Wisconsin hospital is powered by beer and cheese

ByLeigh Baker May 22, 2012January 5, 2023

At least two interesting principles at play here:

Regenerative Business Principle #2: There are NO wastes
Regenerative Business Principle #7: Think smart, small and local.

Gundersen Lutheran Hospital, in La Crosse, Wis., aims to be energy independent by 2014. Hospitals use a ton of energy, so that’s a tough goal to meet. But Gundersen is getting there by piggybacking on Wisconsin’s best-known industries:beer and cheese.

Beer and cheese, while delicious, both slough off a lot of gas while they’re being made. (Not to mention after they’re consumed.) The hospital system has been sourcing biogas from a local brewery and from a dairy farm that makes mascarpone and fresh mozzarella cheese. And recently the system started getting gas from a La Crosse landfill, as well.

Read the complete Grist article here…

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Cloning Ray Anderson

ByLeigh Baker November 6, 2006January 5, 2023

Interface Flooring is regularly quoted as the company internationally that has fully integrated sustainability into its business strategy. A sustainable planet will need a lot more fully integrated sustainability businesses, so the question that comes to my mind is “How can we create more Interfaces?” What happened??? In his book “Mid Course Correction”, Interface CEO (at the time) Ray Anderson says he…

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Myers Briggs as a tool for innovators

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A common topic in many of my coaching conversations – especially with sustainability practitioners – is that there are useful models for understanding HOW people are different and what motivates different groups. I’ve found that the four Temperament Types is a useful model for understanding and influencing and gives clients some useful ‘aha’ moments as…

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Sustainability and coaching

ByLeigh Baker December 13, 2003January 5, 2023

Business and sustainability Business has traditionally tended to treat environmental issues as an additional overhead to the production of quality products. Recently, a variety of businesses of different sizes in different industries have found that a more pro-active, creative approach can actually IMPROVE the bottom line. Done well, sustainability is PROFITABLE.

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We apologise for the break in transmission

ByLeigh Baker April 21, 2003January 5, 2023

Some of you may have noticed a long gap since our last publication (in fact, it’s a gap of 12 months). This has been due to my father’s losing battle with cancer. He died at the end of February, and now life has become more predictable, if sadder and a bit emptier than before. During this time, and particularly…

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The continuing evolution of car sharing

ByLeigh Baker March 22, 2012January 5, 2023

A recent start-up in Portland, Oregon is social car sharing. Instead of renting from a carshare company, you rent cars by the hour from people around you. So “waste” unused car hours are reduced and the car owner gets some extra income. (Part of the scheme includes management of risk issues such as insurance.) It’s…

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The cycle of destructive agitation…

ByLeigh Baker December 27, 2013January 5, 2023

When I was little, my mum used to yell at me “Don’t play on the road – you’ll get killed by a car!” That was a long time ago – we now know that the human brain doesn’t process negatives well. I’m not a parent, however I understand that these days the advice is to…

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