
we are part of the Dell Reconnect project.
We're one of many Goodwills across the country who
participate in that program.
It's been a very good program for us
actually last year we were able to recycle and keep out of the landfill over
one hundred twenty five tons of electronics...
>>GREG ADOLPHSON: So you're a zero waste
zero landfill, zero waste
facility in a way...
>>MARK ADAMS: We
we worked very hard to be as close to zero as possible.
We we try to recycle and reuse as much as possible - which also helps keep my
costs down.
>>NARRATION: Cost control is important for any size business,
something Geoff Heeter, who owns and operates Opossum Creek Retreat in
Fayette County knows very well. He says in the long run, going green can really save some green.
>>GEOFF HEETER: We used really expensive stain for siding on the cabins.
We cut the wood ourselves and and then used this really expensive stain that
everybody thought was just crazy but we've never had to restrain the cabins.
We've saved tons of money in labor and time and energy and we don't
expect ever have to stain them again.
That's one of those things, this was a very green product but it was
very expensive
and, you know,
upfront cost might be more
long-range, long-term payoff all there.
>>NARRATION: Three businesses, one common message:
sustainable choices to make good
business sense.
>>GEOFF HEETER: I think
entry-level green is
is really kind of
a great way to start.
Little things like
changing light bulbs
made me realize that it does work
and it actually is gonna make me money 'cause it's less expensive.
Those kind of things, over time, the more exposure you get to it you realize those
are working in you wanna do more.
>>MARK ADAMS: I think that we could save a tremendous amount of energy of if we updated
lighting system.
As far as the heating and air goes, where we
open our bay doors so often, a lot of heat and air comes
out of that so I think that there are probably ways we can improve that to help not
only keep our costs down
which are quite high especially in a warehouse
facility like this but also
the less energy we use...
the less our
carbon footprint is.
>>JOHN PETRETICH: You reclaim wood,
you recycle wood, you make something
and then hopefully sell those products
and and then, like I said, what
money that you get from selling the products can go back
to funding the deconstruction and then you have the cycle that just starts
to work.
Sustainability means saving money, you know, and it makes sense.
>>NARRATION: And that's an idea they hope spreads to other west virginia businesses,
big and small
in Oak Hill, I'm Greg Adolphson for Environment Matters.
>>KATHY COSCO: You can find out more about programs that help promote conservation and
sustainability by visiting our website
and clicking on the link for Sustainable West Virginia.
Coming up: Learn why this group of presenters are being
encouraged to think like a fifth grader. Now here's a look at some upcoming events...