Once, environmentally friendly business practices were seen as ideal, but not very accessible. The cost of implementing new programs was high, and the returns small and slow to develop. With today’s global energy crisis and a new set of innovative initiatives blooming, however, big business has turned over a new leaf. It still isn’t easy being green, but it’s more important than ever to take the initiative.

It’s called the Rotoclave.

Located deep inside a well-hidden wing of Baystate Medical Center, where much of the facility’s power is generated and its waste handled, the massive contraption is fed a steady diet of eight tons of medical waste each week, which it chews into a fine confetti.

The Rotoclave has, in many ways, become an unsung hero on the BMC campus. It eliminates the need to incinerate infectious waste, a common practice in the past, and processes more than one million pounds of trash per year.

“It’s a cool concept,” said Tim Culhane, director of Environmental Services for Baystate Health. “We used to burn needles and gauze and other waste, which was of course bad for the atmosphere. This sterilizes the waste and grinds it down, so it has less of an impact on traditional landfills.”

The Rotoclave is a major player in the ‘greening of Baystate,’ an effort underway in all of Baystate Health’s facilities to implement a wide array of environmentally friendly, community-conscious, economically driven initiatives — all of which reflect the increasingly prevalent business practice nationwide of going green.

For Culhane, this has meant an addition to his job title. He’s now also the chair of Baystate’s Green Team, an interdepartmental committee charged with both creating and overseeing a comprehensive suite of green practices for the entire system.

“The goal is to make a difference in the community, and to create an entire environmental philosophy,” he said, noting that the Green Team has just completed its first formal year of work, implementing and publicizing everything from ‘green training’ for new employees to the facilities’ switch to anti-microbial, micro-fiber mops.

There are bright posters and logos to visibly reflect these efforts on Baystate’s campuses too, as there are at a number of regional companies. But as the monstrous Rotoclave proves, most of the dirty work is being done behind the scenes.

Ecological, Economical

Going green has long been seen as a largely positive environmental practice, and where possible, many businesses have employed specific initiatives to reduce their impact on both the planet and their local communities.

Still, doing eco-friendly business is not a simple process on which to embark. While many interventions can benefit both the environment and a company’s bottom line in the long term, green initiatives can be costly upfront, and complicated to maintain.

However, the current energy crisis facing countries around the world (and particularly the U.S.) has changed perceptions in recent years, and spurred many companies to make changes aimed at survival for the long haul.

John Majercak, associate director of the Center for Ecological Technology (CET), a non-profit environmental organization founded in 1976 in Northampton and Pittsfield, said he’s seen that change in attitude toward green initiatives. He told BusinessWest it’s a trend that took some time to catch on, but nevertheless he’s happy that a growing number of businesses are realizing its environmental and economic benefits.

“I think the scales have finally tipped in terms of the green movement,” said Majercak, who also directs the ReStore, CET’s home improvement center, which sells recycled and donated building materials from its retail location in Springfield. “People are realizing that what’s good for the environment is good for the community and the economy — it’s a much more mainstream idea than it was five years ago.

“Education and demonstration are still needed,” he cautioned. “People need to start looking at things within a different time frame to see the benefits. They need to look at the cost of a measure over its life, not just upfront. But there’s a huge amount of interest now, and from that comes a sort of snowball effect.”

CET and the ReStore have played an active role in educating the business community in Western Mass. of late, working with a number of outfits including colleges, retail chains, and hospitals, among others, to guide their green initiatives. Majercak said part of that work is highlighting the advantages of going green — as green business gains momentum, there is a real marketing benefit to touting various projects.

“Business owners know that efficient materials are a better deal economically,” he said. “What we’re telling people now is to get their green news out there — it helps the business, but also the region as a whole; green cities attract new, young talent, and improve the overall quality of life.”

Springfield businesses in particular already have a leg up in this regard. In April, the city was named the fourth-greenest community in the U.S. by Country Home magazine, and among larger cities, the publication ranked Springfield number one.

“With all of this recognition and growing public awareness about the environment, people are really beginning to see the connection between things that are green and what’s good for our community,” said Majercak.

“The ReStore is a good example of that connection. Over the past five years, we’ve become an engine for environmentally responsible economic development in the city. We’ve helped more than 20,000 homeowners save more than $1 million on home-improvement goods. While doing that, we’ve helped the environment by keeping many hundreds, if not thousands, of tons of building materials out of the landfill.”

By the Bio

With positive press and examples of best practices before them, other area businesses are ramping up their efforts as well, in some cases taking the green initiatives they started years ago and expanding them to reduce their impact on the environment, curb costs, and increase their visibility in the green movement.
Like the ReStore, some transportation-driven companies are switching to biodiesel fuel. Among them is Sitterly Movers, a business that has been on CET’s radar screen for some time, said Majercak.

Such companies will also have an easier time filling their tanks; just last month, Springfield-based Pride Gas Stations and Stores became the first chain to sell renewable fuel for diesel engines, by introducing biodiesel at all of its locations.

“Pride is committed to protecting and preserving our environment,” said company President Bob Bolduc. “The introduction of biodiesel completes our full line of biofuels and marks another milestone in these efforts.”

Pride operates 20 locations in Western Mass., and has been a leader in the area’s eco-friendly movement. In 2005, Pride was also the first chain in the Commonwealth to sell ethanol-blended gasoline (a 10% to 90% ratio). Bolduc said biodiesel, which is a mixture of diesel with 5% to 20% raw vegetable oils, further reduces dependency on foreign oil, but also reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

Running a cleaner operation is also a concern for Baystate Health, which is now in the midst of a three-year plan to identify and evaluate new policies and procedures. Culhane said one such initiative could be converting its own vehicles to earth-friendly fuels, as part of an overall effort to reduce the amount of harmful waste returned to the environment.

“We’re constantly evaluating ways that we can partner with other organizations to mutually benefit the community,” he said, offering as an example a partnership with Goodwill Industries, which accepts computers and other electronic equipment for recycling, thus addressing a major category of waste that cannot be disposed of in conventional ways due to pollution regulations.

Other possibilities being mulled by Baystate include the creation of an on-site recycling center, obtaining Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for a new, green building, and creating a green design and construction plan for a master facility project slated to be completed in 2012.
“By then, we hope to have a building that encompasses these goals in their entirety,” said Culhane.

Food for Thought

Currently, however, the health system is already recycling as much material produced at its facilities — from scrap metal to kitchen grease — as it safely can.

Doug Martin, BMC’s director of food and nutrition, said one example of managing green efforts within a system as large as Baystate Health is its Green in the Kitchen program. Centered on addressing system-wide issues in one specific area — the preparation and serving of food — Martin said Green in the Kitchen has already become one of BMC’s most successful eco-projects.

“We’ve already seen a savings in food through our room service program,” he began, “and we’re looking at switching to biodegradable paper products to complement the switch from Styrofoam to china cups we’ve already made.”

Martin said the food-service programs are also a part of a larger effort dubbed Healthcare Without Harm, which takes into account many of the same community, economic, and environmental concerns as green programs.

“The Healthcare Without Harm pledge includes reducing paper consumption, buying local whenever possible, and using hormone-free meat,” he said. “We serve a Mediterranean diet, which uses a lot of fruits and vegetables that we procure from local sources.”

Outside of food preparation, Martin is also charged with controlling energy costs, and BMC has recently installed ‘VendMisers’ on all of its vending machines, to reduce the amount of electricity they use throughout the day.

Energy consumption, and efforts to reduce it, comprise the greatest challenges for most businesses going green. However, it’s also a concern that, when properly addressed, can provide convincing returns on investment.

Claire D’Amour-Daley, vice president of Corporate Affairs for Big Y Foods Inc., said the company has a long history of implementing energy conservation efforts, which now, in a business climate that is more accepting of green practices, is only growing more robust.

“We’re doing a lot of things, and some of our conservation efforts have been in place for years, because we are high energy consumers,” said D’Amour-Daley.

People are often astounded by how much electricity it takes to run a grocery store. Even 30 years ago, we had computer regulators on some of our equipment, so defrost cycles on freezers and coolers would begin at cheaper energy-consumption times. We’ve also converted to energy-saving lightbulbs.”

Big Y’s energy management and conservation efforts kicked into an even higher gear in the 1990s, and D’Amour-Daley said the company remains proactive in seeking out and evaluating new technologies to reduce its energy appetite. The company employs an energy manager, Gary Kuchyt, to oversee those programs.

“In April of ’99, we rolled out an energy awareness program and a store manager energy handbook to rededicate our efforts,” she said. “In terms of new construction, we have added high-efficiency motors for HVAC equipment, door controls on walk-in coolers, and special lighting controls that turn on only when a room is occupied. Our annual savings of kilowatt hours is 990,000 hours per store, which is enough to run a new store for four months, or to power up 90 homes per year.”

And from 2006 to date, said D’Amour-Daley, capital expenditures aimed at green initiatives have allowed the company to maintain the same natural gas and electricity consumption rates it saw in 2004.

“That’s even with new stores being added and new square footage,” she said. “By the end of 2007, our kilowatt-reduction will have avoided the emission of more than 10 million pounds of carbon dioxide.”

D’Amour-Daley said that figure amounts to the equivalent of taking 1,142 cars off the road, or planting 1,562 acres of trees.

“What strikes me is that this is just us, just 60 units of business,” she said. “In the grand scheme of things, we’re nothing — but it proves these efforts are making a difference. It behooves us to keep looking for new things we can do.”

Plastic Measures

As the company moves forward in an increasingly energy-efficient and environmentally friendly business climate, D’Amour-Daley said Big Y continues to add new measures to its repertoire. These include composting, recycling, and a new set of energy-conservation programs.

“We continually look at ways to manage all costs and waste,” she said. “We’re knee-deep in our composting program. From day one 71 years ago, our meat trim has gone to rendering farms for pig farmers. But now, a lot of our Massachusetts stores are composting old produce and corrugated cardboard, which is turned over into soil on farmland across the region.”

Just last month, Big Y also implemented an innovative plastic shrink-wrap-recycling program chainwide in concert with a decking manufacturer based in Winchester, Va.

“Just about everything that comes into the stores arrives on palettes that are shrink wrapped, so there’s a ton of it,” D’Amour-Daley explained. “Now, all plastic that was going into landfills is collected, baled, and sent to the Trex Company, which recycles it in the process of making composite decking.”

There are a number of smaller initiatives in place as well, she added, which can be equally significant in reducing Big Y’s impact on the environment. A shopping-bag-recycling program has been put in place, and collected plastic bags will also be sent to the Trex Company. D’Amour-Daley said that move was in direct response to customer requests for a more ecologically friendly way to dispose of grocery bags.

“In Europe and some places in the states such as San Francisco, plastic grocery bags have already been banned,” she said. “We’ve addressed the issue through our ‘Hippo’ bags, which are larger and have a different design, so they can hold more items, and customers need fewer bags.”

Indeed, the Hippo bags have already reduced plastic bag usage in Big Y stores by 20%. But to take the green initiative a step further in terms of reducing plastic consumption, Big Y recently introduced new, reusable shopping bags (identified by their bright green color), which are sold for 99 cents each and are more durable than the canvas bags that some shoppers already use.

“We have tried in the past to introduce canvas bags, but have been unsuccessful,” said D’Amour-Daley. “These new bags have taken off like crazy. People are keeping them and using them, and it also brings the idea of going green to a more personal level. Not everyone understands how reducing kilowatt usage helps.”

The Eco-challenge

In addition to translating its importance to the public, D’Amour-Daley said going green is not without its challenges. One in particular is realizing that green initiatives, once started, never truly stop, nor do they solve every problem.

“Everything gets stale after awhile, and staying with the program is big,” she said. “Things that might work at first might need changes later on. It’s not something that’s static.”

Balancing green efforts with the various ins and outs of doing business can also be a hurdle, and D’Amour-Daley said in this arena, a little bit of faith in the process is integral.

“Bad habits can set in, because there are organizational considerations as well as environmental concerns — waiting for energy-efficient lights to turn on when you enter a room, for example, can be frustrating when you’re taking care of customers,” she said. “Patience with the process is key.”

Culhane said that space is another issue. As waste increases within health care facilities — more than one million pounds of waste is created each year at BMC, due in part to the greater use of more sanitary disposable items such as gowns, drapes, and pre-packaged medical tools — the means to process that waste must also grow.

“We have to start thinking now for 2012,” he said, referring to the construction projects that are now taking place. “Following green health care practices means adding the necessary areas to safely handle waste, and there’s only so much space to work with.”

Diggin’ the Dirt

Culhane’s own job description has expanded in recent years as well. As director of Environmental Services, he said he used to be in charge of several departments and their operations. But now, he said in many ways he’s responsible for a new, systemwide culture.

“I’d say the scope of my career has definitely broadened,” he said. “There’s much more time spent looking at the long term, and at the big picture.”

He also spends a considerable amount of time outside of the bright, sterile halls that encompass most of Baystate’s medical facilities. Instead, he’s in the less-than-auspicious home of the Rotoclave, or outside near the compost bins, or in the basement, making sure the paper recycling bins are securely locked for HIPAA compliance.

It’s a dirty job. And lately, everyone wants to do it.

Jaclyn Stevenson can be reached at stevenson@businesswest.com