The Refinishing Touch Blog

We were pleased to note the sheer scale of this Saturday's Earth Hour. More than 3,200 cities across 88 countries showed their support by dimming non-essential lights from 8.30 to 9.30 p.m. Passed like a virtual baton from timezone to timezone the event started in New Zealand's Chatham Islands, travelled around the globe and concluded in Honolulu.

This public statement on environmental issues was championed by nations around the world, including China, Russia, Britain and the USA where landmarks such as Times Square in New York, the Las Vegas Strip and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco took part and in LA the Hollywood elite turned out to add their weight to the event.

With the climate conference taking place in Copenhagen in December this year, Earth Hour helps with a worldwide appeal. This is not a local issue nor one that can be resolved by one community, government or group. Countries have to work together to speak out about the value of our environment: switching off their lights is an indication of that common voice.

Labels: Earth hour; climate conference 2009

The dust has settled from the Power Shift convention a couple of weeks ago in Washington and we at The Refinishing Touch are waiting to see what will result after the combination of a mass demonstration and a new administration being in office.

We all watched and admired from Alpharetta as more than ten thousand people collected in the Capital to increase the pressure on Obama to stick to the green plans he put forward in his election campaign.

Much of the storm surrounded the Capitol Hill coal-powered power plant, which will hit its centenary mark next year. It was originally built to ensure Congress had a constant independent source of power. As coal is the least sustainable fossil fuel, this is perceived as a powerful symbolic move for Obama to simply shut it down.

America has been trying to change its affiliation with the use of coal since mid-2006 when more than 80 coal plants were halted, and now many are looking to Obama and his administration to completely end the love affair with coal.

Perhaps the most interesting will be how the delicate hand that Obama prides himself on will deal with growth in unemployment amongst coal workers or whether these jobs will simply be transferred to greener energy plants. With the recession continuing deep into 2009, a split is going to appear somewhere. Watch this space.

Labels: Capitol Hill, coal, Sustainability

The team at the Refinishing Touch wanted to burst into song when we heard that Walt Disney announced a new five year plan to slash its carbon emissions in half. When names as instantly and globally recognized as Disney push their weight behind green initiatives it's a positive thing for green campaigners across the globe.

Skeptics could argue that Disney needs a positive story right now, as the green announcement was made just ahead of its annual figures. The day the green announcement was made, Disney shares closed at $15.59 – half the price given to shareholders the year before. But whatever the rhyme (or reason), it's still a good thing. The company has given itself these targets off the back of its Corporate Responsibility Report, published last year. The environmental goals will focus on waste, electricity and fuel use, with a main focus in place to cut all electricity consumption by 10% - this will take more than simply replacing a few light bulbs.

Long-term environmental goals outlined in the report include zero waste; zero net direct greenhouse gas emissions from fuels; reduction of indirect greenhouse gas emissions from electricity consumption; a net positive impact on ecosystems; minimal water use and product footprint and to inform, empower and activate positive action for the environment.

At TRT, we're excited that Disney has made a very public declaration to sustainability. And whether you like the brand or not you have to respect its position: and don’t for a moment underestimate its influence on communicating core green messages to a very important audience: the next generation. After all it is a small world…

Labels: Green plans, Walt Disney

As expected, President Barack Obama has been challenged at every level since he moved into the White House. Planning and overseeing the country's economy during what some media has coined as "The Great Recession" has resulted in spotlights and scrutiny on every detail and announcement relating to the administration’s spending reform plans.

Earlier this month the Associated Press reviewed the President's plans to "overhaul broken US contracting" and to address wasteful spending. Estimates place US spending on on government contracts since 2001 at about $500 billion. President Obama and his team plans to shave $40 billion a year off this spend.

As expected, the President has come under a great deal of scrutiny from opponents who have criticized his plans as cavalier. Questioning whether enough time has been spent sorting and understanding existing government contracts, critics say the administration has not identified contracts that have proven to stand out for their effectiveness and efficiency over the course of time.

The Refinishing Touch has a long history of dealing with a range of government departments, contracts and projects. Yes, there can be a great deal of red tape and a need to understand detailed processes and procedures, but projects are rewarding, worthwhile, and we are glad to contribute to the sustainability efforts of our nation's agencies and adminstration.

Wherever and whoever is 'right' over how the current administration is handling its review of contracts, we welcome any coverage of a debate that reviews inefficiency in our nation's spend - which is after all, taxpayers' money - and any altercations that bring more rationale and sustainable ways of conducting government business.

Labels: contracting, government, President Barack Obama, Sustainability

Over recent blog posts we've been dedicating this space to the three R's: Reduce, Recycle and Reuse. Today we are looking specifically at 'Reduction', and would like to pay a special tribute to Virgin Atlantic.

Last month Virgin Atlantic carried out the world's first flight of a commercial aircraft powered with biofuel. "This breakthrough will help Virgin Atlantic to fly its planes using clean fuel sooner than expected," Sir Richard Branson, the airline's president, said before the Boeing 747 flew from London's Heathrow Airport to Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport. This pioneering flight was made possible with a biofuel mixture of coconut and babassu oil in one of its four main fuel tanks.

Although it is debatable how much positive impact this will actually have on carbon emissions, we applaud this development and Virgin Atlantic's ongoing commitment to endeavoring to reduce environmentally harmful waste. The airline has successfully reduced the waste it produces in all ground operations and continues to strive to reduce the waste it produces in the air. It has set ambitious goals to reduce the waste sent to landfills from its aircrafts by 50% by 2012.

Here at The Refinishing Touch we know it's the little things which really count towards the big picture and Virgin Atlantic is truly dedicated to waste reduction. In December 2008 it placed the largest order to date of the 27% more efficient Dreamliners in a bid to replace its ordinary gas guzzling planes. We just hope to see more airlines following in Virgin’s footsteps.

Labels: carbon emissions, Reduce, Virgin Atlantic

A few weeks ago, the General Services Administration (GSA) announced plans for the increased budget following President Obama's Reinvestment and Recovery Act.

As the government agency responsible for one quarter of the US government's procurement dollars, the GSA plays a key role in the management of federal assets and by relation in the deployment of energy efficiency and green initiatives. The GSA's regulation of federal assets includes an estimated 8,600 government buildings.

The Recovery Act has allocated $5.55 billion for building projects as a part of the legislation and the GSA has stated its position "to connect agencies with cost effective, high-quality and environmentally friendly commercial products and services."

The Refinishing Touch has had a long standing relationship with the United States Government – our team has the experience that comes with the completion of sustainability and refinishing initiatives for dozens of government institutions, and hundreds of thousands of individual furniture assets.

In a time when consumers and businesses are considering asset lifetime, it is encouraging and important to see the government lead by example. We here at TRT pride ourselves in the cost efficient, environmentally friendly solution that we have to offer and look forward to many more years of collaboration in achieving the goals that President Obama's administration has set for a greater, greener nation.

Labels: government, GSA, Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

There are skills that you simply absorb along the way from your business. One of mine is to look at a piece of furniture and to understand some of its origination and history.

I’ve been doing this for a number of years, and just think about it almost subconsciously. After all, this is what The Refinishing Touch specializes in: we’ve treated and refinished tens of thousands of wood-based products and assets.

Last week while in DC, I was in a government official’s office talking about [the Administration and its commitment to green and sustainable projects], during which I remarked that the desk he was sitting behind had been manufactured in Asia. He seemed dumbstruck by this knowledge, as if I had some Sherlock-Holmes-style insight.

At that time it reminded me that as consumers we really don’t think enough about where things come from: yes, the desk you are sitting at now is probably wood, but have you considered where the tree grew? Who logged it? How did it travel to the manufacturer – and how far did it travel? And once it has passed what you may consider its useful lifespan, what will happen to it?

Whether you consume wood-based products for yourself, your families, a business, a learning institute or a government body, there’s no harm in stopping and asking ‘Where did it come from and how can I preserve its lifespan?’. In fact, quite the opposite. The more information that we know about the origins of something, the better informed decisions we can make. In the case of a wooden desk, if we know where it came from, we can find out whether the manufacturer places an emphasis on environmental sustainability or not, for instance. We can make choices that have a tremendous impact by taking the time to perform our due diligence, and in big and small ways make a greener world.

Labels: Environment, Sustainability, wood

As a company we've always been involved in organizations and associations that drive change and communicate new processes. In line with this our Founder and President, Mario Insenga, has served as a Board member for the General Services Administration (GSA) Quality Partnership Council, a role which he has held for two years.

This week Mario travelled up to Capitol Hill in his capacity as acting chair so he could attend and MC the council's March meeting. The meeting sees GSA departments come together to discuss and collaborate on a range of activities from green initiatives to the Trade Agreements Act. He's come back to Georgia encouraged and motivated by the meetings, ideas and enthusiasm of everyone involved.

Mario also returned with a new award to add to The Refinishing Touch's collection: as on Wednesday, the GSA awarded him with an 'Outstanding Service Award' in recognition of his contribution.

We are thrilled with Mario's recognition by the GSA, (which is the second GSA award we've won!) and proud that The Refinishing Touch is reminding Washington of our core message: reduce, reuse and recycle.

Labels: government, GSA, Recycle, Reduce, Reuse

Here at the Refinishing Touch we live by the three Rs: Reduce, Recycle and Reuse. We applaud any company that supports and encourages consumers to think how to be more sustainable in their everyday lives.

So our sustainability hats off to Best Buy Inc. which has just stretched its electronics-recycling program to cover its 1,006 U.S. stores nationwide. The Richfield-based consumer-electronics retailer began testing this initiative across eight states last June. In February it expanded to cover 50 states, and Kelly Groehlerto, spokeswoman for the program, has stated the company plans to extend the plan into Puerto Rico.

How does it work? Customers simply bring their old electronics, including televisions and monitors up to 32 inches, desktop and notebook computers, small electronics, VCRs, DVD players and phones, as well as accessories such as keyboards, mice and remotes back to any Best Buy store in the US for recycling.

The company will be charging a $10 recycling fee for items with screens, including televisions, laptops and monitors. Though customers who bring those items will receive a $10 Best Buy gift card in exchange for the recycling fee. This charge is exempt in California and for all Best Buy store-branded products, such as Insignia, Dynex and VPR Matrix.

Here at The Refinishing Touch, we sincerely hope to see this trend continue to cover other consumer products. Simple ideas like this allow ordinary Americans to effortlessly incorporate recycling into their everyday lives.

Labels: Best Buy, electronics, Recycle, Reduce, Reuse, Sustainability