For Immediate Release

Contact: Kristin Cushman
kristin@bluestrikeenvironmental.com


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Monterey, CA: Blue Strike Environmental announced today that the company is expanding capacity by adding EcoShift Consulting, a company specializing in carbon accounting, lifecycle analysis, sustainability and clean energy consulting. The acquisition, announced by Blue Strike CEO, Kristin Cushman, will expand the portfolio of services and offer clients a more holistic approach to developing, implementing, and reporting sustainability efforts. 

Blue Strike Environmental’s mission is to meet the needs of businesses, communities, and the environment by creating innovative solutions designed to balance environmental impacts with community benefit projects. 

As part of the acquisition, Blue Strike will be able to better serve clients through the use of EcoShift’s principal utility, the Scenario Analysis Tool. This powerful analytical tool supports the development of actionable planning scenarios that combine complex climate protection and clean energy initiatives, and analyzes and ranks those scenarios based on projected costs and social, environmental, and economic benefits. The proprietary Scenario Analysis Tool was designed to provide valuable, data-driven decision support for climate action/adaptation planning, community choice energy programs, capital improvement portfolio analysis, and more.

“By combining Blue Strike’s sustainability management systems with EcoShift’s results-driven analytical capabilities, our clients will be able to rank and measure the impacts of their sustainability efforts”, says Cushman. 

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About Blue Strike Environmental
For over a decade, the Blue Strike team has been working with clients to help them implement zero-waste goals and strategic sustainability initiatives. The Blue Strike team has an impeccable record for calculating, tracking and reporting a wide range of sustainability standards to help jurisdictions comply with state mandates, secure funding and build innovative mitigation projects that lead to quantifiable greenhouse gas emission reductions. 
About EcoShift
Founded in 2009, EcoShift has a proven track record for providing lifecycle analysis, carbon accounting and developing climate action planning scenario tools that quantify and compare the combined life-cycle costs and benefits of a portfolio of capital improvements, clean energy initiatives, and greenhouse gas emission mitigation measures.

Lafayette Climate Goals: 

Our commitment to 100% renewable energy by 2030 and an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
 
Anyone who has spent time in Lafayette as a citizen, visitor, or employee knows that our community is deeply committed to making good decisions for both our people and the planet. For many years,

Lafayette has served as a sustainability leader among Colorado communities. As such, the City Council of Lafayette strongly supports the scientific consensus that the earth’s climate is warming as a result of human activities which are releasing unprecedented quantities of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. As a community, we understand that the local effects of climate change, such as potential for more extreme weather events resulting in wildfire and flooding, may have an impact on Lafayette residents and its economy.

In October 2017, the Lafayette City Council passed a resolution establishing community-wide goals to achieve 80% reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and 100% renewable energy for electricity by 2030. With this public commitment, Lafayette joins hundreds of cities and communities across the US in support of doing our part to address climate change here at home.

 Lafayette started measuring the community carbon footprint in 2009 and has a deep understanding of our sources. In order to reach our climate goals, we’ll use our baseline information to build a road map to reach our goals and decrease the amount of heat trapping emissions from our city. Progress will be communicated on this website, and tracked through our membership with the Compact of Colorado Communities.

Lafayette’s carbon footprint includes three main sectors: stationary energy, transportation, and waste. Each of these sectors include the emissions sources from the 2015 carbon footprint analysis. Lafayette’s total carbon footprint in 2015 was 287,604 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (mtCO2e).

• Residential Energy: 32%
• Transportation: 32%
• Commercial Energy: 31%
• Solid Waste Disposal: 2%
• Fugitive Emissions 2%
• Wastewater Treatment: 0.1%

To learn more about ongoing sustainability efforts and to understand how you can support community climate goals, please see:

• Lafayette Energy Sustainability Advisory Committee Goals
• Going Solar: Lafayette specific resources for solar energy
• CC4CA Policy and Advocacy
• Electric Vehicles study for Lafayette by DOE National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL)

Community organizations led by the East Bay Clean Power Alliance are thrilled with the adoption tonight of a groundbreaking plan for local clean energy investment by East Bay Community Energy (EBCE), Alameda County’s new Community Choice energy program. A portion of East Bay Community Energy net revenues from electricity sales will now be invested into providing local clean energy benefits. This action makes EBCE the first Community Choice program in the nation to launch with genuine roadmap and commitment to bring local development and health benefit to the community.

The Local Development Business Plan (LDBP), as it is called, can maximize community benefits such as local solar, wind and energy efficiency projects and incentives for the East Bay. In addition, East Bay Community Energy is utilizing outside grants to fund some local development projects such as solar and storage on critical facilities such as fire stations and hospitals. The LDBP was adopted in a unanimous vote by the EBCE board.

Many community leaders gathered for a “Clean Power to the People” rally in support of the Plan’s adoption before the EBCE Board meeting. These leaders have been advocating for an East Bay Community Choice program with a commitment to local clean energy solutions for years.

“Thanks to efforts of the East Bay Clean Power Alliance, the East Bay Community Energy program has the potential to bring equitable economic development and jobs to communities throughout the county as well as increase the amount of electricity that comes from local clean energy resources,” said Jessica Tovar, coordinator of the East Bay Clean Power Alliance.

“The Local Development Business Plan will ensure East Bay Community Energy is on track to fostering local economic and climate benefits, such as creating clean energy jobs and developing local renewable resources, while also moving toward a clean energy economy,” said Luis Amezcua, member of the Executive Committee of the Sierra Club San Francisco Bay Chapter.

For Rev. Ken Chambers, Pastor of Westside Missionary Baptist Church in Oakland, creating jobs and keeping energy wealth in our community has been an important goal for our community. “We need to create opportunities for low income people traditionally shut out of the clean energy economy. We need to train and employ local people like the formerly incarcerated and people of color with family sustaining wage jobs so that we can afford to stay in the Bay Area.”

Community health and safety is critical for our frontline environmental justice communities. “As Nurses, we witness how extreme forms of energy extraction impact human health," said Martha Kuhl, RN, Board of Directors Treasurer for California Nurses Association and First Vice President of the Alameda Labor Council. "Nurses at the bedside see the daily impacts that pollution and toxic emissions have on our health — environmental toxins lead to higher rates of asthma, liver damage, heart and lung disease, cancer, and birth defects."

The creation of EBCE aims to bring  climate justice to disadvantaged communities. As a government agency, EBCE has the ability to take in the needs and voices of the people. “About 800 of the Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN) members who reside in Alameda County have tirelessly fought for climate justice on both the state level and the local level," said Jing Jing He of Asian Pacific Environmental Network. "We believe the implementation of the Local Development Business Plan is essential to advancing structural changes and outcomes that create opportunities for low-income communities."

The plan for local clean energy investments in East Bay Community Energy is a game changer. “There is a myth that says we must choose between our jobs and our environment, but we know that there are no jobs on a dead planet. We don’t have to choose between jobs and our environment; we can create quality, green jobs through rebuilding our infrastructure and investing in renewable and sustainable energy,” said Anne Olivia Eldred, Chair of East Bay Community Energy’s Community Advisory Committee.

With this achievement in place, East Bay Clean Power Alliance is organizing to further engage the community to call for millions of dollars of investments towards local clean energy development from a portion of the projected $43 million in net revenues in the first year of EBCE operations.

Background:
In October 2016, East Bay Clean Power Alliance, an Alameda County-wide alliance, called for a ground-breaking program that would prioritize equitable development of local renewable resources, creating union and family-sustaining jobs, stimulating local businesses, and include direct community representation in the governance of the program. East Bay Clean Power Alliance called for a business plan to study where and how East Bay Community Energy can invest and incentivize solar, wind and energy efficiency projects. Alameda Board of Supervisors agreed by allocating $500,000 towards a Local Development Business Plan study for East Bay Community Energy.

Local Development Business Plan agenda item and document for July 18, 2018 can be found here on the East Bay Community Energy’s website.

​By: Nestor Resendiz
2018 AT&T Byron Nelson Junior Reporter
 
Imagine a golf tournament that had no trash cans.  What if you came up to a green and there were bottles and trash everywhere?  That would be awful.
 
That will not happen at the AT&T Byron Nelson because Blue Strike Environmental is on duty.  They have a team of 40-60 people who empty trash cans from 6:00 AM – 8:00 PM every day, and then actually empty each bag of trash.  They rip it open and remove every piece of trash, separating out recyclables, compost and trash. Their goal is to recycle 50% of the garbage, and divert another 20%.  Divert means to repurpose things like carpet and wood. The carpet, for example, is going to be donated to people who need it. Yay!
 
I got all this fascinating information from Rico Tesio, CEO of Blue Strike Environmental.  He estimated that each PGA Tour event produces an amount of 100-150 tons of trash. Can you believe that?!
 
Tessio’s team has enormous help from the company Champion.  They help by picking up the garbage and compost. A lot of the compost is hot dogs, banana peels and watermelon.   It smelled awful! It honestly made me feel a bit nauseous.
 
The awesome people helping sort the trash are volunteers from local schools or organizations such as Spruce High School Alumni Association and the Pemberton Trinity Forest Neighborhood Association.  They do this work to raise money for their groups.
 
Final thing before I go – today was so hot we were smacking sweat off our head. But the Blue Strike Environmental team felt even hotter. I think they have one of the hardest – and most important – jobs that you can have at a PGA Tour event.

By Brooke Holland

The city of Santa Barbara has vowed to transition entirely to clean and renewable energy, following a City Council vote on Tuesday establishing 100-percent sustainable energy goals by 2030.

The resolution adopted sets both a community-wide and municipal facilities objective to reduce fossil fuel use through increased conservation and efficiency, and by developing renewable energy sources.

The motion also committed to a 50-percent renewable energy goal by 2020 and 100-percent renewable energy for the city’s community electricity supply by 2030, but no specific plan is yet in place.
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Santa Barbara represents the first city on the Central Coast to make the pledge, and the resolution comes less than a week after President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from a global agreement aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

“President Trump may be withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accord, but cities are stepping up and re-committing to adopt, honor and uphold the Paris Climate (Accord) goals,” Mayor Helene Schneider said.

“I'm proud that Santa Barbara has adopted a 100-percent renewable energy goal and is joining other cities across the nation leading the way on clean energy at the local level.”
Schneider became one of first United States mayors to endorse a vision of moving away from fossil fuels to 100 percent renewable energy.

This spring, she joined the Mayors for 100% Clean Energy initiative of the Sierra Club's “Ready for 100” campaign — a coalition intending to uphold renewable energy and healthy communities.
The specific steps the city would take to achieve a 100 percent renewable goal are unknown, according to a staff report.

City staff members are expected to develop a work plan, including financial resources and setting a timeline to achieve the goals by Dec. 31, 2018.

Santa Barbara’s future sustainability efforts and projects include water conservation, energy management, wastewater resource recovery, habitat restoration, urban forest enhancement and solid waste management.

Reducing citywide transportation congestion by implementing bicycle and pedestrian master plans, pursuing solar opportunities at city buildings, and restoring riparian vegetation and habitat were noted as the city’s sustainability projects.

Renewable energy tends to be more expensive compared to non-renewable sources, according to a staff report.

City facilities using natural gas instead of, or in addition to, electricity involve significant challenges in relation to the renewable energy goal.

Converting existing facilities — such as the Los Baños Del Mar Pool — from natural gas to electrical energy would be “difficult and extremely costly to achieve,” according to a staff report.

The staff report noted the cost of natural gas is lower than alternative fuels.

Approximately 30 percent of the electricity currently used by Santa Barbara is deemed renewable, according to a staff report.
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City staff noted that the remainder is comprised of non-renewable electricity supplied by Southern California Edison and natural gas provided by Southern California Gas, which is used to heat city buildings and other facilities.

Santa Barbara could establish its own renewable sources, purchase renewable energy credits, or voluntarily pay for renewable energy through Edison to achieve the 100 percent renewable goal.

Santa Barbara is joining 29 cities nationwide that have devoted to achieving 100 percent renewable energy targets. San Diego, San Francisco, South Lake Tahoe, Del Mar and Palo Alto are some California cities that have made the commitment.

“This will take a local action that will have a global implication,” Councilwoman Cathy Murillo said. “Local energy generation is good for business and our environment.”

The vote comes after the Santa Barbara Chapter of the Sierra Club and the Community Environmental Council endorsed the transition and requested the council adopt renewable energy goals during a Sustainability Committee meeting in April.

City staff worked with the Sustainability Committee since 2006 to implement a handful of long-term sustainability projects often directed by state regulation.

Katie Davis, chairwoman of the Santa Barbara Chapter of the Sierra Club, said the organization’s members salute Santa Barbara for their leadership on 100 percent clean energy.

“To meet our international climate goals, we must transition away from fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy,” Davis said.

“Moving to 100 percent renewable energy isn’t just the right thing to do for our climate, it’s the smart thing to do for our local economy. Renewable energy costs have decreased dramatically and are now cost competitive with fossil fuels, and Santa Barbara County already has eight times more jobs in clean energy and energy efficiency than in the oil industry.

"The transition to 100 percent clean energy represents a better and more prosperous path forward for our community.”

​​Sustainable hospitality has a major influence on engaging businesses with our local community.
 
People want to be involved with the community they are visiting. They want to feel like they contributed or experienced something that is unique.  In turn, businesses are realizing that having a positive social impact on the communities where they work, helps their bottom line. What can you do as a business or organization to be better stewards of the earth?  How can you support the local community and the planet while still achieving good financial health?  Considering all these factors allows businesses to build a brand that will attract more customers.
 
Protecting and supporting the natural environment is the first step in achieving true sustainable hospitality.  Businesses can offer their customers a connection to local environmental issues and education.  For example, utilization of the Seafood Watch card is one of the leading programs that combine tourism with local environmental issues. This program allows member restaurants to highlight local conservation efforts on their menus. Beyond the popular whale watching tours, Big Sur Land Trust offers scheduled hikes to learn about coastal land conservation and The Offset Project offers volunteer opportunities to engage with environmental certification efforts at local special events such as the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am or the Big Sur Marathon.
 
A second step for businesses is to develop programs that can interact, impact and improve their communities. If a business can make the community a better place, than they will have a story to tell that is unique and separates them from other businesses. Legacies projects can include the protection and conservation of socio-cultural heritage and environmental resources, the sustainable development of local communities and local infrastructure, as well as job creation for locals. For example, Peter B’s Brewery partners with local at risk youth to grow hops for their hand crafted beer.  Incoming conferences can participate in “gleaning” programs where visitors visit local fields to pick leftover vegetables for the homeless.  In some cases, profits are reinvested into a local project. In Monterey County, the California Roots Festival is donating $1.00 for each ticket sold and investing the funds into an electric vehicle charging station at the event grounds. This allows festival attendees better access to the event and contributes to public awareness around electric vehicles.
 
If you are visiting and want to get involved in Monterey County’s local sustainable hospitality projects, please contact Kristin Cushman at Kristin@theoffsetproject.org.

COUNCIL FOR RESPONSIBLE SPORT RECOGNIZES EVENT WITH ‘GOLD CERTIFICATION’
 
For the third consecutive year, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am has received the prestigious Gold Certification from the Council for Responsible Sport. Hosted by the Monterey Peninsula Foundation, the tournament has become a model for other PGA TOUR events by establishing itself as a reliable leader in environmental protection.
 
In conjunction with key partners including Pebble Beach Company and The Offset Project, the AT&T Pro-Am introduced key composting and re-use strategies three years ago in an effort to achieve high standards of waste diversion. The “green” commitment has since been expanded and enhanced, and resulted in the Council’s gold certification honor in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
 
“Monterey Peninsula Foundation remains committed to improving the health and sustainability of our community,” said Steve John, Monterey Peninsula Foundation CEO and tournament director. “It is imperative we continue to focus on conservation and resource management.”
 
According to Shelley Villalobos, Certification Director for the Council for Responsible Sport, the 2016 Gold Certification required a huge amount of sustained effort from the entire event management team.
 
“With this gold level recertification, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am team has shown a strong commitment to both rigor and transparency—qualities that have helped them advance their performance in many aspects of hosting a more sustainable event, from waste management and diversion to procurement and creating a lasting legacy in the community. This is a tournament to be embraced and celebrated,” Villalobos said.
 
The environmental accomplishments achieved during the 2016 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am included:

• 48,860 pounds of laminate flooring, wood and carpet were donated to a local reuse outlet;
• The Monterey Peninsula Foundation has donated an electric vehicle charging station to the City of Seaside as part of a campaign to offset 100 percent of the event carbon emissions locally;
• 20 yards of cloth inside the Player’s Hospitality was donated to the local SPCA. They used it to line animal cages;
• 1,600 pounds of banner material was sent to a company that makes repurposed computer bags;
• An estimated 6,500 chip bags were sent to TerraCycle to be “upcycled” into backpacks;
• The City of Gonzales picked up 3,000 pounds of plywood to help repair batting cages located in city parks;
• The Monterey County Food Bank picked up leftover food each night during the tournament. The total donated was 13,500 pounds;
• Monterey Peninsula Foundation purchased enough renewable energy to offset the energy used during the event;
• Monterey Peninsula Foundation created a carbon footprint of all event operations, travel and marketing related to the event; and
• 120 Dumpsters were pulled from the event, only two of which were considered trash.

 
Just two other tournaments on the PGA TOUR – the Shell Houston Open and Waste Management Phoenix Open – have earned certification status from Council for Responsible Sport.