Business & Tech
RBA Hosts Second Annual Green Council Awards
Four companies earned awards for their environmental consciousness
Twenty years ago Beckerle Lumber in Spring Valley was paying trucks to take garbage from five 30-yard dumpsters to a landfill. Today, they’ve cut that number significantly.
“We decided to do more recycling and now we’re done to one dumpster a month,” said Larry Beckerle, president of the lumber company.
Additionally, the company took advantage of the free energy audit offered by Orange & Rockland as part of their Lighten Up program. Through the program, Beckerle Lumber replaced more than 150 T-12 light fixtures with more energy efficient T-8 fixtures, and O&R picked up 70 percent of the cost while the company itself paid the other 30.
“We get as much light, but use 15-20 percent less electricity in the last three months,” Beckerle said, adding that the company will cover its part of the replaced fixtures through savings in 8-10 months.
Because of that, Beckerle Lumber was one of four honorees Thursday afternoon at the Rockland Business Assocation’s second annual Green Coucil Awards, held at the Paramount Country Club.
“We wanted to show people that going green can save money and protect resources,” said Michael Shilale, chair of the Green Council. “So we thought it’d be nice to honor those companies that are already doing it, and try to get others to move in a similar direction.”
The Green Council formed on April 22, 2009, Earth Day, as Shilale said. He added that the Green Council tries to educate businesses on how to be more environmentally conscious, which can be harder for many small businesses as they can’t afford to hire someone specifically in charge sustainability.
“We act sort of as the chief sustainability officer for our members,” Shilale said, adding that only about 50 of the 900-plus companies in the RBA are in the Green Council.
Beckerle Lumber won the Small Business Award for companies with less than 25 employees. Pfizer won the Large Business Award, Rockland Community College won the Government/Education Award and the Knickerbocker Ice Festival won the Not-For-Profit Award.
Companies are nominated by others, or they can nominate themselves, and the winners are selected by a jury made up of members from the Green Council.
Dr. Cliff Wood, RCC’s president accepted the award for the college, saying last year the campus went tobacco- and smoke-free. He also talked about hydration stations coming onto the campus soon that will encourage students to bring the same water bottle to school to get clean drinking water opposed to bringing a new plastic bottle with them. Wood also talked about the Mug Club, which gives students who bring their own mug to campus a discount on coffee.
“We believe in clean air and clean water,” he said.
RCC’s Technology Center is also the first LEED Silver-certified “green building” in Rockland.
The Knickerbocker Ice Festival earned the award utilizing LED lighting and hydrogen-powered vehicles, using solar-powered sings and biodiesel generators and utilizing only compostable, biodegradable cutlery.
Pfizer was given the large business award for reducing its waste by 30 percent, its water by 15 percent and its CO2 emissions by 13 percent in the past three years. Pfizer also gave employees incentives to carpool to work and used more than 60 electric vehicles on its campus.
Also at the ceremony, Congressman Eliot Engel made a surprise appearance to give a brief talk to the 120-plus people in attendance. Engel praised small businesses, saying he’s working with RBA President Al Samuels to get a listening tour organized where Engel will go listen and speak with small business owners.
“At a time in Washington when we’re talking about creating jobs and we’re talking about small businesses, we ought to listen a great deal more to what small business is saying rather than us, in both parties, try to tell small business what they need,” Engel said. “As far as I’m concerned, small business is the engine that makes our economy grow and glow and prosper.”