LOHAS and Greenwashing

I learned a new term today: LOHAS. Lifestyles Of Health And Sustainability. It speaks to the rapidly growing consumer market for sustainable products and services.


Unfortunately, the article that gave me LOHAS also gave me bad news on the greenwashing front. Natural Marketing Institute (NMI) did a study on LOHAS market trends and found four main themes:

1. From Purchaser to Participant
2. Sustainable Style
3. Shades of Green for Everyone
4. Greenwashing Washout.

The fourth topic is what struck me the most: essentially, many companies are doing the right thing and trying to provide environmentally-responsible products and services. Sadly, many other companies are more opportunistic and are providing products that are fooling consumers. Consumers are, however, becoming more discerning, which is encouraging!

Here are some sources to check out if you have some time:

• Are You Experiencing "Greenwashing Washout"? (Source article from GreenSage E-Zine)
• NMI Report (available for a mere $4,000 - no I did not buy it either, just giving you the opportunity to if you are interested)
• LOHAS Online

Image source: www.groovygreen.com

Give Yourself a Lift

Many of you may live or work in a building that has an elevator…or at least you’ve ridden in one at least once in your lifetime. This is particularly true if you live in a dense urban environment….which is great – yay density! That said, as you might suspect, elevators take energy to function, thereby increasing a building’s carbon footprint.

Many elevator manufacturers are developing energy efficient elevators and technologies to retrofit existing elevators. Instead of even attempting to pretend I am an elevator expert, here are a few links to articles about “green” elevators:

• Green Building Insider
• Archi-Tech
• Buildings.com
• McGraw Hill Construction

In the case that your building has an older energy hog elevator (or even if it has a new, energy-efficient model), here are a few things you can do to help reduce its impact:

• Group your trips – instead of going up and down multiple times per day, try to consolidate your trips into just a few (get coffee and go to the bank on the same trip) – it will save both time and energy.
• Hold the door for the person running toward you – it will only cost you a few seconds, make that person very happy, and may save an elevator trip.
• Take the stairs – it's good for your glutes as well as the environment.

Image source: Flickr

Greening the Gym

Chances are good that either your office has a gym, or there’s one nearby. For me, it’s the nearby Washington Sports Club. Generally, I love going to the gym, but I’ve found that the environmental practices are a bit lacking (both at WSC and every other gym I’ve been to recently). I did however run across a cool idea for human-powered river gyms - pretty cool!

So what are some of the simpler things your office gym can do better (without becoming a floating river gym)?

• Recycling bins – everyone drinks tons of bottled water…but there are no recycling bins
• Cleaning products – while I appreciate the need to keep things sanitary, there are some serious VOCs coming from the cleaning products
• Showers (and other water-use elements) – low flow fixtures and timers would be great. And also some signage about conserving water (although the skimpy shower curtains certainly do encourage me to take quick showers)
• Towels – the gym provides free use of towels to members…but there really could be some sort of educational signage to remind people to take only as many as they really need
• Equipment – let’s face it, some equipment can be a big energy hog. What about equipment that uses no energy, or even creates its own (rowing machine, Nordic track, stationary bike)? Or actively seeking out other equipment that uses less energy than standard. And of course, free weights, bands, and kettleballs also use no energy.
• Clothing – provide recycling programs for old exercise clothes and sneakers.
• Educational programs – teach people how to be more environmentally friendly – i.e., selecting the best clothing, using reusable water bottles, etc.
• Material Selection – there are lots of materials in the gym that could be more friendly. What about bamboo floors or yoga mats made of recycled material?

All this aside, of course the most sustainable option is to skip the gym and take yourself for a walk or run powered only by your own two feet!

No, it's not a concert, but Wal-Mart is finding Green Groupies

Wal-Mart is an interesting study in making business green. Since 2005, and, really, prior to that, Wal-Mart has stepped up its efforts to have a more positive impact on the world – environmentally, socially, through product lines and capital (go to Fortune.com for more information on how Wal-Mart got started on its green initiatives) .

While Wal-Mart’s leadership has jumped on board and is helping to lead the effort, the megachain has recognized that its efforts will be in vain if it does not move from the ground up and empower its employees to think about sustainability on an individual basis.

Thus, in 2007, Wal-Mart introduced a new initiative it calls the Personal Sustainability Practices (PSPs). The purpose of the voluntary program is to assist its associates with incorporating sustainable principles into their daily lives to improve their overall wellness, as well as the health of the environment. Associates develop their own lifestyle changes – everything ranging from eating organic food to exercising to organizing recycling efforts – that specifically works in their routine and will keep them motivated.

The only guides for developing a PSP are that it must: sustain the planet, make one happy, affect the community, become regular and continuous in daily life, and include visible action that can be shared with and seen by others.

Within months after roll-out, 50% of Wal-Mart associates has signed up for the project, much more than expected, with the hopes that all employees would become involved within two years. According to Act Now, the organization who helped construct the campaign, Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club employees have:

- Lost more than 60 tons of weight;
- Walked/biked/swam more than 380,000 miles
- Created over 16,000 “Idea Groups” to support one another around Personal Sustainability
- Quit or reduced smoking, with more than 10,000 Associates to date making a healthier change!
- Recycled more than 5 million pounds of aluminum, plastic, and paper

Some employees want to carve out more time from their busy schedules for family and friends, while others are advocating for healthier meal options in their stores (i.e. - Subway v. McDonald's).

Said one associate to the NY Times, “This is not about becoming a tree-hugger... It’s about making one little change."

Perhaps Wal-Mart's PSP is one drop in a large bucket of corporations encouraging lifestyle changes, but Wal-Mart has the capability to be one heckuva large drop.

Are Photovoltaics Part of the Answer or Part of the Problem?

I have always been a huge proponent of PVs. What's not to love really? You have an inert panel, you put it in the sun, and just like magic you get electricity. Well, there is an article in the Washington Post this morning showing some of the down sides of photovoltaic manufacturing, Solar Energy Firms Leave Waste Behind in China.

This article raise a lot of questions in my mind. I am working on a project where we were going to install PVs even though it doesn't provide the minimum 2.5% of our buildings energy to get the coveted LEED On Site Renewable Energy credit. Is it worth putting the PVs on the roof if the manufacturing of them is going to wipe out or poison a Chinese village?

I realize that there are two things we [the people on this planet] are trying to achieve with PVs. The first is to fill the growing energy gap, both because of the dwindling supplies of fossil fuels and the increased demand for energy. But more importantly, in my opinion, isn't it to reduce carbon output and environmental impacts? Why do manufacturers loose this perspective? Why is this there huge disconnect between the profit motive and our ecosystem? Why do manufactures continuously trick us into thinking we are doing something good, while we are poisoning a village on the other side of the world?

I am sure this is not true of all PV manufacturers so if anyone has additional information on who recycles their silicon tetrachloride please let us know. It is clear to me that PVs and other forms of solar energy are a major component to our growing energy needs. This is just one more reason why we as consumers need to be diligent about the cradle to cradle cycle of our consumerism.

Fit Club

"The first rule of fit club is that you DO NOT talk about fit club." Oh wait, that's fight club....

Fit club, well, we can talk about that. Our firm, like many architecture firms, has lots of vendors come in and do presentations about their products and services. Usually these are accompanied by lots of food, sometimes wine or beer for an afternoon presentation. One vendor had a great idea: in addition to marketing their sustainable products and developing relationships with designers, they would also help designers treat their bodies sustainably.

ALKS, a commercial flooring vendor, hosts a monthly fit club at Washington, DC's Sports Club LA. In addition to free use of the VERY nice gym, designers can enroll in a corporate spin class, participate in one of the club's standard classes (yoga, dance, etc), and enjoy the pool, sauna, basketball court, etc. Following fit club, designers are welcomed to a healthy happy hour where ALKS educates us on their product over smoothies.

I love the concept of promoting health and wish more learning events could be like fit club.

Office Health Fair

Typically when we think of green workplaces, we think of energy efficiency and water use reduction. But a large part of sustainability is the health of employees. Our office offered a health fair today – a great way to get people thinking about how to more sustainably use their bodies. As part of the health fair, the following services were available:

• Basic health screening: This tested emlpoyees cholesterol levels, blood sugar levels, blood pressure, body fat and body mass index (BMI), and waist circumference. A health counselor was on hand to review the screenings with individuals, provide some basic advice on how to improve scores, and provide outside resources.
• Massage: sadly I did not get to experience this as there were limited slots available.
• Vision Screening: Early identification and treatment can prevent or at least alleviate many of the problems that result from impaired vision.
• Chiropractic Advisor: A Chiropractor was available to provide stress screenings to assess the impact of physical trauma, emotional stress, and chemical toxins on your body.
• Stress-Management Advisor: This session offered relaxation and breathing techniques and stretching exercises specifically designed to relieve tension caused by repetitive office routines; how to utilize aromatherapy; strategies for getting a better night’s sleep; and self-massage techniques for reducing tension in the head, neck, shoulders, and hands.

This is a great way for people who don’t have time to get to the doctor to do a quick check in for huge red flags. One of the senior principals of the office was perhaps the best salesman: “if we’d had this years ago, I would have known to change my lifestyle and could have prevented a stroke.”

Remote Work and Your Health

It’s rapidly becoming apparent to the masses that remote work can be good for the environment (less driving, less office space, etc.); however, there are some aspects of remote work that can be hazardous to your health.

This post is inspired by a section on bags & briefcases in this month’s Women’s Health magazine. In between extolling the virtues of different bags and briefcasses, the magazine plopped in an interesting fact: doctors recommend that you carry no more than 10 to 15% of your body weight.

The average woman, according to the magazine, already carries 6.5 pounds of essential items (wallet, phone, makeup, keys, lotion, iPod, etc.). For the remote working woman, the tally begins to add up quickly. In addition to the 6.5 pounds of essentials, she also may carry:

• Laptop (6-10 lbs)
• Laptop support (mouse, power, flash drives, etc)
• Other chargers (phone, iPod, etc.)
• Paper/work materials

Having a job where I travel and sometimes work from home, I invested in an ergonomic backpack to help shoulder the weight. This was great…except that I would cram easily 40 lbs of stuff into it…that would mean I need to weigh between 266 and 400 lbs to carry this load (for the record, I do not).

The average American woman weighs 140 lbs (source: http://www.inch-aweigh.com/dietstats.htm) - meaning that the maximum she should carry is 14 to 21 lbs. I’ve remedied my personal situation by purchasing a smaller, lighter backpack, and when my laptop lease is up, I’m going to lobby for a lighter version.

Just something to think about as we transition more toward mobile workforces.