All posts by William Germain

PIK is proud to announce that the Boulder-based nonprofit recycler, Eco-Cycle Inc., has contracted PIK to develop a shared database on behalf of the City of Boulder. The database will update the city’s records on recycling, compost, and trash services at multi-family complexes within the city’s boundaries. By integrating property location data, management contacts, and ongoing engagement efforts by PIK and Eco-Cycle’s Eco-Leaders program, the project will ensure that all 1700+ multi-family residences in Boulder have the required services, signage, and training to support the city’s 85% diversion goal. The project is currently underway and scheduled to conclude in December of 2022.

PIK is pleased to announce the launch of an interactive menu on Sazza’s new website. Sazza is a Denver restaurant known for making some of the region’s best gourmet pizzas and salads using the finest local, organic, and natural ingredients. The Ingredients page uses data visualization to bring Sazza’s steadfast commitment to local, organic, and sustainably sourced food to life: website visitors can explore the many wonderful ingredients that comprise Sazza’s delicious menu. It’s a fun hands-on way to learn more about Sazza’s ongoing sustainability efforts.

Please contact PIK for more details on how data visualization can support your organization’s operations-both internally and externally-and how a customized visualization strategy can help your business succeed sustainably!

As an example of how data can be visualized to support the practice of sustainability, I created an interactive presentation to explore the performance of major Zero Waste Events in the Front Range region of Colorado in 2014, 2015, and 2016. You can view the viz at: Zero Waste Events in Boulder and Denver: 2014 – 2018

If you’re a bit unclear about what Zero Waste really means, Eco-Cycle offers an excellent overview at: Zero Waste: The Choice for a Sustainable Community

For more examples of how PIK can help you integrate, visualize, analyze, interact with and share your sustainability data, please see our Data Visualization and Analysis services page.

PIK is pleased to announce the completion of its Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) project on Biodiesel for the Denver Biodiesel Cooperative (DBC). Based in Denver, CO, DBC is committed to making biodiesel available to passenger vehicles in Colorado and to increasing knowledge and awareness of biodiesel in the community. Because it employs a comprehensive life cycle perspective to scientifically evaluate the environmental dimension of sustainability, LCA was deemed uniquely suited to fulfill the objectives of this project: to gain a deeper understanding of the environmental impacts that occur throughout the “cradle to grave” life cycle of a gallon of biodiesel, produced from waste vegetable oil (WVO) collected by the DBC. PIK completed this LCA project utilizing world-leading life cycle assessment software (SimaPro) following ISO methodology (International Organization for Standardization) and with guidance from EarthShift Inc.

Upon reviewing the LCA, DBC expressed its plans to act on the report’s findings to further improve its WVO collection and biodiesel distribution processes. It is our expectation that the results will serve as a valuable guide as DBC continues to serve its members and educate the public about the many benefits of this renewable fuel.

Please contact PIK for more details about the LCA process and how a targeted LCA study can help your organization obtain valuable insight into its products and processes, to better inform your sustainability strategy, and gain competitive advantage by succeeding sustainably.

My recent LCA project with the Denver Biodiesel Coop encouraged me to suggest a potential path forward for VW as it struggles with its emissions fraud scandal. Please see the Denver Post website for the full article: http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_28957514/how-biodiesel-could-help-volkswagen-move-forward

I recently participated in a LEED waste audit training at an office complex in Broomfield, CO. Conducted by Ampajen consulting in cooperation with the Colorado chapter of the USGBC, the audit enabled approximately 10 participants (including myself) to analyze the waste stream of a commercial building pursuing LEED certification. If you’ve never conducted a waste audit and can handle the sights and smells that accompany the sorting of garbage (all participants wore protective gloves), I highly encourage you to do so. The audit results were both revealing and thought provoking: 80% of the waste generated at this particular office complex is currently sent to a landfill. Yet, 80% of that (nearly 65% of the office’s total waste stream), could either be recycled or composted.

Carefully sorting, weighing, and recording…with smiling faces (and some crinkled noses!) — this is what a LEED waste audit looks like.

Although this LEED O+M (LEED for Building Operations and Maintenance) training specifically addressed waste at commercial buildings, the basic approach is consistent with methods designed for other industry sectors, including food service. The sobering results support the perspective that real challenges to reducing landfill waste, and to improving the performance of waste management practices in general, exist and are shared by organizations across the country. The fact is that while our nation’s waste management practices have improved significantly over the years, overall performance remains poor: Collectively, Americans recycle and compost less than 35% of the more than 254 million tons of trash we generate annually (US EPA). This has serious implications for resource efficiency, environmental, and human health.

US EPA: Total MSW Generation (by Material), 2013 254 Million Tons (before recycling)

As a business consultant with a strong interest in food sustainability, the extent of food waste is particularly troubling. In the United States it is estimated that between 30% and 40% of all the food produced is wasted. That equates to approximately 40 million tons of food wasted annually. In the restaurant sector, research conducted by the NRDC in 2012 revealed:

• US households and food service “lost 86 billion pounds of food in 2008, or 19 percent of the total U.S. retail-level food supply”
• Between “4 to 10 percent of food purchased by restaurants becomes kitchen loss, both edible and inedible, before reaching the consumer”
• In addition, diners on average “leave 17 percent of meals uneaten and 55 percent of these potential leftovers are not taken home”
• Other factors contributing to food waste at restaurants include: “large portions, inflexibility of chain-store management, and pressure to maintain enough food supply to offer extensive menu choices at all times”

Analysis by the Food Waste Reduction Alliance, an association of major grocers and food service companies, shows that significant barriers to food donation, recycling, and composting exist. But, restaurants and other food service companies can and should play a major role in addressing this problem by:

1. Verifying their facility’s performance by conducting a waste audit
2. Implementing measures to address food waste strategically (actions should be prioritized: see EPA’s Food Recovery Hierarchy below)
3. Tracking waste performance using spreadsheets or more sophisticated technology (e.g. LeanPath) and managing for continual improvement

US EPA Food Recovery Hierarchy (http://www2.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/food-recovery-hierarchy)

Related free tools and guidelines for waste management at restaurants are available at:

• US EPA: EPA – Food Recovery Challenge (https://connect.re-trac.com/register/epafrc)
• Sustainable Food Service (http://www.sustainablefoodservice.com/res/tools.htm)
• Green Seal (http://www.greenseal.org/Portals/0/Documents/Standards/GS-55/GS-55_Ed1-0_Restaurants_and_Food_Services.pdf)

Both individually and collectively, we need to get a better handle on our waste problem, including food waste. The good news is that society’s awareness of the problem is increasing as are cost-effective options to address it. Please contact PIK Sustainable LLC to learn more about the best strategies and tools available to optimize waste management at your business and to improve the overall sustainability of your operations.

PIK is pleased to announce the completion of the Organizational Readiness Assessment (ORA) for Sazza. Based in Greenwood Village, CO, Sazza is a restaurant known for making some of the region’s best gourmet pizzas and salads using the finest local, organic, and natural ingredients. It’s also known for it’s steadfast commitment to sustainability. With cooperation from their wonderful staff and suppliers, Sazza’s owners, Jeff and Jenni, participated in PIK’s 2-month process of assessment, research, reflection and action planning to bolster Sazza’s existing sustainability efforts. It is our expectation that the resulting roadmap will serve as a valuable guide as Sazza continues to delight and inspire through its delicious food and admirable business practices.

Please contact PIK for more details about the ORA process and how a customized sustainability roadmap can help your business succeed sustainably!

Denver Biodiesel Cooperative (DBC) engages Denver based sustainable business consultancy, PIK Sustainable LLC (PIK), to Conduct Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) on Biodiesel – March 18, 2015

Utilizing world leading LCA software in compliance with ISO methodology (International Organization for Standardization), PIK will conduct a detailed investigation into the activities in the life cycle of a gallon of biodiesel, produced from waste vegetable oil (WVO) collected by the Denver Biodiesel Cooperative. The objective of this project is to determine which activities in the product life cycle contribute the most to the environmental impact associated with this renewable fuel.

While this study is primarily concerned with accounting for the environmental impact of biodiesel using the DBC model, it will also seek to describe some change-oriented consequences of shifting from biodiesel derived from Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO) to WVO-derived biodiesel produced entirely in the state of Colorado. The DBC LCA project results are anticipated in early summer, 2015.

About the Denver Biodiesel Cooperative

DBC distributes ASTM certified biodiesel fuel at cost (usually made from Waste Vegetable Oil feedstock). DBC is committed to making biodiesel available to passenger vehicles in Colorado. It is increasingly difficult to find B100 at retail gas stations and we measure success in gallons of petroleum diesel offset.

Denver Biodiesel is always looking to increase knowledge and awareness of biodiesel in our community. Members are rewarded for their participation—attending fairs, presenting at schools, signing up restaurants, or collecting oil—with fuel credits to purchase biodiesel from DBC.

About PIK Sustainable LLC

Based in Denver, CO, PIK Sustainable LLC is a consultancy that provides professional services to Colorado’s business community. PIK Sustainable LLC’s services include sustainability assessments, strategic planning, project management, reporting, communication, and product development.

PIK stands for Power In Knowledge. Whether an organization is advanced in its practice of sustainability or just beginning, PIK will supply data-driven knowledge, technical know-how, and real-world options for success. With PIK, you decide what’s right for your organization to succeed sustainably.

On the subject of employing fear in environmental journalism, I am often dismayed by journalism that’s heavy on fear and light on solutions. However, I find willful ignorance—that overexploitation of ecosystems can somehow continue without serious environmental and socioeconomic consequences—even more dismaying. The fact is that superior management alternatives often exist, they’re just not compatible with economic priorities. I proposed one such solution–Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM)–as a possible approach to address water management amidst intensifying drought in California.

On this growing crisis, Daniel Wood of the Christian Science Monitor writes: “Californians are wondering if the government, the media, and residents could be doing more to ensure that reserves last long enough to sustain the state through another year of drought.”

Perhaps a healthy dose of fear could help motivate California’s citizens (including its farmers) to find common ground and take the difficult but necessary steps toward sustainability?