The Refinishing Touch Blog

Oftentimes we like to discuss “Sustainability around the world” and look at how different companies and organizations in different countries apply sustainable ideas and ideals to their work. Our favorite posts are, of course, the ones about hotels—we’re always excited to see when a hotel on another continent adopts new energy-saving practices or uses recycled materials in innovative ways, which is why this article on Treehugger around design-savvy eco-hotels caught our eye.

The hotels themselves are visually striking: in one case, a geodesic dome blends into its Swiss Alps surroundings, and in another, picture windows frame rooms overlooking an English cliff. But these designs stand out even more because the level of thought extends beyond aesthetic appeal.

For example, the ALT Hotel in Quebec, Canada uses a green heating system recovers heat from laundry water and exhaust, helping to save 7 kg of CO2 per room every day. At the 968 Park Hotel in Lake Tahoe, California, denim from blue jeans are used for insulation and an old pool fence was recycled to make furniture for its lobby.

A number of hotels go the extra mile to stand out design-wise and, increasingly, sustainability-wise. When the two work in combination, the best-looking hotels look even better.

Labels: Eco-hotels, Environment, Green, Hospitality

The 1600-plus public schools in New York City include schools of all different shapes and sizes, with areas of study ranging from language-immersion programs to schools for the sciences and academies for the performing arts. Recently, these have been joined by green schools, or more specifically, schools that have involved environmental education into all subject areas.

The “green” in the name of the Green School in Brooklyn or the Growing Up Green Charter School in Queens isn’t a buzzword, but an essential part of the curriculum. How schools apply their environmental focuses varies: some high schools teach vocational skills, like how to install solar panels and insulation. Elementary schools take a different approach, teaching students introductory lessons about recycling and habitats.

Even with a well-designed, scalable curriculum, these schools face the challenge of appealing to a broad range of students. To do so, they tap into local resources, investigating contamination of Brooklyn’s Gowanus Canal or the ecological implications of razing homes. Through the development of practical skills and conceptual frameworks, students are meant to about more than the environment, but that their choices make an impact in the world around them.

Parents and teachers are part of a generation that is learning how to become environmentally conscious. These green schools are part of a larger movement: fostering the growth of a group of young people who already are.

Labels: Education, Environment, Green, New York, Schools

Recession has taken a toll on a number of industries, including, as we’ve touched upon here, the hotel business. Companies that have weathered the storm have found unique ways to maintain customer loyalty. Among the businesses that have managed to stay afloat? The modern day jam band.

Bands like Phish and moe. have established a business model that is almost entirely different than other artists. They don’t sell many records, they keep concert prices low and they encourage taping at their show. Although this might seem to hinder the band’s success, when Phish announced a tour in March 2009, it had 10 million requests for 400,000 tickets at $50 each. By keeping tickets relatively inexpensive, Phish promotes a community concert experience. Devoted fans can travel to shows at a fairly low cost, and do it alongside their peers. This experience keeps Phish fans coming back.

Hotels are charged with the same task: generating loyalty amongst travelers. By giving customers what they want, they will return, and what more and more travelers want are environmentally-friendly facilities. If hotels are trying to meet customer demand, establishing green practices isn’t a bad place to start. Battling unfavorable economic conditions requires thinking about more than short-term gain, but about cultivating long-term relationships and financial viability. Taking steps to become environmentally conscious sounds like it fits the bill.

‘Widespread Panic’ is a jam band, not a prognosis for the hospitality industry. Hotels, like jam bands, can learn to appeal to customers and keep them coming back.

Labels: consumer trends, economy, Environment, Going Green, Hotel Industry

Last week the world’s foremost winter athletes descended on Vancouver, kicking off the 2010 Winter Olympics. These Olympics see the realization of more than 12 years of careful planning, and then, only 16 days after they began, they’ll be gone.

The city of Vancouver will be left with more than sporting memories though. In these past 12 years, Olympics planners haven’t just been structuring events schedules and sketching logos; they’ve also been determining what kind of legacy they want to leave in British Columbia. The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the Games (VANOC) took a big step in crafting that legacy by creating the Sustainability Stars program, which recognizes initiatives by sponsors, partners and VANOC itself that promote social, economic and environmental sustainability.

Sustainability Star awardees thus far include Purolator, which created a battery-operated electric delivery vehicle called the Quicksider for Vancouver’s couriers. The Quicksider generates 99 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than traditional courier vehicles. The City of Vancouver’s LiveCity Yaletown project, paved with recycled rubber tires, also earned a star. More sustainable than brick or asphalt, the pavers will be used in other parts of the city after the Games end. Teck and the Royal Canadian Mint’s Metal for Medals program is another star recipient. Teck provided metal from e-waste as part of the winners’ medals, created by the Mint, for both the Vancouver Olympics and Paralympics.

Vancouver and the rest of the world will see its share of memorable performances and world records over the course of the 2010 Winter Olympics, the kind of moments that stay with spectators for a long time. These memories are to be cherished, but the Sustainability Stars program ensures that that Vancouver will see its Olympic legacy throughout the city, in tangible, environmentally-conscious ways.

Labels: 2010, Environment, Green, Olympics, Vancouver

Today we’re excited to introduce Stephen Smoke as our first ever guest blogger. Stephen is an accomplished writer who has penned 28 books, the latest of which, Cathedral of the Senses, will be published this spring. He’s also written and directed feature films, including “Street Crimes,” starring Dennis Farina. Most importantly, Stephen is an old friend of our CEO and founder, Mario Insenga.

We’ve always admired Stephen because of his views on personal and corporate responsibility. His Bill of Responsibilities series of books, which includes The Corporate Bill of Responsibilities, highlights how it is important for both individuals and corporations to recognize the social, economic and environmental impacts of their actions, and provides a guide on how to act in a manner that will benefit everyone. Stephen was nice enough to compose a blog post for us in which he describes how, even early on, he and Mario believed in social responsibility and environmental commitment, and how not much has changed in three decades.

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Corporate Responsibility and the Environment…in the Real World
By Stephen Smoke

In what seemed like another incarnation, Mario Insenga and I were roommates thirty-five years ago in Toledo, Ohio. Although we hadn’t spoken since then, we had experienced some of the best times of our lives together. Recently he tracked me down via the Internet and we arranged to meet in Los Angeles. Since we’d seen each other, I’d written nearly 30 books, most of them novels, and Mario had founded The Refinishing Touch and built the business into one of the most successful and environmentally-conscious companies in the world.

A Google search revealed that Mario’s clients included the U.S. government, Hilton, Marriott and Westin, among many other well known companies. I streamed a clip of him being interviewed on the Discovery Channel about how his company refurbished existing furniture, on site, in a unique and environmentally-friendly way. Furthermore, I learned that his exclusive refurbishing method resulted in a savings of up to 80% on replacement costs, while dramatically decreasing any negative environmental impact that would result from manufacturing and shipping new furniture and disposing of the old furniture. Finally, I read an interview with him in the Wall Street Journal.

When we got together a few months after our initial phone conversation, it seemed more like three days than three decades since we had last seen each other. We laughed about old times till tears ran down our cheeks. Although we had taken different paths and our lives had been shaped by people and events we could not have anticipated so many years ago, when our paths crossed again, we were still friends.

Even back in our halcyon days we felt strongly about the importance of personal responsibility and environmental stewardship. Therefore, it was not surprising when our conversation turned to talk of the environment and personal responsibility. The difference between our college days and now was that now we spoke not from a purely ideological or theoretical point of view, but from a practical, “real world” perspective.

“I put the green in green,” said Mario one night over dinner at a sushi place in Santa Monica. “Lots of companies want to do the right thing for the environment, but then they look into it and determine that going green will hit the bottom line hard. I believe—and I’m living proof of this—that doing the right thing for the environment can also result in increased profitability and sustainability.”

I knew that Mario was “green” decades before it was fashionable to be green. And the more we talked the more I realized he was pretty much the same “save the planet” guy he was back in the day. One important difference was that he now ran a successful, environmentally-conscious business with offices in several cities, a warehouse, and employees all over the world. He was walking the walk, not just talking the talk.

“It’s not about decorating your company PR with ‘green speak,’” Mario continued. “It’s about understanding ‘sustainability’ and how to manage existing assets. Instead of automatically tossing out assets, whether they’re furniture or personnel, consider how to manage those assets or re-purpose them. Not only is it cost-effective, it makes sense for the environment and for your employees.

“I’ve actually seen people drop high-end desks out of a second-story window because they didn’t want to spend the money to dismantle them, or take the time and effort to donate them. Sometimes outdated tax regulations encourage companies to buy new ‘things’ rather than manage existing assets and recycle in a smart way.

“The current financial situation causes people to think differently. Now clients are very interested in saving 80% on replacement furniture, and at the same time they’re genuinely interested in decreasing any negative impact on the environment.

“Another existing asset that can be managed is personnel. Not long ago I needed to hire someone to do in-house marketing. Instead of looking outside the company, I chose an existing employee who already knew my business well. I believed it would be more difficult and time-consuming to train a marketing person who knew nothing about my business, than it would be to teach marketing strategies and techniques to someone who knew my business inside and out. In a relatively short time that person learned the marketing skills needed to do the job, and my expectations for that position have been exceeded.”

While my old friend continued talking about sustainability and managing existing assets, I thought about our friendship.

And about how true it was that some things were truly worth sustaining.

Labels: Corporate Bill of Responsibilities, Environment, green-speak, Hilton, Mario Insenga, Marriott, Stephen Smoke, The Refinishing Touch, Wall Street Journal, Westin

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

A decade ago environmentalists and green advocates worked hard to make people listen to them.

Today it seems the world looks through green-tinted glasses even in economically tough times. As President Obama stood up this week and declared "We will recover" in his historical first speech to Congress, one of the areas he called out was for Congress to pass a climate change bill to drive the production of more renewable energy and a market-based cap on carbon pollution.

From across the board plans for new energy sources and transportation reform through to targeted rewards for individuals to think and act green in everyday life, the new Government is helping citizens to examine their lifestyle choices and to consider the impact we each have on the environment.

Here at The Refinishing Touch, it is no secret that we've been walking the green road since we were founded in 1977. It's the nature of our business and our belief that innovation and dedication can create new environmentally-friendly ways of doing things that were once environmentally damaging.

To us, this isn't a trend, it's a belief. Next week, we're going to be looking at some of the old ways of doing things and how creativity and technology can ensure "Reduce, Reuse and Recycle": three cornerstones of being green and of our mission here at The Refinishing Touch.

Labels: "Reduce, Environment, Green, Recycle", Reuse

All eyes are on the United States today as President Elect Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th President.

With much anticipation, the entire world is eager to see the changes that will occur under this new administration. Although we know the changes won't happen overnight, we believe the strides to make the changes will be underway to help the country financially, environmentally and from an overall government perspective as it relates to the current wars.

A new era is underway and it's our call for responsibility. President Elect Obama has put out a call for action, that we are all accountable to help make the needed changes to help our country. We are stronger in numbers when we are able to come together whether in business, communities and government issues.

Under this new administration, the creation of the new Energy Corps to create renewable energy and environmental clean up projects will be an area we will be focusing on at The Refinishing Touch in addition to the financial bail out issues that will be addressed. As history is made today, we are eager to look ahead at what promise the future holds.

Labels: Barack Obama, Environment, USA inauguration 2009