See this great video, “An Introduction to Green Exchange” created by Conscious Living TV.
Green Exchange Project Video from Conscious Living TV on Vimeo.
See more videos by Conscious Living TV on their Vimeo site, here.
When does “Green” transcend the trend? Some would say the time is now. According to London-based market research firm Mintel International Group Ltd., the number of U.S. consumers who regularly buy green products tripled in 2008, to 36%. Convert that to numbers and you’ve got well over 100 million people who make the conscious choice for green. What about the rest? What about not just light-bulbs and organic food, but banks and hotels? Steve Hendershot, of Crain’s Chicago Business (”Is green enough to lure clients?” July 18, 2009) says, “Success hinges on old standards like price, service and performance.”
“My customers want me to help them save money by running more efficiently,” says Jason Howard, CEO of Greenspace Supply, which sells office supplies and janitorial products. “Environmental benefits are important, but they rank second or third. Customers move forward once we can show them the cost savings as well as the green benefits.”
A 2008 Boston Consulting Group survey revealed that 82% of U.S. consumers are willing to pay a premium for green products, as long as those products provide added benefits. That means if something says “organic” on the label, it had better live up to its expectations - and taste better, too. Likewise, if travelers shell out an extra few dollars on a green place to stay, the hotel can’t get by on novelty alone, customers aren’t going to feel satisfied with only a green mint on the pillow.
GreenChoice Bank in Chicago has yet to open, but already has 2,000 people on its waiting list. CEO Harold Sherman noticed a different attitude amongst the depositors, but said people feel good about their bank. This attitude doesn’t come lightly. GreenChoice has made clear it’s intent to be a significant improvement over any existing bank. GreenChoice will use less paper, it’ll be built to high LEED standards and will offer better interest rates to customers who decline paper statements. It’s location is good too, built on the first floor of The Green Exchange, Chicago’s first green marketplace (2545 W. Diversey Ave.). Is this enough?
Northwestern University marketing professor Tim Calkins said, “There are a lot of things that drive consumer decision-making around a bank, and environmental issues I think would rank fairly low… You’ve got to use that environmental benefit to show people you’re committed to helping their communities, that they can trust you, that you’re not going to lend their money to fancy investment bankers on Wall Street who will never pay it back.”
Calkins is right, people are still skeptical about green and especially skeptical about banks. Sustainability is something to be taken seriously and people want companies going green to treat that issue with respect. Hendershot poses a good question, “Is green enough to lure clients?” Take one step inside GreenChoice Bank when it opens. Take a stroll through the Green Exchange. You decide.
On June 16, 2009, The Chicago Tribune reports on a new crop of green banks sprouting up in Chicago. Becky Yerak, of Tribune Newspapers, writes, “In recent months, investor groups in Illinois and Pennsylvania have gotten regulatory approval to open GreenChoice Bank in Chicago and e3bank in Malvern, Pa., joining New Resource Bank in San Francisco, Green Bank in Houston and First Green Bank in Eustis, Fla.”
These banks market their green policies by offering lower interest rates on loans to green builders and borrowers who buy fuel-efficient cars and incentives to depositors who opt out of paper installments. Research firm Mintel surveyed consumers, of whom 56 percent found paperless accounts to be genuinely ecologically friendly, not just a cost-cutting ploy.
With bank failures widespread through the country, GreenChoice Bank aspires to be one of the Midwest’s first green lenders. “Sustainability has entered the mainstream, as evidenced by the ubiquity of ‘green’ messaging and reporting in the media,” said GreenChoice’s application with the Office of Thrift Supervision. Steve Sherman, who will be GreenChoice’s chief operating officer, is accredited in green building practices by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED. On June 2, 2009, GreenChoice received conditional regulatory approval, and it hopes to raise $13.5 million to $16 million in capital.
In addition to the above mentioned benefits to green banking, GreenChoice Bank is pushing envelope-free ATMs and remote deposit capture, in which the business customer can deposit checks without visiting a bank. First Green Bank, which opened earlier in 2009, offers zero-interest loans to workers who buy cars that get more than 30 miles to the gallon.
Chicago’s Green Exchange was featured on a high-profile list of “favorite ways companies today are greening up-and saving money” on Be More Eco’s website. In the Mar. 23, 2009 article “Sick of being green washed? (Part one) 10 Ways to Green Your Business,” Mark Borden puts Green Exchange at number seven. Green Exchange is a network “sprouting” in an old lamp factory in Chicago, reserved exclusively for green companies. As the country’s first green business community, the development aims to foster the exchange of ideas for sustainable living. The building is currently 40% leased and plans to open in the Fall. Tenants include an electric-car dealer, energy consultants and a green pet-supply store.
Other companies on this list making green choices include: General Mills, General Electric, Tesco, Wal-Mart, Timberland, Dyson, and JP Morgan Chase.
On March 4, 2009, Green Events Source/blog announced that Marilyn Jones of Consolidated Printing was recognized as a “green printing pioneer,” winning the 2008 William D. Shaeffer Environmental Award for significant contributions towards environmentally sound practices in the printing industry. Consolidated Printing Company in Chicago began in 1973, and their mission is “to provide high quality services with a zero impact on the environment.” Since printing is one of the most toxic industries in the U.S., Jones actively pursued the elimination of toxic chemicals harmful to workers, the community, air, land and water in the printing process. Today, Consolidated Printing uses an all-vegetable process, including inks, pigments and solutions, and the company is petroleum and carcinogen free.
In addition to the several other environmental awards the company has garnered over the years, they have been asked to open a second location to provide printing services at the Business Center for the Green Exchange, a retail office facility that will house around 100 business, all of them environmentally and socially responsible. The Green Exchange is the first of its kind i the U.S., a four-story, 272,000 square-foot former factory being converted to an LEED Platinum standards building with an array of green features and benefits.
Nara Schoenberg and Monica Eng of Chicago Tribune wondered if “g” was the new “W” for Chicago (Mar. 4, 2009). The W has its place in Chicago: magazines, the W hotels, “Wicked,” and the Wrigley Building, but the lowercase g is making some headway: the Graham Elliot restaurant with an e inscribed in a g, George Street Photo and Video, G Botique and notably the Green Exchange business community on West Diversey Avenue that has a g on its tower. Even Google’s gone “google.”
Maybe it’s the start of a new trend, or maybe it’s a sign of the times - another example of scaling back, from the upper-case days of the past to the lower-case days of tomorrow?
Opening a bank may seem like an unusual business move when the economy is down, but Steve Sherman, CEO of GreenChoice Bank, believes now is a great time. He thinks local businesses will flock to it because it fills a gap in the market - a sustainable, nearly paperless bank. It’s the only bank of its kind in the Midwest and its location couldn’t be more perfect: one of the country’s most ambitious green business projects, Green Exchange at 2545 W. Diversey Ave. in Chicago. Along with innovative businesses with solutions to the down-trodden economy, Green Exchange incorporates the U.S. Green Building Society’s highest sustainable construction standard, platinum; work-live lofts; event space and a second-floor sky garden.
The building’s location is a towering testament to change. Kate Gardiner of Medill wrote, “From Interstate 94, its green logo is prominent on a white cupola among a sea of industrial smoke stacks, and its landmark exterior free of graffiti above the first floor.” Its location is like the planting of a seed whose germination has already begun gentrification on the community as nearby $400,000 condominiums are now down the street from “abandoned, scarred homes whose doors flap in the winter wind.” Business owner Richard Kabbe told Gardiner he’s hoping the exchange project will bring foot traffic to his and other nearby businesses. Kabbe and his family has owned Kabbe Hardware, 2550 W. Diversey Ave. for 98 years. He said business has been slower lately - and different. He’s changing the product lines he’s carrying to suit the new young, professional clientele he’s been courting. The restaurant next door has started investing in flat screen televisions and is redecorating.
Also moving in will be The Delta Institute with its Green Business Development Center, which will nurture green technology and training for sustainable business throughout the Midwest.
Kabbe said this project brings hope to a little corner that’s kind of been forgotten. The aspiring community of sustainable businesses and practices will make this “little corner” of Chicago unforgettable.
This blog post refers to the Jan. 27, 2009 edition of Medill Reports Chicago by Medill News Service. Read the original article here.
Everything about your product is green: from the concept, the materials used, to the facility where it’s made; but the container you put it in is machine-made and mass produced. Why not use a container made from wild grass, bamboo, banana fiber, mulberry or coconut? That’s the kind of container Distant Village Packaging specializes in. Inspired by the craftsmanship of the artisans from villages in Thailand and the Philippines, owner Richard Cohen said, “By combining m business experience with their artisan craft, I decided I could create Distant Village and enable them the opportunity to sell their products in a more relevant way to people in the united states.” The company began with high-end chocolatiers in 2002 and have since expanded worldwide.
Distant Village Packaging will be one of the first companies to move into Green Exchange in spring 2009. The building will house a community of firms that only offer eco-friendly goods and services.
Find out more at distantvillage.com
Distant Village and Green Exchange were shown on ABC News Chicago on Jan. 233, 2009 at 5 pm.
The Evangelical Ecologist posted a call on Jan. 13, 2009 for green companies to contact Phil Baugh, Director of Community Development at Green Exchange if they are interested in becoming tenants. According to the blog post, “A Green Exchange business or non-profit must be advancing initiatives in one or more [of] the following areas: 1) environmental responsibility, 2) health and wellness, or 3)social responsibility.”
Baugh’s email address is phil@greenexchange.com.
Green Exchange (2545 W. Diversey Ave., Chicago) is the country’s largest sustainable business community and will by the official banking establishment of GreenChoice Bank, the Midwest’s first community bank to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certification, scheduled to open in 2009. GreenChoice Bank will leverage funds on deposit to invest in the local green economy, offering their clients the opportunity to make a values based decision about their banking services. Clients will also be offered green banking incentives such as advantaged loan and deposit products for clients actively embracing sustainability, and commercial clients building and creating green collar jobs and projects.
Harold L. Sherman, the bank’s chief executive officer said a nationwide economic downturn is exactly why the nation needs a consistent community banking industry. “GreenChoice Bank will support the small and medium sized businesses that will lift this country out of its economic crisis,” Harold says. GreenChoice Bank stands out from other LEED certified banks because the founders have designed the bank with sustainability informing every aspect of their operation. Instead of brochures, they will use electronic kiosks. Employees will receive incentives for taking public transportation and a zero percent car loan when buying fuel-efficient or hybrid vehicles. David Baum, Green Exchange co-developer, turned down several nationally recognized banks, but welcomes GreenChoice Bank because “they so clearly embrace a holistic approach to sustainability, from back office practices to front office products and services.”
The Green Exchange will be a convergence point for the green community, showcasing a mix of complementary businesses offering green products and services. The Green Exchange seeks to further Chicago’s efforts to become the greenest city in the United States.
Find out more about the Green Exchange and GreenChoice Bank on the marketplace’s website.
The complete version of this article appeared on GreenBankingCentral.com on Dec. 12, 2008.
Update: News of this addition to the Green Exchange also appeared on edcmag.com on Jan. 9, 2009.
