Sustainable Business Magazine - Issue 06/19

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SUSTAINABLE ISSUE 06/19

B U S I N E S S

M A G A Z I N E

VIRGINIA WESLEYAN

UNIVERSITY

T&TEC AND GE

TAIWAN EXTERNAL TRADE DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL

JAMAICA

TRAVEL GUIDE

WATERAX

BICO LTD ELECTRIC CAB NORTH AMERICA

ALSO FEATURED THIS ISSUE AASHE • MAHY.RIDLEY.HAZZARD • MOVIN’ON SUMMIT

S U S TA I N I N G T O M O R R O W. T O D AY

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SUSTAINING TOMORROW. TODAY www.sustainablebusinessmagazine.net

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Editor:

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Senior Writer:

Marcus Bonnano

Profile Writer:

Liam Pritchett

Regional Manager:

Josh Edwards

Business Development: George Bell

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Welcome to the latest Americas edition of Sustainable Business Magazine.

September 2019 has been a month of unprecedented global attention to the reality of anthropogenic climate change. Four million people across the world are estimated to have participated in the Global Climate Strike between 20th-27th September – one participant for every two hundred people on earth. “The climate crisis is caused by us, and the solutions must come from us,” said U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres at the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit in New York.

Sadly, September also brought yet another cruel reminder of the urgency of climate action, as Hurricane Dorian became the worst natural disaster ever to hit the Bahamas, killing scores of people and leaving more than 70,000 homeless. As the oceans and the air have gotten warmer, and as sea levels have risen, storms and hurricanes have become stronger. Every year, coastal communities around the world are exposed to ever-increasing risk as a direct result of global warming. Our friends in the Caribbean are on the front lines of this ongoing crisis, and we urge readers to go to the hurricane relief site for the Government of the Bahamas at https://www.bahamas.com/relief and make a donation to an official aid organization. Readers in Florida and Ontario can also find a list of locations to drop off supplies.

In the face of human and natural anguish, profitability and growth, the traditional metrics of a business’s success, can begin to seem less like triumphs of ingenuity and creativity and more like the fruits of willful obliviousness. Increasingly, customers and businesspeople alike around the world are asking: Profit from what? Growth at whose expense?

The stakes have never been higher for all of us to implement revolutionary, large-scale changes to transform our impacts on the natural environment and communities around the world. This goes for individuals and governments, certainly, but especially for businesses, whose impacts can be so outsized – whether for good or for bad.

In this issue, we have spoken to companies large and small across the Americas about what they’re doing to transform in response to the new pressures of the times. From innovative technologies to sustainable building projects, from new sources of electricity generation to initiatives to support hitherto-marginalized communities, we believe some of the stories in this issue offer hope and inspiration at this time of crisis.

We’re also proud to present the first of our new series of Sustainable Business Magazine Travel Guides, which will offer business and leisure travelers fresh ideas for ensuring their travel is both enjoyable and responsible. This issue, we feature Jamaica: The Land of Wood and Water.

Details of upcoming sustainability events across the Americas throughout October and November can be found on our events calendar.

We hope that you find this issue both interesting and inspiring. Thank you for reading.

The Sustainable Business Magazine Team

Regional Executive:

Jake Curtis

Web Administrator: Ashley Hewitt

CONTENTS ISSUE 06/19 04

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Q&A: Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) Interview: Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission (T&TEC) and General Electric (GE) Interview: Barbados Ice Cream Company (BICO)

Interview: Mahy.Ridley.

Hazzard Engineers Ltd

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Travel Guide: Jamaica

40

Conference Review: Movin’On Summit

42

Interview: Electric Cab North America (eCab)

46

Interview: WATERAX

52

Foreword: The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE)

54

Interview: Virginia Wesleyan University

60

Global Events Calendar

61

Advertisers Index

ISSUE 06/19 FRONT COVER IMAGE COURTESY OF VIRGINIA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY

© SBM Media Ltd 2019. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form for any purpose, other than short sections for the purpose of review, without prior consent of the publisher.

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Q&A: TAITRA

Walter M. S. Yeh President & CEO Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA)

What is the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), and how do you promote international trade with Taiwanese businesses and manufacturers?

We are Taiwan’s foremost non-profit trade promotion organization, assisting Taiwanese businesses and manufacturers with reinforcing their international competitiveness and coping with the challenges they face in foreign markets. In order to do so we provide a number of online and on-site services. Online: We operate TaiwanTrade, the most comprehensive B2B trade platform for finding relevant Taiwanese suppliers. Moreover, we organize online business matching and video business meetings to help international companies connect with potential suppliers and partners in Taiwan. On-site: We lead Taiwanese trade missions to overseas markets and delegations to international trade shows. Moreover, we organize more than 40 trade shows in Taiwan as platforms for local companies to meet with international players. Finally, we also organize in person one-on-one 4 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

business meetings to connect Taiwanese companies with prospective international customers.

We have a well-coordinated trade promotion and information network of over 1,300 trained specialists, stationed both in Taiwan and across over 63 overseas branch offices worldwide. The Taiwan Trade Centre London (TTCL), our UK office, is responsible for the advancement of bilateral trade relations between Taiwan and the UK, offering assistance to UK companies interested in doing business with Taiwan across a number of industries.

Can you tell us about the Circular Economy Taiwan (CE Taiwan) trade show?

Seeing the circular economy as a key driving force for industry upgrade and sustainable development, TAITRA launched the very first CE Taiwan in 2018, resonating with industry voices and future trends.

Last year’s show featured iconic exhibitors from home and abroad, including government agencies (Industrial Development Bureau, Environmental Protection Administration and Water Resources Agency), enterprises (China Steel, CPC Corporation, ENRESTEC, Super Dragon Technology, Spring Pool Glass), as well as delegates from Kawasaki, the famous eco town in Japan, demonstrating a complete green ecosystemfrom raw materials and manufacturing processes to recycling. More than 3,850 buyers from all over the world attended the 3-day show. The CE Forum, another highlight of the show, had international and local speakers discuss various topics, such as recycling electronic waste, marine plastics, biofuel, and food surplus, and was attended by more than 500 people.

The second edition of CE Taiwan was held from September 26-28 2019 at the TWTC Exhibition Hall 1. Apart from featuring Circular Resource and Circular Equipment, this year’s show has expanded to demonstrate cross-industry applications, including Circular Agriculture, Circular Textiles, Circular Plastic, Circular Design, and Circular Construction. For the first time, CE Taiwan ran in tandem with Taiwan International Water Week (TIWW), making it the most comprehensive B2B international trade show focusing on green economy/environmental protection and the circular economy in Taiwan. With the exhibition, the forum, and one-on-one trade meetings in place, CE Taiwan 2019 will surely foster in-depth exchanges and createdmore business opportunities.

What cutting-edge topics did CE Taiwan focus on this year?

This year’s show saw more leading companies with considerable experience in developing a circular economy showcase their innovative business models, green economy technology, products, and solutions. Three key pavilions were feature at the show this year: the New Business Model Pavilion, the Eco-Tech Pavilion, and the IAQ (Indoor Air Quality) Pavilion.

Notably, at this year’s show, numerous exhibitors unveiled new uses for materials. As an island nation, Taiwan’s resources are extremely limited. By moving towards a circular economy model, Taiwan can improve its resource efficiency and cyclical use rate. Thanks to the research and development of more efficient chemical materials, production costs can be lowered while raising the output value.

For example, Sou Le Enterprise Co., Ltd. have made improvements to chemical materials in order to increase wastewater treatment efficiency. Moreover, XS CORPORATION, which originally carried out corporate waste treatment, has exploited new technology to transform this waste into new building materials. This has enabled their parent company, a construction company, to use these same building materials.

What role do ideas of sustainability and the circular economy play in Taiwan’s 5+2 industrial innovation plan?

Taiwan’s government unveiled the 5+2 Industrial Innovation Plan in 2017. This initiative is a comprehensive economic restructuring program promoting 5 major industries: Biomedicine, green energy, national defense & aerospace, smart machinery, and the Internet of Things. Critically, this plan features two overarching transformation strategies: Promoting a circular economy, and new methods for agricultural development.

Related government departments in Taiwan are actively assisting industry transformation in this area. As of 2018, The Ministry of Economic Affairs’s Industrial Development Bureau has four key

strategies in this area. These include promoting circular economy technology and materials innovation R&D zones, building circular economy demonstration parks, promoting green consumption and trading, and accelerating energy resources integration and industrial symbiosis. Since 2009 the bureau has successfully integrated energy resources in 24 industrial parks.

Taiwan’s Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) also actively promotes the circular economy model. The EPA’s focus areas extend to (1) Circular Supply (e.g. 100% biodegradable plastic bags, packaging materials, etc.), (2) Resource Recovery (e.g. manufacturing functional textile fabrics from recycled PET bottles), (3) Product Life Extension (e.g. as part of their 2nd Lives initiative Coca-Cola designed innovative caps to extend each bottle’s life span), (4) Sharing Platforms (e.g. an unmanned library and floating book box at Taipei Arena MTR Station), (5) Product as a Service (e.g. Taipei’s bike sharing system (YouBike) and self-service laundromat chain).

How are sustainable businesses in Taiwan engaging with international partners and the global marketplace?

In recent years, Taiwanese manufacturers have teamed up with iconic global brands to produce innovative environmentally friendly products. For example, Adidas recently unveiled the world’s first pair of shoes made from ocean plastic. While the shoes received a lot of publicity, many people didn’t realise that these were made in Taoyuan Guanyin, in the north of Taiwan.

Adidas originally came forward with this bold concept but no real idea what the end result might look like. Taiwanese textile conglomerate Far Eastern New Century was able to develop a solution. In another notable example, Taiwanese manufacturers produced football kits made of recycled PET bottles for 16 of the 32 national teams participating in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. By providing solutions to these difficult design problems, Taiwanese manufacturers have shown that they have the capabilities to bring creative projects to fruition and are the ideal partner for global brands in this area.

What sustainable innovations can we expect to come out of Taiwan in the future?

In recent years, Taiwan’s traditional manufacturing industries have been taking active measures to transform their processes. For example, since 1998, leading manufacturers in the textile industry have been recycling PET bottles and processing them into recycled clothes, shoes, carpets, short fibre products, films, and bottles. Going forward, the textile industry, as well as other key industries in Taiwan, can continue collaborating, and in the future recycling and remanufacturing technology will be upgraded and the market scale will be expanded. c SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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INTERVIEW: T&TEC AND GE

SMART POWER FOR TOBAGONIANS Sustainable Business Magazine speaks to Courtenay Mark, Chief Technical Officer at the Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission (T&TEC), Carlos Mousadi, Regional Managing Director for Central America and the Caribbean at General Electric (GE), and Ramon Ortiz, Regional Sales Manager for the Caribbean at GE, about a major generation project in Tobago, and how natural gas-based generation is making the Caribbean energy landscape better-suited for renewables.

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If you were on the Caribbean island of Tobago in November 2018 and you watched television, or used a microwave, or switched on an electric light, you probably wouldn’t have noticed anything had changed. That’s the nature of our relationship with electricity in the 21st century: it is a constant, invisible partner, only noteworthy in it in its absence.

But something had changed. Over the course of the month, a new GE LM2500 aeroderivative gas turbine – the first gas turbine in Tobago’s history – had been installed at the Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission’s (T&TEC’s) Cove Power Station, near the south-western tip of the island, and was quietly supplying 20MW of

electricity to Tobago’s grid. Unnoticed by the ordinary consumer at home or work, almost overnight, Tobago’s electricity supply had become more reliable, more flexible, and more sustainable ANTICIPATING DEMAND For the last few years, Trinidad’s demand for electricity has remained fairly constant, with a system peak fluctuating between 1350 and 1400MW, and a well-equipped, resilient grid able to comfortably meet demand. Trinidad’s twin island of Tobago, however, is another story. Though only around 60,000 people live on the island, in recent years, international investors have shown interest in some significant new developments in Tobago, from new

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INTERVIEW: T&TEC AND GE that cable were to fail, the island needs to be sufficiently self-reliant to keep itself going.”

To prepare for these eventualities, T&TEC issued a tender for an additional generator at the island’s Cove Power Station. Ultimately, T&TEC selected General Electric’s LM2500 aeroderivative gas turbine. “We have been in Trinidad and Tobago since the 1950s,” explains Ramon Ortiz, Regional Sales Manager for the Caribbean at General Electric (GE). “Our technology provides 79% of the installed generation at present, most if not all of which is gas turbines. So we have a longstanding and strong relationship with T&TEC.” hotels to a major airport expansion. “We at T&TEC recognized these trends towards greater interest in Tobago,” says Courtenay Mark, Chief Technical Officer at T&TEC. “We currently have adequate installed capacity to meet Tobago’s needs, but if additional loads come onto the system, we want to be prepared. Tobago is also connected to Trinidad by a submarine cable, which is over thirty years old and is approaching end-of-life. If

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RELIABLE TECHNOLOGY The LM2500 is derived from aviation turbines, which are required to be extremely reliable – a necessity for a power plant in the Caribbean, where extreme weather is a regular hazard. The LM2500 turbine is capable of being safely stopped and started several times without failing. It also has low water consumption, and, by using

natural gas and a Dry Low Emissions (DLE) upgrade, is much lower-emitting than other fossil fuel-based alternatives.

“We went for the LM2500 because it’s a well-proven workhorse in the industry,” says Mr. Mark. “GE has other turbines on the system in Trinidad. There’s also a large liquefied natural gas facility on the island, which is self-powered using GE turbines. So GE has a very good reputation here, and we went for tried, tested, and proven technology. We now have a combination of reciprocating engines and this gas turbine running side by side.”

“They need that reliability on a small island,” explains Carlos Mousadi, Regional Managing Director for Central America and the Caribbean at GE. “When it’s needed, it must operate as expected. Then there’s the power density, the emissions, and the low lifecycle costs. It’s also highly scalable.

While at the moment they have 20MW, they can bring it up to 40MW if they need to in the future just by changing the core engine, which gives them greater flexibility. The oth-

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er important thing is that you can just start it, and you don’t have a time penalty. With an industrial gas turbine, when you start it, it takes hours. With an aeroderivative, you can start it as many times as you want it.”

NEW OPPORTUNITIES In the year since the LM2500 was installed at the Cove Power Station, Tobago is already seeing an increase in demand for electricity.

“There is a local quarry operation with crushing plant operations which is ramping up production now,” says Mr. Mark. “Because of the new turbine, the electricity is available for

that. The infrastructure is in place to ensure there will be no shortages on the island.

Now, even if the undersea cable were to go down, the island can be electrically independent. With the availability of natural gas, it also makes it efficient to generate electricity in an environmentally-friendly way.”

Another impact of the new turbine is improvements to the skillsets of T&TEC’s Tobagonian employees. “Our local technical people on-island are learning very quickly, both in terms of the mechanics of the infrastructure as well as the electrical and control system,” says Mr. Mark. “It’s making Tobago

a bit more self-sufficient. Whereas before, there were certain overhauls where we depended on external providers, now our local guys are getting tooled up, getting training, improving their knowledge, and we’re able to support them with our team in Trinidad.”

Advances in IT have allowed Tobagonian operations to be monitored from Trinidad, and knowledge can now be shared more effectively throughout the organization.

“Because of our internal telemetry, we can remotely see what’s happening over there, and the communication and fibreoptic networks mean T&TEC can be self-reliant in our comSUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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INTERVIEW: T&TEC AND GE

“WE AT T&TEC HAVE BEEN FOCUSING ON STRENGTHENING OUR INFRASTRUCTURE TO BE RESILIENT AGAINST DISASTERS”

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SDV Energy and Infrastructure, S.L.

is an international group, born in Latin America and administrative head office in Madrid, Spain, and operational offices Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Trinidad & Tobago, Peru, Chile, Honduras and Mexico dedicated to the engineering, procurement, construction and maintenance of projects in sectors related to energy and infrastructure in Latin American countries in operations since 1989. Through its subsidiaries, or by itself, SDV energy and infrastructure, S.L. has executed construction work in countries such as Brazil, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, US Virgin Islands, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Dominican Republic, Trinidad & Tobago and Venezuela, with over 30 years of experience serving our customers.

HEAD OFFICE - Address: Calle Caléndula, 95 Miniparc II, Edif. O, Planta 1ª 28109 Alcobendas (Madrid) Spain | Phone: +34 91 4175642 Fax: +34 91 4175643 | Email: info@sdvgroup.com / laura.cuadra@sdvgroup.com CARIBBEAN - Address: Lot 5B Trincity Industrial Estate, Trinidad & Tobago Phone: +1868 6408961/6408163 | Fax: +1868 6406660 Email: infotyt@sdvgroup.com / giovanni.debiase@sdvgroup.com

munications between islands,” says Mr. Mark.

“But now, we’re seeing Tobago become sufficiently resourced to do their own planning, troubleshooting, operations, maintenance, and backing up their maintenance scheduling.

It is a real success story. One of the services provided by GE under our agreement is also external monitoring, so their equipment is monitored 24/7, and we receive reports if any limits are exceeded. They also provide online support, parts servicing, and routine inspections and maintenance.”

SUPPORTING GREEN Another advantage of aeroderivative turbines like the LM2500, because of their ability to be quickly stopped and started, is that they can provide base load power in an energy environment which uses intermittent sources like solar or wind, making the LM2500 an effective support for renewables. T&TEC currently has a tender out for 130MW of grid-connected solar power – power which will be supported by pre-existing GE turbines. “This solar capacity will interconnect to our existing system in Trinidad, and will obviously save on fuel as well as emissions associated with hydrocarbon fuel,” says Mr.

Mark. “Because of our low electricity rates, it isn’t very attractive for domestic customers to invest in rooftop solar panels, so we’re investing at the grid level.”

“As the Caribbean invests more in renewables like solar and so on, we’re deploying more equipment capable of stabilizing the grid, like the LM2500” says Mr. Mousadi.

“We’re also offering an integrated package with energy storage as well, the LM6000, which we have already deployed in California. In combination, the gas turbines and the energy storage will help grids to increase renewable penetration.”

PROMOTING GROWTH “What these Caribbean markets have in common is they’re converting the fuel matrix from heavy fuel oil to natural gas,” says Mr. Mousadi. “First for environmental reasons, because there’s lower emissions, but also right now natural gas is competitively priced. There’s a lot more competition now in natural gas, which used to be difficult to deploy. Also, the fuel suppliers are going much more downstream. They want to own their own power plants. When you travel in the Caribbean today, you see a big change

in the market. At the conferences, there are now many natural gas fuel suppliers, which is great for everyone.”

“I don’t see in the immediate future any great need for generation expansion,” says Mr. Mark. “We at T&TEC have been focusing on strengthening our infrastructure to be resilient against disasters. This means we’ve been improving our grid and our relationships with external suppliers for various services in case of a disaster. The Cove Power project is just one part of this. Today, the reliability on Tobago has increased as a result of the LM2500, and should additional loads come on the system, we are well-prepared to deal with that in the future.” c

COURTENAY MARK, CHIEF TECHNICAL OFFICER, T&TEC

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THE CARIBBEAN BECOMES A HOT SPOT FOR RENEWABLE INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS According to Bloomberg’s New Energy Outlook 2019 report, wind and solar power plants now generate the cheapest energy across more than two thirds of the world.

What’s more, conventionally produced electricity from coal and gas plants is expected to be more expensive than that of its renewable counterparts, especially wind and solar, almost everywhere by 2030. One of the regions that will be particularly affected by the energy transition is the Caribbean.

Energy supply on the Caribbean islands is heavily dependent on fossil fuels. The Council on Hemispheric Affairs points out that 87 percent of energy production in the region is based on the use of imported diesel or oil. In spite of the heavy dependency on energy that is produced by fossil fuels, the Caribbean, home to ample natural renewable energy resources, provides the perfect conditions for generating clean energy. There are more than enough solar, wind, geothermal, and hydropower resources that could make the islands largely independent of fossil fuels. The Caribbean nations are signaling that they are ready for a radical change in energy policies that is bound to catapult them to the forefront of a renewable energy revolution.

A REGION OF CLEAN ENERGY PIONEERS The Caribbean has set itself ambitious goals to reduce the need for CO2-emitting fossil fuels and improve its energy independence.

Concretely, governments are planning to diversify their power mix and steadily increase the renewables share of electricity generation. The forerunners when it comes to implementation include Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and, to a lesser extent, Antigua and Barbuda.

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Several countries in the Caribbean already announced stronger renewable energy policies last year. Barbados, for example, aims to be 100 percent reliant on renewables by 2030, while Jamaica has pledged to reach 50 percent renewable energy generation by 2030. Jamaica is also expected to complete its Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) by the end of this year. The IRP aims at creating planning certainty by assessing the needs of the electricity sector. It’s the governments’ willingness to drive renewables forward that makes clean energy generation a viable alternative in the region.

Collaborations between governments and the private sector are essential in that regard. They not only enable the countries to meet their objectives within the set timeframe but also allow them to implement the necessary changes smoothly. By means of public-private partnerships (PPPs), renewable energy projects can reach completion much sooner and within budget – thus preventing nasty surprises along the way. The private partner’s vast experience in managing renewable energy assets represents another major advantage. It’s fair to say that some projects wouldn’t even be possible in the first place if it wasn’t for PPPs. Jamaica’s Paradise Park, commissioned in June 2019 and with 51 MW the largest solar PV park in the English-speaking Caribbean, can serve as a prime example of the benefits that can be achieved with renewable energy investments in the region. The facility has a 20-year agreement with the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS), where JPS will purchase all electricity generated by the facility at 0.085 USD/kWh. Considering the usual costs for conventionally produced energy, which typically range between 0.15 and 0.44 USD/kWh, Paradise Park represents the

cheapest energy provider in the country. In fact, the solar PV project demonstrates that renewables can compete with conventional electricity sources.

Paradise Park was the seed asset for the MPC Caribbean Clean Energy Fund LLC (“the Fund”), in which the regional investment vehicle MPC Caribbean Clean Energy Ltd. participated. The former provides clean energy investment opportunities in Jamaica, Barbados and the wider Caribbean region.

Both the Fund and MPC Caribbean Clean Energy Ltd. were initiated by MPC Renewable Energies GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of MPC Capital AG. BRIGHT FUTURE FOR INVESTMENTS IN RENEWABLE INFRASTRUCTURE It’s companies like MPC Caribbean Clean Energy Ltd. that foster the transition towards renewable energy generation in the Caribbean.

MPC Caribbean Clean Energy Ltd. also makes a case for the enormous potential of clean energy assets in the region as it has recently distributed its first dividend, only nine months after the IPO in December last year. With USD 0.089 per share, MPC Caribbean Clean Energy Ltd. is one of the top dividend-paying stocks on both the Jamaica and the Trinidad and Tobago stock exchange. The total distribution amounted to USD 1,014,877.4 and exceeded initial predictions by 4.1%.

Such developments don’t go unnoticed.

As Caribbean islands are increasingly turning to renewables, a rising number of investors are directing their attention to lucrative clean energy projects in the region – the need for funding to build and operate solar PV parks and wind farms has clearly boosted investor interest. Buckle up as renewable infrastructure investments in the Caribbean are about to take off. c

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INTERVIEW: BICO LTD

SWEET OF SUSTAINABILITY Sustainable Business Magazine speaks to Karen Williams-Thompson, Sales Director at BICO Ltd, about a new manufacturing facility, environmentallyfriendly packaging, and supporting Barbados.

In 1901, the Bridgetown Crystal Ice Company Ltd merged with the Barbados Ice Company, creating a new company called the Barbados Ice Company Ltd, with facilities on Bay Street in Bridgetown. Initially, the Barbados Ice Company exclusively manufactured ice, and, after 1910, offered a cold storage facility for local business people.

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This all changed in 1950, when the Barbados Ice Company Ltd opened a new ice cream production facility, with state-of-the-art equipment for the production, freezing, packaging, and storage of ice cream. After the new products were successful, the company moved to new premises at Harbour Industrial Park, supplying cold storage facilities to the Barbados Port Authority, and in December 1976, the Barbados Ice Company Ltd became BICO Ltd, as the company began discontinuing ice production – and added a new form of distribution, with a small fleet of ice cream trucks.

BICO has over thirty flavors and exports to territiories in the region including; Antigua, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago. BICO is a home-grown Barbadian success story, listed on the Barbados

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INTERVIEW: BICO LTD

TO LAST FABRICATE AND SUPPLY: HAND RAILS, GATES, WINDOWS, DOORS AND MUCH MORE IN STAINLESS STEEL, ALUMINUM, MILD STEEL AND GALVANIZED. WE ALSO DO ONSITE WELDING

Stock Exchange as BCO. But tragedy struck in 2009, when a fire destroyed the Harbour Road manufacturing facility.

“The fire was devastating, and forced BICO to seek manufacturing for our ice creams in various offshore locations, including Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, and some in Surname,” says Karen Williams-Thompson, Sales Director at BICO. “There were a lot of challenges after the fire, in particular maintaining supply to meet demand, as well as ensuring as many as possible of the staff remained employed. Under the guidance of the executive chairman, though, the company didn’t miss a beat. We transitioned suppliers to continue providing ice cream to all the customers with very little disconnect.”

NEW FACILITY It took a decade for BICO to bring all the various legal conflicts involved with the fire to a close. Proceedings recently wound up, and BICO is preparing to begin work ona new manufacturing plant. “The factory will be back up by the end of 2019 in time for the new winter season here,” says Ms. Williams-Thompson.“It will manufacture the 16 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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ice cream here, which will be a very positive step for BICO. As It brings the production of the ice cream back home, and Barbadians are very loyal. It will give us some leverage in terms of competitiveness. Over the years the market has expanded and there are many more competitors here than there were, even as far back as 2009, when we had the fire. So manufacturing here and being close on the ground will allow us to respond to the market quickly and efficiently.”

The new factory will also facilitate the creation of new, unique products. “We will be able to begin imagining and creating

our own flavors, allowing us to have offerings based on foods specific to Barbados, such as passion fruit, nutmeg, ginger, or pomegranate,” says Ms. Williams-Thompson.“It will also mean that we’ll employ additional staff to work in the factory, helping the country as a whole.”

BARBADOS AS A COUNTRY IS MAKING ITS OWN PLANS TO REPOSITION ITSELF IN A MORE PRODUCTIVE AND HOSPITABLE ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION While the new factory is the biggest new development for BICO, it certainly isn’t the only one. Over the past few years, the company has focused on reducing their environmental footprint, through a partnership with British packaging producer Vegware. “In 2016, Executive Chairman Edwin Thirlwell decided to move the company in the direction of eco-friendly products and processes,” says Ms. Williams-Thompson. “Vegware is a manufacturer of and global specialist in plant-

based compostable food service packaging to restaurants, vendors, and other clients in the food industry. Vegware packaging biodegrades in just 12 weeks. It has been tried and tested, and has passed several independent standards. We use Vegware products for our 1-liter tubs of ice cream, and we’re very proud of the relationship.”

Since Mr. Thirlwell began his push to make BICO products more environmentally-friendly, the rest of Barbados has followed suit. A government ban on

single-use plastics and Styrofoam in the culinary retail industry started on April 1st 2019, as part of a broader governmental push towards a plastic-free Barbados by 2020. “That has driven the momentum of changing the whole culture, changing the way they we do things,” says Ms. Williams-Thompson.“Styrofoam and single-use plastic was a lot less expensive, so they were more costefficient for business. Now everyone has to make the change. BICO is really proud to say we led that charge years ago, when most

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INTERVIEW: BICO LTD

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M. 246-230-1165 O. 246-421-5400 F. 246-417-3044 duane@aksupplies.co www.aksupplies.co

TO SERVE, SUPPLY

& SATISFY...

Supplier and distributor of of an extensive range of paper, signage and graphic art items in Barbados and the Caribbean.

A WILLIAMS GROUP COMPANY

Fax. (246) 421-0947 info@williamssolar.com

www.williamssolar.com

people didn’t give it any consideration. That speaks volumes to Mr. Thirlwell’s vision and the direction he wanted to take the company in. Today, all BICO packaging is at least recyclable, even the larger tubs.”

BICO has also engaged in a large-scale push to embrace renewable energy and reduce fossil fuel consumption. “Everything here today is run by photovoltaic panels,” explains Ms. Williams-Thompson. “All of our processes at the moment are solar-powered. Support for the environment extends also to electric vehicles, which reduce the company’s dependency on fossil fuels while conserving energy. All of the vehicles used by salespeople on the road are electrical.”

Oistins Festival, which we sent an eco-friendly line of products. Junior football is also a significant investment for us. It’s seen as an investment in the youth, the same youth that will grow into the adults that consume BICO products. So we see that as a continuation, a compounding effect, and this type of sponsorship continues to build on the goodwill of the BICO brand.”

As BICO moves forward with a new factory, the future looks bright for the Barbadian ice cream manufacturer. “We’re now looking at how to build our profits over the next year,” says Ms. Williams-Thompson.“Meanwhile, Barbados as a country is making its own plans to reposition itself in a

more productive and hospitable economic environment. BICO itself will try to echo that direction. As well as continuing to be at the forefront of the eco-friendly packaging, we want to share education and information about eco-friendly processes with the public at large. Many don’t understand how to use these products best, and so that’s something we will continue to do. Now that we have laid out our plans for the future, we look forward to completing them, and moving on to new challenges.” c

AT THE FOREFRONT Over many years, BICO has become a Barbadian cultural icon, and the company ensures they give back to the local community. “When a member of the public plans an event, whether it’s a fundraiser or a sports day, we give donations to help fund the event,” says Ms. Williams-Thompson.“The company also has branded tents for people to use if they need shelter for an outdoor event. We also sponsor activities like the SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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INTERVIEW: MAHY.RIDLEY.HAZZARD ENGINEERS LTD

ENGINEERING SUCCESS Sustainable Business Magazine speaks to Gregory Hazzard, Managing Director at Mahy.Ridley.Hazzard Engineers Ltd., about Barbadian engineering, pursuing LEED Platinum certification, and being nation-builders.

Mahy.Ridley.Hazzard Engineers Ltd is a Barbadian civil and structural engineering firm. Initially established by firm director Gregory Hazzard in 2001, Mahy.Ridley.Hazzard is a member of the Barbados Chamber 20 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

of Commerce and Industry, and has worked on projects of major significance, including the Sam Lord’s Castle redevelopment, the new Caribbean Examinations Council headquarters (CXC), and the proposed refurbish-

ment of the A&E department at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Bridgetown.

“When we started in 2001, we just had one member of staff – me,” explains Gregory Hazzard, Director of Mahy.Ridley.

Hazzard. “I had my undergraduate degree in civil engineering from the University of Manchester, and an MBA from the University of Western Ontario. I had experience working for a government agency, working on education projects as part of a unit specifically designed to get a whole set of new schools built. I also had experience working with two leading consulting engineering firms. I decided to build a firm with the kind of collegiate, professional atmosphere that I had become used to.”

Quickly, Mr. Hazzard’s firm saw significant trade, and within a few months, they were engaged to work on the new local Hilton hotel. “This was a major project and caused us to scale up quite quickly,” explains Mr. Hazzard. “We also had companies such as Shell approaching us to do work for them. In 2005, there was a firm called Mahy, Chaderton & Ridley, which was looking to reorganise.

Chaderton had retired at this point, and his partners were struggling to keep up with the work they continued to get. It was agreed that we would look after their excess work, and they would have a home and a way to remain engaged with the industry. Mr. Mahy remained involved purely on a marketing basis, and Mr. Ridley continued to work on projects that were of interest to him.”

By 2006, Mahy.Ridley.Hazzard had sixteen employees. “During that initial growth period we built a nice portfolio of residential projects,” says Mr. Hazzard. “At Apes Hill Club, a golf course project with residential components, we were fortunate to work on several of the upmarket houses in that development as well as several luxury homes outside of it. We worked on a few condominium buildings too, for example, the Portico development, which was an award-winning project for its architecture and actually won the International Property Award for Best International Apartment in 2009.”

MAJOR NEW PROJECTS Mr. Ridley and Mr. Mahy died in 2015 and 2016 respectively, but the firm which bears their names is still going strong. “Because of the recession our staff has shrunk at the moment,” says Mr. Hazzard. “However, we who remain are all very experienced engineers and technicians, and we’re ready to be part of the rebuilding of Barbados. An interesting project we worked on recently was the Limegrove Lifestyle Center. The vision for that was that there would be a range of different accommodation that a person could live in for all or part of the year. This would be a short walk from the commercial section of the project, where you could have a coffee or go shopping and still be close to home. We have built the commercial side of this project and eight of the planned residential units. Now

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INTERVIEW: MAHY.RIDLEY.HAZZARD ENGINEERS LTD

that Barbados is coming out of the end of the recession, we’re looking forward to resuming work at Limegrove. It’s an eclectic project, with a series of buildings that are close to each other but all somewhat different, which makes for interesting designs.”

Another exciting recent project for the company has been working with the Sam Lord’s Castle Hotel Redevelopment, on the east coast of Barbados. “The property was first owned and occupied by Sam Lord,” explains Mr. Hazzard. “Supposedly, Mr. Lord used to hang lanterns in his coconut trees to lure ships to ground on the reefs. Mr. Lord would then plunder the wrecked ships – or so the story goes. After the hotel was destroyed by a fire in 2010, a new project has been undertaken to develop a cutting-edge hotel, which will be a LEED Platinum-certified property. That project owes a lot of its success to the CEO of Barbados Tourism Investment Inc., Stuart Layne. Mr. Layne was the one who had the vision for a truly worldclass project, one that would be unique anywhere. When we started the project, it was Mr. Layne who suggested we aim for LEED Platinum.”

LEED Platinum certification is highly demanding, and Mahy.Ridley.Hazzard were required to find creative ways to minimize waste and improve efficiencies. “Normally, you would demolish the old building and send those component parts of rubble to landfill centers,” explains Mr. Hazzard.

“When we demolished the original premises here, the stones were crushed for reuse on site. That is one example from several. In terms of water, there is a plant that will take all of the effluent from the hotel and restore 22 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

it to the quality of drinking water before using it for irrigation, flushing toilets, and so on.

All the water obtained on-site will be reused and recycled. Mr. Layne’s vision is also for us to get off the utility grid altogether. The project has been developed so you can come and find yourself in an environment where there are lots of organic, locally grown, and fresh items. In terms of a project that really emphasizes sustainability, greenness, and wellness, Sam Lord’s Castle is a great example, and we are proud to be involved in it.”

NATION-BUILDING Because of Mr. Hazzard’s training in Europe, he and his staff are able to draw upon a broad array of bodies of knowledge, which

allows them to execute projects to international standards. “In Barbados, though there is a draft building code, people are not obligated to use it,” says Mr. Hazzard.

“Because I was British-trained, I tend to use the British standards and codes of practice, as do some of my colleagues. We keep ourselves up to date with standards in Britain, Europe, and the United States. We also often work closely with engineers and professionals from the United States, and we visit the practices of other consultants in North America and learn from them. We’re able to cherry pick what works best for our practice and fits best with what we are trying to achieve. In general, we try to exceed what the local and international building

codes suggest. For a middle-income home, following these codes probably increases the cost by approximately 5% to 10%, but it ensures that such a property is hurricane safe. Sometimes we can suggest that a client builds a slightly smaller home, keeps the budget the same, and ensures the house is safe and secure.”

“One very positive thing that our current Government did when they were elected in May 2018 was to identify a list of what they called ‘mission critical issues’,” says Mr. Hazzard. “This list identifies infrastructural and other problems here in Barbados which need to be solved. One critical issue in particular was that they wanted to refurbish and expand the Accident and Emergency department at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, the only primary care institution in Barbados. When the hospital was built in early 60s, it was quite a large hospital, but with population growth and modern equipment, it desperately needs refurbishing. We are part of the team engaged on the project to build a new wing for the A&E department while the hospital remains in operation. That

“WE ARE ALREADY EXTREMELY WELL ESTABLISHED IN BARBADOS, AND WE’RE LOOKING FORWARD TO LOTS MORE WORK HERE AND ACROSS THE CARIBBEAN.

project is of particular significance to the health of the country.”

“Barbados’s infrastructure has really suffered from lack of upkeep over the last decade, during the recession,” says Mr. Hazzard. “We therefore intend to focus hard on the Barbados market, do a lot of good work, add to our portfolio even more, and hopefully be able to take pride in the fact that we have been a nation builder. Separate to this, one of the things that we have learned from the Barbadian recession is that it can be dangerous to have all your work in one area, so we are looking at some of the larger projects in the central Caribbean and competing for those. At the moment, we are working on a project in Grenada, and we want to do more projects outside of Bar-

bados. The market that is showing the biggest promise in this region at the moment is Guyana, and we are working to establish a branch office there, once that country gets past its present electoral crisis. Having become well established in Barbados, we’re looking forward to doing more work here and across the Caribbean.” c

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TRAVEL GUIDE: JAMAICA

TRAVEL TO

JAMAICA

THE LAND OF WOOD AND WATER 24 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

From coral-lined sandy beaches to lush rainforest, from lively, bustling cities to tranquil mountainside waterfalls and peaceful fishing villages, Jamaica condenses a stunning diversity of natural and man-made environments into an island spanning a little over 4,000 square miles.

Snorkelling and scuba diving in the crystal clear ocean, horseback riding on white beaches, rafting on the Blue Lagoon, zip lining through the rainforest canopy, or hiking in the Blue and John Crow Mountains – tourists can explore Jamaica ten different ways and still leave half its natural treasures unseen.

Yet the extraordinary Jamaican environment is only one reason the ‘Land of Wood and Water’ keeps so many visitors coming back.

Jamaica’s most-prized attraction may be its people. Local populations around the main resort centers are enthusiastic participants in the tourist trade, and tourists traveling across the island will find a warm welcome everywhere, from tiny villages to the two large cities of Kingston and Montego Bay. For the sustainability-minded tourist, Jamaica offers a wide range of environmentallyfriendly and community-oriented experiences, along with a healthy splash of pure,

luxurious pleasures. Over the course of this travel guide, we have put together some of our top picks for sustainable activities in Jamaica, from eco-adventures to cultural experiences and festivals.

Whether you’re backpacking between national parks on a year out, taking a few days to explore after attending a conference, or treating yourself one of Jamaica’s many exemplary all-inclusive resorts, if you want a unique, only-in-Jamaica experience – while at the same time ensuring you’re contributing to community growth, not climate change – there’s something in here for you.

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TRAVEL GUIDE: JAMAICA

WELCOME TO Welcome to this special Jamaica Travel Guide, a partnership between the Jamaica Tourist Board and Sustainable Business Magazine.

The Jamaica Tourist Board is a fully-financed government agency under the Ministry of Tourism, charged with marketing the tourism product so that Jamaica is known as the most complete, unique, and diverse warm weather destination in the world.

Over the next three to five years, we plan to expand our room inventory by 15,000 rooms. We also recently created an institute called the Jamaica Center for Tourism Innovation, where we’re training and certifying the people who work in the industry.

We’re now looking at new markets in places like India, China, Japan, Eastern Europe, and Northern Africa, to drive more visitors to Jamaica from new places.

Within the tourism industry in Jamaica, people are becoming increasingly awakened to the need to focus on the environment in a way that ensures we can remain sustainable into the future. There are ongoing efforts across the industry to remove plastic products like straws, cups, and bags, and replace them with paper products.

Earlier this year, the World Travel and Tourism Council announced that Jamaica has moved our retention of tourist dollars from 30% to 40.8%, which makes us second in the Caribbean. This demonstrates our successful efforts to bring visitors out into our communities to experience Jamaica in an authentic way.

The most important factor for tourism in Jamaica is our wider Jamaican community.

Our people are our number one asset, and the businesspeople in these communities are contributing to the retention of the tourism dollar in our society, so all Jamaicans can benefit from visitors to the country. Our rate of return visitors is 42%, which is one of the highest in the world. We attribute this to the wonderful people of the industry.

We hope your readers find this Jamaica Travel Guide useful, and we look forward to welcoming them to Jamaica soon. www.visitjamaica.com

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WE HAVE IDENTIFIED FIVE PILLARS OF OUR TOURISM PRODUCT: GASTRONOMY 80% of tourists travel for food experience SHOPPING We are integrating the work of entrepreneurs, who are Jamaicans making Jamaican products.

HEALTH AND WELLNESS We have a plethora of spa and treatment centers across Jamaica, as well as natural extracts to make nutraceuticals.

KNOWLEDGE TOURISM We host numerous large meetings, conventions, and exhibitions, which also enables us to cultivate knowledge among local Jamaicans.

SPORTS AND CULTURE We’re well-known around the world for our sporting icons and our music.

By embracing these five pillars, we can provide leadership for the industry across the region.

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TRAVEL GUIDE: JAMAICA

WHERE TO FIND THE

PULSE OF LIFE

KEY REGIONS Negril South Coast Montego Bay Ochos Rios Kingston Port Antonio

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JAMAICA KEY FACTS

Capital: Kingston Population:

2.9 million

Language(s):

English, Jamaican Patois

Currency:

Jamaican dollar (J$) - approx. J$135 to US$1

Time zone:

Eastern Standard Time (no DST)

Dialling code:

+1 876

Major resort areas: Kingston, Montego Bay,

Negril, Ochos Rios,

Port Antonio, South Coast Tourist season:

December – April

Annual visitors:

4.3 million

Annual tourism earnings:

US$3.3 billion

Avg. temperature: 81-86 °F (day),

68-73 °F (night) Highest point:

Blue Mountain Peak (7402 feet)

Horse Riding

Port Royal

Turtle Cove

Blue Mountain

Rum Tour

Devon House

Bike Hire

Hotel Mockingbird Hill

Bird Watching

Scuba Diving

Jazz Festival

Shopping

Waterfall

Crocodile Safari

Literary Festival

Beach

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TRAVEL GUIDE: JAMAICA KINGSTON DEVON HOUSE Eat ice cream at Devon House - Built in 1881 by George Stiebel, Jamaica’s first black millionaire, Devon House is a striking example of Caribbean-Georgian architecture.

Guided tours are available on weekdays and by reservation on the weekend. You’ll also want to stop at the on-site I Scream parlor, named by National Geographic the fourthbest place in the world to have ice cream.

LIFE YARD Take a tour of the murals at Life Yard – A Rastafarian community-based organization in downtown Kingston, Life Yard run a number of youth projects in the local community.

Contact Life Yard in advance to set up a tour of the extraordinary murals, and then eat vegetarian food at the café, much of which is grown in the permaculture urban farm.

ALSO IN KINGSTON • Support the Jamaica National Heritage Trust with a visit to Port Royal • Admire the work of Jamaican artists at the National Gallery • Visit the Botanical Gardens to see indigenous Jamaican plants

WHAT TO DO IN...

MONTEGO BAY HARBOR STREET CRAFT MARKET Shop at the Harbor Street Craft Market – Take a break from the beach and go shopping at this craft market, where local vendors sell a wide-variety of locally-produced products, from spice mixes to wood carvings made from indigenous cedar and mahogany. You’ll get some great souvenirs at reasonable prices, and you’ll also be participating in a Travel Foundation program to drive more footfall to the craft markets to stimulate local, sustainable economic growth.

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JAMAICAN WILDERNESS Explore Cockpit Country – Traveling as part of an adventurous group? Get in touch with the Jamaican Caves Organisation (JCO), the only non-profit on Jamaica dedicated to caves research and protection, to arrange a trek through the tropical rainforest of Cockpit Country. You’ll see some remarkable nature in person, and the JCO will re-invest the proceeds in important research.

ALSO IN MONTEGO BAY • Visit the Rastafari Indigenous Village • Go to Reggae Sumfest (12-18 July 2020)

Unlimited-Luxury.

LIMI TED WASTE!

Embarking in community sustainability projects to aid in the development of our society by engaging in charitable donations in the form of cash or kind and time to schools, churches and other organizations in need.

RECYCLING AND WASTE MANAGEMENT MEASURES: Diversion from Landfill: • Used oil from the kitchen areas are collected by Green Fuel, local recycling company. Green Fuel converts the oil into feedstock.

Updated March, 2018

The hotel deposits an average of 2000 litres of oil fortnightly.

Initiated November, 2012 .

• Solid Waste Recycling Programme with Jamaica Recyclables: Cardboard, plastic bottles and paper recycling with the aid of a baler machine. Initiated May 2013.

• Departments recycle paper (printing on both sides of each sheet of paper) for other office duties and it is also used in composting. Office paper is also shredded and removed to the compost.

• Composting of vegetables and fruits peelings from our pantry, which is used as fertilizer for the property’s plants.

• The hotel has constructed two compost sites on property that produce a yield of 4200 kg of organic waste every three months; utilized as fertilizers around the property. Initiated October, 2012.

• Fruits and vegetable peelings from pantry are donated to local pig farmers.

• Recycling used toners and inks with INET who reuses electronic waste.

Initiated September, 2013.

• Nature Walks are led by a Landscaping employee daily at 10:00 am. Meeting place Coco Cafe.

ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS AND MANAGEMENT • A number of beach cleanup projects are carried out on property and off property, 2013 – ongoing.

• Labour Day Project ongoing,"Team Up to Clean Up" - Shoreline and Mangrove clean- up of the Freeport environment.

Over 70 employees were involved.

Over 5000 lbs. of garbage removed.

• The hotel is a proud sponsor and participant of International Coastal Clean Up Day. Coastline clean- up and shore line clean- ups completed yearly. September 2013 – ongoing. Proud sponsors and participants of World Wetlands day (Mangrove Tree Planting). February, 2014- ongoing.

Updated March, 2018

• Coral Reef Tour with our partners, the Montego Bay Marine Park, 2017- ongoing We are very proud to have recently been certified by NEPCON Rainforest Alliance a global recognition.

For making reservations email : reservations.sesmb@secretsresorts.com www.secretsresorts.com/en_us/resorts/jamaica/st-james-montego-bay.html?_ga=1.73733841.217457812.1483726345 www.secretsresorts.com/en_us/resorts/jamaica/wild-orchid-montego-bay.html?_ga=1.73733841.217457812.1483726345

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TRAVEL GUIDE: JAMAICA

PORT ANTONIO HOTEL MOCKINGBIRD HILL Visit Hotel Mockingbird Hill - An awardwinning 10-room ‘eco-boutique’ hotel, Hotel Mockingbird Hill uses solar water heating, renewable energy, runs a carbon offset program, and works with local communities to source everything from organic food for the Mille Fleurs restaurant to stationary and toiletries. If you want to enjoy Jamaican luxury and nature, you can’t do better.

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BLUE MOUNTAIN COFFEE Enjoy Blue Mountain Coffee – Jamaica’s most famous beverage (with the possible exception of Red Stripe), Blue Mountain Coffee is known for its lack of bitterness. Tour a small-scale coffee plantation and enjoy a cup of the local brew while enjoying the misty landscape – and don’t forget to buy some beans to take home.

ALSO IN PORT ANTONIO • Give the driving a rest and go cycling • Camp out in the Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park • Visit the Reach Falls

YO U R HOME I N J AMAIC A info@hotelmockingbirdhill.com www.hotelmockingbirdhill.com

OCHOS RIOS SEE THE TURTLES See the turtle releasing – Mel Tennant and his team have been working to help protect the local sea turtle population at Gibraltar Beach, working with the Oracabessa Fish Sanctuary. Visitors can watch the turtle releasing between September and November, and guests at Island Outpost Goldeneye and Jamaica Inn can even help with the releasing.

STUSH IN THE BUSH Eat at Stush in the Bush – Call ahead to arrange an organic farm-to-table vegetarian meal at pioneering restaurant Stush in the Bush, based in the small inland community of Free Hill. Run by wife-and-husband team Lisa and Christopher Binns, food is seasonal and plucked from the ground feet away.

ALSO IN OCHOS RIOS • Visit Dunn’s River Falls and Mystic Mountain • Listen to music at the Ochos Rios Jazz Festival (June 2020) • Take a bicycle tour

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TRAVEL GUIDE: JAMAICA

NEGRIL

SOUTH COAST

OPEN AIR MASSAGE Get an open-air massage – In between long days of lying on the beach, why not go to one of Negril’s many small spas and wellness centers and destress to the sound of the sea? You’ll get an excellent massage at a reasonable price, and you’ll also be supporting local businesses.

TREASURE BEACH Enjoy “a slice of Jamaican life” on Treasure Beach – Less-explored by tourists, the South Coast still has beautiful beaches, great food, and friendly people. Stay at Treasure Beach and enjoy a slower pace of life, centered on the famous Jakes hotel.

SUSTAINABLE FOOD Eat sustainable seafood – Negril is overflowing with small seafood restaurants selling locally-caught fish and seafood. If possible, order the lionfish – it’s an invasive predator with no predators of its own, which local fisherman are catching to encourage the growth of other species. Best served jerked!

ALSO IN NEGRIL • Go for a horseback ride ‘n’ swim • Listen to local live music • Explore Seven Mile Beach

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CROCODILE SAFARI Go on a crocodile safari or go birdwatching – Wildlife small and large abounds in the South Coast region, which is highly different in character to the north.

Go to the Black River and arrange a crocodile safari, or go with a guide to see a wide variety of local birds.

ALSO ON THE SOUTH COAST • Go to the Calabash International Literary Festival (May 29-31) • Visit the Accompong Maroon Village • Take the Appleton Rum Factory tour

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Head Office & Reservations Centre, 17 Antigua Avenue, Kingston 10, Jamaica W.I. Tel: 876-926-8861 / 876-929-5875 Email. icar@cwjamaica.com www.islandcarrentals.com

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Each of our 15 idyllic destinations across six islands make reconnection simply effortless – from lavish, top-tier suites to optional Red Lane® Spa treatments and 5-Star Global Gourmet™ to premium liquors and Robert Mondavi Twin Oaks® wines. It’s all here at the World’s Only 5-Star Luxury Included® Resorts.

BOOK YOUR GETAWAY TODAY 1-800-SANDALS | SANDALS.COM Sandals® is a registered trademark. Unique Vacations, Inc. is an affiliate of Unique Travel Corp., the worldwide representative of Sandals Resorts. 6052/0919

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TRAVEL GUIDE: JAMAICA

SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL TO JAMAICA If you plan to be one of the more than 4 million people who are expected to visit Jamaica in 2020, odds are good you’ll arrive in one of two ways – on a plane, or on a cruise ship. We’ve got tips for how you can reduce the footprint of your journey and offset your emissions.

36 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

FLYING Approximately 2% of global climate emissions come from the aviation sector, and flying to a vacation destination is one of the most carbon-intensive activities you’ll probably do in 2020. A return flight from Toronto to Kingston emits approximately 1 ton of CO2 per traveller.

To reduce your overall emissions, first, spend a little extra on a direct flight. You’ll have a shorter overall journey, and, as takeoff and landing are the biggest consumers of fuel for a flight, you’ll significantly reduce your carbon emissions. You can also reduce your overall emissions by flying with a more efficient airline, which you can check by looking at the latest atmosfair Airline Index (AAI) at https://www.atmosfair.de/en/

From North America, Air Canada offer the most efficient flights to Montego Bay from a variety of Canadian airports. From the United States, efficient choices are more limited, but both Delta and United place in Category D in the AAI rankings for longhaul flights, the highest rankings for any American carriers flying directly to Jamaica.

If possible, avoid taking a short-haul flight beforehand – if your direct flight is from a distant airport, try taking trains and buses to get there.

If you’re flying from Europe, take the Eurostar to London Gatwick, where highest-rated Tui Airways operate a charter flight directly to Montego Bay. Tui Airways use the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which is about 20% more fuel efficient on long-haul

flights than older aircraft. Alternatively, KLM, ranked by AAI in Category C, are also more efficient than most airlines.

Some airlines will offer you the option to pay a little extra to offset your carbon emissions. The quality of the provider-offered carbon offsets varies, and there isn’t always a guarantee that the projects being funded are sufficient to compensate for the vast carbon emissions of air travel. Look for reputable external certifications from specialist organizations like Gold Standard. Air Canada’s partnership with Less Emissions and KLM’s CO2ZERO service are both certified.

If your carrier doesn’t offer a certified offset program, you can go to a external provider – we recommend Terrapass in North America and Atmosfair in Europe.

CRUISE It’s a common misapprehension that cruise ships are a greener way to travel than flying.

A five-night Western Caribbean cruise on a 4000-capacity vessel emits over 1 ton of CO2 per passenger – not including any flights to and from departure and arrival ports. What’s more, older cruise ships often release waste, sewage, and fuel-contaminated water directly into the ocean. When booking a cruise stopping in Jamaica, research the specific ship you’ll be taking, use the myclimate.org calculator to estimate your emissions per passenger, then use a reputable offset program – and don’t forget to offset any connecting flights. It’s also worth aiming to book a cruise which stops for a longer period of time in Jamaica, to ensure that some of your tourist dollars are going into the local communities. c

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TRAVEL GUIDE: JAMAICA

TOP PICKS SBM TOP PICKS RESTAURANTS

SBM TOP PICKS EXPERIENCES

The Houseboat Grill, Montego Bay T. +1 876 979-8845 www.thehouseboatgrill.com

Appleton Estate Rum Experience T. +1 876 963-9215 www.appletonestate.com

Jack Sprat, Treasure Beach T. +1 876 965-3583 jakeshotel.com

Blue Mountain Bicycle Tour T. +1 876 974-7075 www.bmtoursja.com

Mille Fleurs, Port Antonio T. +1 876 993-7267 www.hotelmockingbirdhill.com/ restaurant-mille-fleurs

Devon House Mansion Tour T. +1 876 926-0815 www.devonhouseja.com/ mansion-tours

Stush in the Bush, St. Ann T. +1 876 562-9760 stushinthebush.com

Rastafari Indigenous Village Tour T. +1 876 285-4750 rastavillage.com

Sweet Spice, Negril T. +1 876 957-4621 sweetspicerestaurant. restaurantsnapshot.com

Reggae Horseback Riding T. +1 877 248-1479 www.reggaehorsebackriding.com

SBM TOP PICKS TOURS & TRANSPORT

SBM TOP PICKS HOTELS & RESORTS

Byron’s Jamaica Tours T. +1 876 556-9321 www.byronsjamaicatours.com

Hotel Mockingbird Hill T. +1 876 619-1215 www.hotelmockingbirdhill.com

Crisnic Tours T. +1 876 462-3310 criscoore556@gmail.com

Sandals Montego Bay T. +1 888 726-3257 www.sandals.com/montego-bay

Island Car Rentals T. +1 876 929-5875 www.islandcarrentals.com

Secrets Montego Bay T. +1 855 739-6860 www.secretsresorts.com

Damion Jamaica Tours is a transfer and tour company that believes in offering the best, reliable, safe and affordable transportation in Jamaica. Whether you are looking for airport transfers, half or full day tours, laying on the beach or shopping for souvenirs, look no further. At Damion Jamaica Tours we take pride in helping to create lasting memories enjoying the warm island breeze, beautiful white sands and breath taking views while sipping on an ice cold Red Stripe, fruity rum punch, refreshing soft drink or a hydrating bottle of WATA. All our vehicles are clean, spacious, safe and air conditioned.

Melia, Montego Bay. Experience the perfect blend of colonial style and the Caribbean Sea breeze at the Melia Braco Village, just 45 minutes from the Sangster International Airport, Montego Bay. Featuring a private beach, beautiful sea view rooms, two swimming pools overlooking the sea, four bars, six restaurants offering a wide variety of national and international cuisine, free internet access throughout the hotel, Kids’ Club for fun and a Spa & Wellness Center for unwinding. Beachside parties and weddings, Caribbean cocktails and local cuisine, such as the famous Jerk Chicken, are just some of the things you can enjoy when you stay with us.

Damion Jamaica Tours T. +1 876 879-9421 damionjamaicatours.com

T. 876-618-6068 E. reservations.melia.jamaica@melia.com www.melia.com/en/hotels/jamaica

Amity Tours and Transfers is one of Jamaica’s top transportation provider. Our team offers a wide range of tour services, excursions and airport transfers to and from various hotels around the Island. Not only do we provide exceptional service, we also provide a cultural experience unlike any other. With affordable packages for every budget, booking with Amity Tours and Transfers will surely enhance your vacation experience.

Xtabi Resort, Negril. Meeting Place of the Gods. The name is as exotic as the quaint cottages and octagon shaped bungalows spilling across the countryside and perched atop rocky terraces overlooking a turquoise sea. No highrise buildings, nothing taller then a palm tree. Swim in a tropical lagoon or sip a cool island drink while you watch a Negril sunset bursting in technicolor display.

T. (876) 464-3162 or (876) 451-9459 amitytoursandtransfer1@gmail.com www.amitytoursandtransfer.com

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T. 876 957-0121 / 876 957-0524 www.xtabinegril.com

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CONFERENCE REVIEW: MOVIN’ON SUMMIT

MOVIN’ON SUMMIT 2019:

FROM AMBITION

TO ACTION From June 4th to 6th 2019, the Grandé Studios in Montréal hosted the third edition of the Movin’On Summit, a global summit for sustainable mobility. Sustainable Business Magazine’s Daniel Sluckin attended.

Sustainable mobility is one of the great creative challenges of our time. Globally, the transportation sector is the second largest overall emitter of CO2, tied with manufacturing and construction and behind only electricity and heat production. In places like Québec, where renewable energy has been widely adopted, transportation is the largest overall emitter. Yet human life as we know it today depends upon a diverse array of transportation options – from commuter transport to fresh produce logistics to waste collection – and every method of transportation presents its own set of sustainability challenges.

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The annual Movin’On Summit in Montréal hosts innovators and thought leaders in sustainable mobility. The Movin’On Summit engages directly with these challenges, encouraging the cross-pollination of ideas,

knowledge, and inspiration between large businesses, small tech start-ups, academics, and public-sector decision makers.

The descendent of the Michelin Challenge Bibendum, which was created in

1998, the Movin’On Summit is produced by the Movin’On Sustainable Mobility Fund in partnership with Montréal-based business events organizer C2 International. The 2019 Movin’On Summit brought 95 speakers and 5,000 attendees together for two-and-a-half days in June at the Grandé Studios to discuss the future of mobility. Attendees were able to participate in experimental labs and working sessions, as well as view some of the latest mobility technology, much of it not yet available on the market. The event was organized around five key themes: Decarbonization and Air Quality, Innovative Technologies, Goods Transportation and Multimodality, Multimodal Urban Transit and Society, and Circular Economy.

Present for this year’s event were Valérie Plante, Mayor of Montréal, Luis Alfonso

De Alba, Mexican diplomat and special envoy for the 2019 Climate Summit, Pierre Cannet, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) France Interim Co-Director, and Florent Menegaux, incoming CEO of the Michelin Group, who summarized the overall theme of the summit as ‘From Ambition to Action’.

Michelin themselves used the event to announce their airless, puncture-proof

Uptis tire, which will be available for new General Motors consumer vehicles by 2024. Michelin estimate 200 million tires a year are discarded because of punctures.

The Uptis tire will require less maintenance and will only need to be retreaded, not replaced.

Also announced at the 2019 summit was that Accenture’s Frugal Mobility Solutions for a Sustainable Future program, intended to study how to achieve better mobility solutions using fewer resources, has been developed into a Frugal Mobility City Index, which measures the magnitude with which cities are embracing and implementing frugal mobility solutions, and a Frugal Mobility Observatory to list potentially replicable frugal solutions for use by entrepreneurs and municipalities.

Nicolas Beaumont, Senior Vice President for Sustainable Development and Mobility at Michelin told Sustainable Business Magazine: “Making mobility more sustainable is good for us. Our brand has value. It’s recognized globally.”

Of the mobility sector, Mr. Beaumont said: “Seeing what’s happening helps you see the future. We cannot work alone. The benefit of Movin’On for Michelin is we are recognized as a trusted partner all over the world.”

Florent Menegaux, new CEO of the Michelin Group, told us: “If you want to build momentum, you need unity in theme, time, and subject. Montreal has been accommodating and supportive and we have a strong partner here.”

The next edition of the Movin’On Summit will take place in Montréal from June 3rd – 5th 2020. Read more about the upcoming summit and previous Movin’On Summits at: summit.movinonconnect.com c

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INTERVIEW: ELECTRIC CAB NORTH AMERICA (ECAB)

MASS TRANSIT Sustainable Business Magazine speaks to Chris Nielsen, Chief Executive Officer at Electric Cab North America, about an innovative business model, advanced technology, and the importance of ‘microtransit’.

“I was working in guest services in the Omni Hotel in downtown Austin in the late 2000s,” says Chris Nielsen. “We would get movie stars, royalty, judges, politicians – and they all had one thing in common, which was none of them could get a short distance ride. Inevitably, because I was the person who had to arrange these things, at least once a day, I would get yelled at.

I asked the taxicabs that would linger outside the hotel: ‘Hey, why aren’t you guys here past 5 p.m.?’ And they all said the same thing: They didn’t want to give up their place in the queue for a three-dollar fare. They’d rather wait for the airport run or to go out to the end of the suburbs.”

“Right after I had that conversation, I went in, and, sure enough, somebody needed a ride that was eleven blocks away, and the taxicabs refused it. At the time, I was still a smoker, so I went outside, and thought to myself: ‘Why does everyone keep yelling at me? I don’t work for a taxi

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company.’ And I happened to see a golf cart driving down the street with a license plate on it. It was one of those eureka moments. I quit my job the next day, cashed in my retirement, and started a company.”

INTRA-URBAN MOBILITY Out of that ‘eureka moment’ was born Electric Cab of Austin in 2008, today known as Electric Cab North America (eCab). Mr. Nielsen’s innovation, which remains at the heart of the eCab business model, was to use low-power electric vehicles to provide ‘last-mile’ transportation, also known as ‘microtransit’, in urban centers. “Microtransit is intra-urban mobility,” says Mr. Nielsen “It’s trips that are typically under two miles in a dense urban core. Basically what our service does is it makes mass transit seamless. It really just started with us parking in front of the train station and giving people a ride to work.”

To begin with, the eCab fleet consisted of a few golf carts in Downtown Austin.

“They were just like the ones you’d see on a golf course,” says Mr. Nielsen. “But even then, day one, we were able to get rides.

We did zero marketing – people just needed to get around. In October 2009, we got our first low-speed electric vehicle.” eCab didn’t have a completely smooth ride from the start. A protected legal battle

with the City of Austin led to Mr. Nielsen going to court a total of 227 times. “This was back when the taxi lobby had teeth,” says Mr. Nielsen. “I realized I was fighting someone who was using the City. We figured out which council member was working against us, and I filed to run for City Council against that person. I didn’t win, but that council member also didn’t win, and right after that, we got our license, in March 2012.”

DEVELOPING A BUSINESS MODEL After this initial regulatory battle, eCab were able to begin engaging with the more serious question of how to run a brand new type of transportation business. “There are a lot of

“IT WAS ONE OF THOSE EUREKA MOMENTS. I QUIT MY JOB THE NEXT DAY, CASHED IN MY RETIREMENT, AND STARTED A COMPANY.”

hurdles out there,” says Mr. Nielsen. “If you ask someone on the street what a low-speed electric vehicle is, they’re just going to stare at you. We had to figure out customer acquisition, how to scale, how to do business with other businesses. We tried a lot of different models. In the late evening we were able to just operate as a taxi hauling people around between the bars and nightclubs in Austin, which the police liked because we were keeping drunk people from staggering out into the middle of the road. But we kept trying to figure out why we couldn’t get customers in the daytime, and finally it hit us that people in the evening are spending money, people in the daytime are making money.

And that’s when we noticed the trains were

running empty. So in 2015 we piloted this pop-up last mile service, just to see if there was an appetite for it. We parked in front of the train station and gave people rides to work. Right out of the gate, we got 20,000 rides in one month. We couldn’t believe it.”

“We started partnering with Capital Metro, the transit agency here in Austin, and we were able to secure a $1 million grant from the Department of Energy to study microtransit,” says Mr. Nielsen. “With six vehicles, we were able to transport 68,000 passengers over a period of eight months. While we were doing this, Chariot launched in Austin, with 100 vans. They operated for a full year, except they gave 906 rides. It turned out, our vehicles are a lot more accessible, every

passenger has their own door, and we can load and unload very quickly, which means we don’t cause traffic impediments.”

At this stage, another key aspect of eCab’s business model was developed. “We quickly learned that we can’t charge the passengers,” says Mr. Nielsen. “The last thing anybody wants to go is get out of the train, reach into their pocket, and have to pay another platform. So we realized we have to charge their employers. We found out the market rate of parking in Downtown Austin was $175 per month, so we approached employers with a price point below that.

Today, we get paid by private developments, municipalities, transit agencies, and airports – never the passengers.”

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INTERVIEW: ELECTRIC CAB NORTH AMERICA (ECAB)

“WE’RE VERY EXCITED TO BE PARTNERING WITH SUCH A LARGE COMPANY, WHICH ALSO HAS EQUITY IN OUR COMPANY. IT’LL GIVE US A BIG BOOST.”

SCALING UP In 2016, eCab finally discovered a way to expand their fleet rapidly without the need to invest millions of dollars at a time. “We established a relationship with United Rentals in 2016, which allowed us to offload the cap ex to them,” says Mr. Nielsen. “They buy the fleet, and we just lease it from them. They handle all the maintenance, servicing, registration, and that allows us to strictly focus on our deliverables. That was probably the biggest turning point in our history. They have 1600 locations just in the United States, which means we can deploy everywhere, and they have significantly decreased our setup cost.”

With this new model for fleet expansion, in early 2017, eCab were able to start up in St. Louis. “We’d been in contact with another operator there who did something similar to what we were doing,” says Mr. Nielsen. “We befriended each other and decided to start up a circulator, initially just serving people going to Cardinals baseball games. It just grew from there. Other businesses hired us, and we started working with Bi-State Metro.

Then we started getting business from smaller communities like Kirkwood and Clayton.

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It turned into a hub-and-spoke expansion.

That has been the case everywhere we’ve deployed. We start in one location, and inevitably we start getting calls and emails wanting to know how to get the service in their neighborhood.”

Today, eCab can be found in Austin, Dallas, in and around St. Louis, and Chandler, Arizona. “A great case study of how we work is in the Euclid, in the Central West End of St. Louis,” says Mr. Nielsen. “We got hired by the property management company that runs all the retail, office, and residential buildings around there. We bill them, and they defer their cost among all their tenants.

Say you pick up a bill that’s $20,000, and you spread it out between 14,000 tenants – it becomes very hard to argue with. The ultimate hook is, the property management companies would much rather not have parking garages on their properties. They’d much rather have retail or office there. But they’re still having to pay the property tax on the structure. So if they can find a way to get people to and from these developments, like the train, then have people moved around inside of the developments, that takes away the need for parking.”

PIONEERING TECHNOLOGY eCab’s low-speed electric vehicles are all manufactured by Polaris. “We maintain a close relationship with Polaris’s engineering team, which means we can get all the devices we need installed on the factory floor,” says Mr. Nielsen. “We have convinced them to build the world’s first paratransit low-speed vehicle, which we’re about to deploy now in Chandler, Arizona, and which will allow us to move people with mobility impairments. It’s a segment of the population that everybody just seemed to keep forgetting about. So we decided, rather than just bolting a ramp on the side of a vehicle, let’s do it the right way.”

One technological ‘challenge’ which, in fact, isn’t a challenge at all for eCab is charging. “Everyone assumes charging is a pain point we have,” says Mr. Nielsen. “It isn’t. We figured that out on day one. The way our vehicles are engineered is to keep the charging portion as simple as possible.

They can be plugged into any electrical outlet, and we can just charge. Our drivers go through a pretty rigorous training program to make sure their know how to operate the vehicle, how to optimize the regenerative

OFFER A DISTINCTIVE, COMFORTABLE RIDE WITH POLARIS GEM®

GEMCar.com brakes, what roads to operate on, what roads not to, all of which speaks to battery life. On Polaris’s spec sheet, it says this vehicle gets 80 miles to the charge. We get 130.

Polaris actually didn’t believe us, so they gave us a telematic device. Next thing you know, we’ve got Polaris engineering showing up at our shop wanting to collaborate.”

The fruit of this collaboration was the embrace of advanced telematics. “We have two telematic platforms on our vehicles, so we can monitor all of them in real-time,” says Mr. Nielsen. “Once our telematic platform was put on by United Rentals, we can see the usage, the speed, where it’s been. They can alert us to hard stops or hairpin turns or anything unsafe, which helps us mitigate risk.

We also create dashboard data aggregation from our passengers. For example, we can give a real-time account of how many passengers are on our vehicles, how many passengers have been on our vehicles, all the way down to their gender, approximate age, where they work, and why they’re going out. The very simple technology we use is seatbelt sensors, which just count every time it closes, and our driver asks a couple of necessary, non-invasive questions like ‘Where

are you going?’ All this data on the back end gets aggregated, and we create a dashboard, which is probably the most valuable asset we have. The data means we can show our clients: ‘Here’s why you’re paying us.’” eCab are also investigating the potential for autonomous vehicles. “We believe full autonomy is still a far ways off,” says Mr. Nielsen. “What we’re doing is something called Follow Me. This means with two vehicles, one in front of the other, the first vehicle has a driver, and the vehicle following does not. It means the vehicle isn’t going to drive itself somewhere, but we can still employ an autonomous platform, kind of like training wheels for the technology. That will come in really handy for surge times. So in the morning and evening rush hour, we can increase capacity instantly.”

ments, grocery store, and this kind of thing.

We’re very excited to be partnering with such a large company, which also has equity in our company. It’ll give us a big boost.”

“From here, we want to focus on any place that has a tightly-packed urban core and transit deserts,” says Mr. Nielsen.

“That can be anything from the downtown of a city, a large private development, a corporate campus, or medical facilities and universities. Universities rarely have any kind of a transit system, and when they do, it usually only operates certain hours, which can be a safety issue. So that’s where we can step in and really make a difference. We have a deployment starting in Indiana at the moment. We want to be in every university in the United States, so that’s our goal for the next five years.” c

NEW PARTNERS eCab’s list of partnerships across the United States continues to grow. “We just formed a partnership with MTM, who are the largest non-emergency medical transportation provider in the United States, operating in 31 states,” says Mr. Nielsen. “They give disabled people rides to the hospital, doctor’s appointSUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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INTERVIEW: WATERAX

FIGHTING FIRE WITH Sustainable Business Magazine speaks to Gabriella Gerbasi, Director of Marketing at WATERAX, about portable water pumps, wildland firefighting, and the impacts of climate change.

WATERAX is a Canadian manufacturer of water handling equipment, specializing in portable water pumps for wildland firefighting applications. Founded in 1898 in Montreal under the name Watson Jack & Co., WATERAX is responsible for developing some of the most widely-used portable fire pumps in North America, ever since the first 200 psi WAJAX pump was introduced to the market by founder John Colquhoun Watson Jack in 1925.

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“At the time, wildland firefighting techniques were extremely inconvenient,” explains Gabriella Gerbasi, Director of Marketing at WATERAX. “Firefighters used to have to carry water using locomotives, or sometimes cars. Our founder was the first person to develop a portable fire pump, and thanks to his invention Canada became an international reference point for wildland firefighting techniques and equipment. In 1964, our MARK-3 portable fire pump was introduced to the Canadian market. It was sold across the world in more than forty countries, and became a standard piece of equipment for all firefighting agencies. What made that product different is detachable pump ends, patented in 1958, which make it easier for people in the field to replace those parts. So if there is an issue, or customers just want to switch it up to a different volume or pressure, the detachable ends make it very easy for people to do so right there in the field.”

“WATER IS THE MOST EFFECTIVE TOOL THAT A FIREFIGHTER HAS. WE ARE ABLE TO HELP BY MAXIMIZING THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR FIREFIGHTERS TO UTILIZE WATER IN THEIR TACTICS.”

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INTERVIEW: WATERAX

VITAL TOOL Wildland firefighting is a physically demanding, potentially highly dangerous job, with very different tactics and objectives to structural firefighting. Reliable, effective equipment is a must. “Water is the most effective tool that a firefighter has,” says Ms. Gerbasi.

“We are able to help by maximizing the opportunities for firefighters to utilize water in their tactics. The portable nature of our pumps allows firefighters to pump water over long distances and across difficult terrain. Having water available at high pressure also helps keep firefighters safe from harm in difficult situations, reducing the risk of becoming trapped. In rugged environments, there are weight constraints and other obstacles, and sometimes firefighters are working with stress and fatigue for several days at a time. Our equipment has to be safe, reliable, and consistently perform as expected.”

The technical challenge for a manufacturer of portable fire pumps is to maintain absolute reliability and power while also ensuring the pump is lightweight enough to be effectively deployed in challenging terrain. “Our pumps are powered by a 48 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

two-stroke engine,” says Ms. Gerbasi. “The use of this engine in our pumps has an unmatched power-to-weight ratio, which allows for a powerful yet lighter and more compact unit. This is absolutely critical for quick response, quick relocation, and quick movement of the unit without slowing down or tiring a firefighter. When we serve people, reliability is the number one thing that customers value in their equipment, especially in portable, high-pressure pumps.

Sometimes these pumps can run for 20 hours a day, and in order to sell our equipment to the U.S. Forest Service The MARK-3® had to successfully pass the USDA Forest Service 100-hour endurance test in San Dimas and has been requalified under QPL-5100-274 as of August 2015.

VERSATILE PRODUCTS These exacting requirements result in stress-tested products, suited to a wide range of applications in addition to firefighting. “Naturally, our products are widely used for many tasks which involve moving water,” says Ms. Gerbasi. “They are often used for agricultural purposes, in marinas and on boats, in paper mills, and even by loggers

when felling trees. The portability and high pressure of our product is really what makes it useful in such specific situations. The company has changed a lot in the last few years, but our current name, WATERAX, recalls the origins of the company, and we are realigning with our original purpose of helping wildland firefighters protect their communities and forests from the ravages of wildfires.”

In addition to fire mitigation, WATERAX are now engaging with the use of their products in forest fire prevention.

“There’s a concept called ‘Wildland-Urban Interface’ (WUI), which refers to geographic locations in a transition period between wildland and urbanization,” says Ms. Gerbasi. “These can be high risk areas. More and more people are building homes in

close proximity to the forest, and they need to ensure they build soundly and put appropriate systems in place. We are trying to find ways to market our products to these communities, and help them install sprinklers and portable fire pumps near their houses so they can use them in an emergency.”

Moving forward, WATERAX continue to invest in R&D, to further improve performance. “Innovation is central to our operations as a business,” says Ms. Gerbasi.

“For the last decade, we have invested very heavily in research and development. We have put in place all the fundamentals to support a state-of-the-art development pipeline, and have acquired technology and development know-how in the fields of combustion engines, hydraulics, composite materials, and industrial design. We are looking at fuel injection, which could make the pump a lot easier to start and prevent flooding, all the while delivering the same high performance firefighters need from our product. We are about to release a new generation of fire pumps, which will have a lasting impact on the livelihoods of firefighters around the world for generations to come.”

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INTERVIEW: WATERAX

“THE ENVIRONMENT IS IMPORTANT TO EVERYONE WHO WORKS FOR THE COMPANY, NATURALLY, AS OUR CORE MISSION IS OF COURSE TO KEEP FORESTS AND COMMUNITIES SAFE.”

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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT As man-made climate change leads to more frequent, hotter, longer-lived forest fires, WATERAX have been looking to reduce their own environmental footprint. “We have been participating in the Sustainable Development Program in partnership with the city of Montréal,” says Ms. Gerbasi. “The primary challenge of this project is to implement sustainable processes in our supply chain and production facilities. Sustainable development is becoming a business reality, and we are looking for ways to improve our partnerships with suppliers, as well as being smarter with the resources and raw materials that we purchase. We are also trying to improve our packaging materials, streamline and rethink transportation and logistics, and of course make changes in our offices and every-day habits.”

“Our Sustainable Development Program began this year, so it’s really new,” says Ms. Gerbasi. “We were chosen out of hundreds of companies in Montréal, and are one of just twenty businesses taking part in the program this year. The environment is important to everyone who works for the company, naturally, as our core mission is of course to keep forests and communities safe, mitigating forest fire risk. It’s also significant for the same reasons to our customers, who are out there seeing the real impact forest fires have every year as they increase in severity and

regularity. Trying to have a positive impact in general is what shapes our corporate responsibility, and we want to focus on that at all times. There are so many things we can do and many of them are not too difficult or too expensive, they just require a little time and effort. The city of Montréal is really supporting and helping us with this, as we are finding the tools to educate people and learn how we can make these changes. We are trying to make habits that will serve us long-term, as well as helping the local community, and trying to make positive changes that have impact wherever our products are purchased and used.”

“We are also planning to keep growing the business,” says Ms. Gerbasi. “Specifically, we plan to acquire other water handling businesses. We ultimately want to be working with anything related to moving water, but our core competency remains fire pumps.

We aim to be leaders in the industry of portable, high-pressure fire pumps around the world. Since the 1920s, WATERAX has been manufacturing pumps that can be used in the field long-term, in some cases for 30-plus years. So we want to continue doing what we do best: designing, innovating, and bringing reliable and sustainable products to the market. By doing this we hope to help people – especially wildland firefighters – to move water where and when they need it the most.” c SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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FOREWORD: AASHE SUSTAINABLE CAMPUSES

SUSTAINABLE

CAMPUSES A foreword by Meghan Fay Zahniser, AASHE Executive Director

MEGHAN FAY ZAHNISER, AASHE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.

The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) is proud to support the “Sustainable Campuses” series that recognizes achievements of the higher education sector and their ef52 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

forts toward developing a thriving, equitable and ecologically healthy world.

AASHE empowers higher education administrators, faculty, staff and students to be effective change agents and drivers of sustainability innovation. We enable members to translate information into action by offering essential resources and professional development opportunities to a diverse, engaged community of sustainability leaders. We work with and for higher education to ensure that our world’s future leaders are motivated and equipped to solve sustainability challenges.

We support the higher education community through the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS), modeling Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, the AASHE Conference & Expo and more.

STARS STARS was introduced as a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. This program incentivizes institutions to deepen their efforts and provides an open platform for information sharing.

STARS has become the global standard for sustainability in higher education and has more than 320 rated institutions from nearly 1,000 participants.

STARS is being used by institutions in 38 countries, and we are happy to share a few recent STARS firsts including: • The University College Cork becoming the first institution in Ireland to earn a STARS rating and the first institution outside the U.S. and Canada to achieve STARS Gold rating.

• Thompson Rivers University becoming the first institution in Canada and the first Master’s institution to achieve a STARS Platinum rating.

• American University of Sharjah becoming the first institution in the Middle East to achieve a STARS rating.

We are also excited to share that in 2019, we will release STARS version 2.2 which will align with the Sustainable Development Goals. This will enable institution’s to not only celebrate their successes and identify areas for improvement within their institution, but also to better understand how their efforts on campus are contributing to the global goals. In time this will enable us to demonstrate the important role that higher education plays in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals.

DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION We recently shared our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) statement. Though the statement is new, we have been working to advance DEI for several years both within our organization as well as the larger movement.

Now, more than ever before, there’s a sense of urgency to not only publicly proclaim our commitment, but to reaffirm our resolve to advancing DEI as core values.

We have always defined sustainability as an inclusive way, encompassing human and ecological health, social justice, secure livelihoods and a better world for all generations. Releasing this statement not only demonstrates the importance of DEI, but it also reaffirms our view in sustainability being all-encompassing.

2019 AASHE CONFERENCE & EXPO Expected to draw approximately 2,000 participants, AASHE’s annual conference is the largest stage in North America to exchange effective models, policies, research, co-

laborations, and transformative actions that advance sustainability in higher education and beyond.

With a theme of Co-Creating a Sustainable Economy, AASHE 2019 is tackling the root cause for the continued rise in carbon emissions: our dysfunctional economic system. The conference seeks to showcase and strengthen higher education’s contributions to the movement for a sustainable economy, which we see as inclusive of the exciting work happening under a variety of other names such as the solidarity economy, wellbeing economy, circular economy, postgrowth economy, regenerative economy and restorative economy.

This year’s conference takes place Oct. 27-30 in Spokane, Washington, USA. Attendees can expect thought-provoking keynote speakers, hundreds of sessions to engage all higher education sustainability interests, and an expo hall with innovative products and services sure to inspire.

THANK YOU We are grateful to represent and support a community that is focused on leading the global sustainability transformation through STARS, DEI, our annual conference, and more. It is critical that all sectors of society play a vital role in advancing global sustainability. Higher education, along with businesses, governments, and civil society organizations around the globe, have significant impacts on human and ecological health.

While we believe that higher education can be the foundation for creating a thriving, equitable, and ecologically healthy world, we embrace and thank the supporters from all sectors who contribute to making a better world for all generations.

The “Sustainable Campuses” series provides us the opportunity to better recognize and understand what strategies and programs work well at institutions throughout the world. Higher education, in many ways, is already leading in various aspects of sustainability innovation and other sectors can learn a lot from the successes of colleges and universities. Through partnership and collaboration across sectors, my hope is that we will continue to learn, innovate and work to achieve the sustainable world we want and need.

Thank you,

Meghan Fay Zahniser AASHE Executive Director SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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INTERVIEW: VIRGINIA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY

SCIENCE DISPLAY ON

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Sustainable Business Magazine speaks to Maynard Schaus, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Professor of Biology at Virginia Wesleyan University, about the connections between a sustainable building, teaching and research, and the on- and off-campus communities.

Geothermal energy. A green roof. Constructed wetlands for stormwater runoff.

Native plants used for landscaping. Solar panels. When Virginia Wesleyan University, a small liberal arts campus in Virginia Beach with around 1350 residential students, decided to construct a new center for environmental sciences, they wanted a building which synthesized environmental sustainability, learning, and opportunities for research.

“In the fall of 2014, I got a call from our development staff that an anonymous donor had come forward who wanted to fully fund a new Environmental Sciences building in honor of our outgoing President, Billy Greer,” explains Maynard Schaus, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Professor of Biology at Virginia Wesleyan University. “Years before, we had planned a sciences building which was to be LEED-certified, but which was never implemented. As a result, we’d already gone through a process of figuring out what needed to be included in a building like that. This time, rather than pursuing LEED certification, we just decided to design the best teaching and research facility we could, tied to our faculty’s research, our curriculum, and our campus. The fact the center ended up receiving LEED Gold certification is just a bonus.”

FOUR SPHERES Connection to the environment is at the heart of the unique 44,000 square foot Greer Environmental Sciences Center, where construction was completed in 2017. The facility is organized around the Earth’s ‘four spheres’ – the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, the lithosphere, and the biosphere. “We wanted to go “all in” on the things we were passionate about,” says Dr. Schaus. “We have four labs designed around the spheres, with teaching and research space to support each one.

Those labs are Ecology and Marine Biology, Earth Science, Atmospheric Science/ Oceanography, and Analytical Chemistry. In those labs, we’ve implemented all kinds of state-of-the-art technologies. For example, in the chemistry lab, we have installed filtration fume hoods, where fumes run through two carbon filters. Harmful gases get trapped on those filters rather than being pumped out into the air, and each filter lasts for about two years. Because the purified air goes back into the building, it encourages people to use less-toxic alternatives and minimize waste production. We think this reinforces the principles of green chemistry that students are taught about, while also reducing pollution and improving energy efficiency.”

Innovative design grounds the Greer Environmental Sciences Center in its surroundings.

“The stormwater wetlands were designed because we have had faculty doing research on stormwater ponds,” says Dr. Schaus. “These wetlands treat about 90% of the precipitation run-off in a given year. We installed geothermal energy for heating, cooling, and hot water, which means the facility exchanges heat with the ground instead of the air, allowing SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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INTERVIEW: VIRGINIA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY and we expect it to last another hundred years. We also have bald cypress saplings planted around two of the stormwater ponds, completing the circle. Also, inside there’s a large mural focusing on our place in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and lots of glass windows to allow natural light in and reduce internal lighting.”

the building to be about 70% more energy efficient than similarly-sized conventional laboratory facilities. One of the most unique features is the reclaimed wood, which used “sinker cypress” wood reclaimed from the bottom of the Mississippi River. In the late 1800s, when a lot of the bald cypress swamps in the Mississippi River valley were clearcut, as they were transported downriver, many logs would fall off the barges and end up submerged, where the wood was petrified and preserved. Companies have located these logs and are able to haul them out from the river bottom, so that the wood can be used without harvesting additional trees. We use this hundred-year-old wood for the siding of the classroom wing,

STUDENT CONNECTION As befits a facility built for teaching and research, most of the Greer Environmental Sciences Center’s sustainable features are accessible for students to study, including the geothermal system, the wetlands, the native plants used in the landscaping, the green roof, and the solar PV system. “We knew it would cost too much to do solar PV on the whole roof, but we also think it’s important,” says Dr. Schaus. “So have a demo-scaled solar PV array, and a demo-scaled green roof.

We wanted our students to be able to study these building elements. They’re able to use the building dashboard to see how much solar energy was captured in the last week, for example, and they can compare that to the atmospheric conditions.”

“In general, we wanted to link casual observers to the research here,” says Dr. Schaus.

“When students walk from their dorms to the cafeteria, they go down a sidewalk which uses the building as a portal. Those students are going to go right by the wetlands, where they’ll see dragonflies, ducks, snapping turtle hatchlings. They’ll see wading birds, plants coming into flower. They’ll hear the frogs singing. We want everyone to be engaged in what this facility is doing.”

TEACHING AND RESEARCH The facility was built to facilitate the various courses which relate to the environment in the Virginia Wesleyan curriculum. “Intro organic chemistry and intro biology will use the Blocker Hall labs,” explains Dr. Schaus.

“But when you do analytical chemistry, or biogeochemistry, or upper level ecology and marine biology, they’ll be taught here.

We have a geographic information system classroom. We have a big focus in our research on nutrient and metal analysis, so we have analyzers to measure trace metals.

We have a clean room for samples to be processed. The undergraduates are actually using some of these high-tech pieces of equipment, which will prepare them to work in environmental consulting or the chemical industry. We now have a new

© ALAN KARCHMER

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“I GOT A CALL FROM OUR DEVELOPMENT STAFF THAT AN ANONYMOUS DONOR HAD COME FORWARD WHO WANTED TO FULLY FUND A NEW ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES BUILDING IN HONOR OF OUR OUTGOING PRESIDENT, BILLY GREER”

advanced microscopy suite, to supplement the other microscopes in Blocker Hall, and a new greenhouse, to replace our old wellworn one.”

Research is closely tied to the capabilities of the new facility. “A chemist/environmental scientist got an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant to look at how algae in the stormwater ponds take up nutrients and metals, including mercury,” says Dr. Schaus.

“Her research looked at whether we could manually harvest that algae, to prevent the metals going downstream, and determined how we could process it. They came up

with the idea of using worm composting, quantifying how nutrients and metals then accumulate in the worms. Students have been involved in all aspects of that project.”

“Another project was in the aquatic research room downstairs, where a student studied the filtration rate of oysters under ocean acidification,” says Dr. Schaus. “With more CO2 emissions, the ocean is becoming more acidic, which affects things like coral reefs and oysters. Another student is doing a sting ray behavior project in that facility. Our physicist and her students even did a project on micro-meteorites. They wanted to use the

slope of the roof to collect them, especially the magnetic micro-meteorites. They’ve found at least one they can identify as a meteorite. It’s all about these little things, where you design the facility, and then different faculty members adapt it and come up with something you never even thought of.”

The Greer Center has also driven the development of new teaching – some of it outside the traditional sciences. “We also have a new course called Sustainability Accounting, as part of our new Sustainability Management major, which launched in Fall 2017,” says Dr. Schaus. “That course

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INTERVIEW: VIRGINIA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY

“WE’RE ALSO EXPLORING OPTIONS OF PARTNERING WITH OTHER COLLEGES IN THE STATE TO GO ALL-IN ON A SOLAR POWER PURCHASE THROUGH AN OFF-CAMPUS SITE.”

58 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

brings together the environmental studies side and the business side. It’s about: How we can set up our businesses to make money and also do the right thing environmentally. So the major considers things such as what’s the payback time for switching to all LED lighting, and if you make a change like that, how much money are you going to save each year? It’s encouraging to me to see our business faculty embrace some of these sustainability initiatives as much as the biology faculty members have. Of course, the Greer Center is also available for other classes who want to be in a nice building, to be able to use the outdoors, and use the technology for presentations. We’re not protective of this space – we want it to be used by the entire campus.”

SUSTAINABLE PARTNERSHIPS One significant byproduct of the new Greer Center is that it has helped Virginia Wesleyan develop their partnerships with other organizations. “We have had a long-standing partnership with the Virginia Aquarium, where we both own a boat together, and we use that to conduct trawls of the ocean environment or water sampling on Chesapeake Bay,” says Dr. Schaus. “But this facility has helped establish partnerships with other groups. The Sierra Club meets here monthly. We had the Virginia Master Naturalists conduct their certification courses here. We have a partnership with the Norfolk Botanical Gardens, where they send folks over to help manage the plants surrounding the Center, as well as guest lecturers for our classes, and our students can also conduct research at the Botanical Gardens.”

Nor are the Greer Center’s only partnerships with human beings. “The plantings are certified as a Monarch Way Station,” explains Dr. Schaus. “As the monarch butterflies migrate south in the Fall, many of them stop over, eat the milkweed, develop their chrysalises there, and then transform into butterflies. We actually have to put up warning signs for caterpillar crossings on the

sidewalks at certain times. We also recently added a bee hotel for native pollinators, which was made by a local school.”

NEW OPPORTUNITIES “The Greer Center has given us an excuse to add to it and do additional things,” says Dr. Schaus. “Originally, we just had the solar panels on the south side of the building.

Since then, the college found a donor to purchase a ‘solar smart flower’. In the morning, it unfolds the solar panels in a circle, and it moves the panels so that it tracks the sun, making it 40% more efficient than conventional solar panels. We added that in the fall last year.”

Next, Virginia Wesleyan is looking for ways to further expand on- and off-campus solar generation. “We have gotten an evaluation from an outside consulting group through the Virginia Foundation of Independent Colleges, who have proposed that we could cover half our campus electrical needs by putting solar on selected rooftops and by adding solar carports,” says Dr. Schaus.

“That would be an important step towards fulfilling the campus climate commitment.

Our neighbour, Norfolk Academy, which is a local private high school, did that, installing $1m of solar on the roof, which should pay itself back in about eight years. We’re also exploring options of partnering with other colleges in the state to go all-in on a solar power purchase through an off-campus site.

The University of Richmond did that, where they have 20MW out of a 500MW array.”

“We’re approaching the Greer Center as a way to engage our students in sustainability and environmental issues,” says Dr. Schaus. “Not all our students on campus are in one of the science majors. We want to ensure that students having a class at the Greer Center are able to think about the features of the building, and use this as a jumping-off point for spreading sustainability across the whole campus.” c SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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GLOBAL EVENTS CALENDAR

OCT 2019

15th - 17th

2019 NAEM EHS & SUSTAINABILITY MANAGEMENT FORUM Toronto, ON, Canada

The National Association for Environmental Management (NAEM) EHS and Sustainability Management Forum is billed as the largest annual gathering for EHS and sustainability decision-makers.

ehsforum.naem.org/

21st - 23rd

North American Gas Forum Washington DC, USA

In an era of on-going transition, the North American Gas Forum has established itself as the premier event for the energy industry by creating an unparalleled experience in Washington D.C.

energy-dialogues.com/nagf/

21st - 24th

Wastecon 2019 Phoenix, AZ, USA swana.org/Events/WASTECON.aspx

27th - 30th

AASHE Conference Spokane, WA, USA www.aashe.org/conference/

PATHWAY TO INNOVATION October 21–24, 2019 Phoenix, Arizona

5th - 7th

Energy Storage North America 2019 San Diego, CA, USA esnaexpo.com

6th - 7th

PV OPERATIONS USA San Diego, CA, USA

The 5th Annual PV Operations USA promises two days of tailored, high interactive, information and peer to peer learning opportunities for solar O&M, Asset Management, Finance and Investment professionals.

BSR Conference 2019 San Jose, CA, USA

The annual BSR Conference is one of the longest-running and most well-regarded sustainability conferences. We provide a space for thought-provoking conversations, where we work together to identify solutions to our most complex global challenges. Be a part of it and help your company define its own blueprint for sustainability.

Solar Power Midwest Chicago, IL, USA

Solar and Energy Storage Midwest is coming back to the Windy City with even more leading education with thought-leaders in the energy industry! We are excited to bring a leading education and exhibition program to the Midwest. From the rustbelt to greenbelt, solar and energy storage is a force moving forward, and the Midwest is no exception.

events.newenergyupdate.com/pv-usa/

12th - 14th

www.bsr.org/en/events/view/ bsr-conference-2019

14th - 15th

events.solar/midwest/

17th - 20th

Behavior, Energy and Climate Change Conference Sacramento, CA, USA beccconference.org

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Focusing on the role innovation plays in developing energy storage technology, markets, and business models.

The event will feature keynotes, panels, and workshops from leaders of some of the most innovative and impactful companies in the world.

The premier international conference focused on understanding human behavior and decision making and using that knowledge to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon future.

SWANA’s WASTECON® helps public sector solid waste directors and their management teams plan for sustainable futures for their communities.

Expected to draw approximately 2,000 participants, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s (AASHE’s) annual conference is the largest stage in North America to exchange effective models, policies, research, collaborations and transformative actions that advance sustainability in higher education and surrounding communities.

NOV 2019 November 5-7, 2019

San Diego Convention Center

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