By Benji Nichols

“Being Green” is something we hear about almost everyday. Everything we do consumes a certain amount of energy – whether that’s in the form of fuel for a vehicle, energy used in a building, or fuel in the form of food for our bodies – and with that fuel comes an environmental “footprint.” Many large businesses have started touting and even advertising the ‘green sense’ of their everyday operations as a feel-good promo plan. But these trends are more than slick marketing for many businesses. Society as a whole is realizing that each and every one of our actions has an effect, and that changing up our everyday practices is not only fashionable, but practical and necessary. In fact, businesses have even found that taking these steps can help their bottom line.

Small businesses, on the other hand, are often faced with the challenge of simply trying to stay alive while doing what feels right – not necessarily the most affordable or viable options. In this series, Inspire(d) takes a look at five different regional business owners who are making big changes to their environmental footprints – and their businesses – by making “Cents of Green.”

Paper Moon – retail store -  McGregor, Iowa
Sitting at 206 ‘A’ Street in McGregor, Iowa is a 163-year-old gem of a brick building. With an equally varied and colored history, the building has been home to many things: a law office, cobbler, newspaper, gunsmith, veterinarian, dressmaker, dry cleaners, and perhaps even a tavern. But since 1994, the brick beauty has been home to Ken, Louise, and (daughter) Jennifer White’s unique, fun, and funky Paper Moon gift boutique and book shop. After remodeling their building in 1994, the Whites moved their shop into the main floor and in 1997 Jennifer joined the venture, helping to add a second floor of fun books and amazing items.

Through their first 15 years of business, the Whites often pondered ways they could make their building more comfortable and in turn, more economical. Ken is an avid handyman and also handles many of the maintenance duties at Prairie du Chien’s Villa Louis estate, so old buildings are not unfamiliar. Insulating and weatherization projects took place over the years, but without marring the building’s beautiful historic features, there seemed few ways to make the building truly more efficient. The winter of 2007/2008 heating bills finally made operating the Paper Moon building economically difficult and close to unfeasible.

Enter Brandon Schmidt of Twin Oak Energy Solutions in Decorah, Iowa. Specializing in solar heating projects, Schmidt worked closely with the Whites to analyze their building and make use of the available south-facing frontage. Through a series of planning stages – including some incredibly trying USDA energy efficiency grant applications as well as partnerships with the Iowa Energy Center – the finally prepared to install multiple climate control systems. The first was a series of air collectors on the second floor that use the sun’s warmth to help heat and ventilate that level. The second, and more major project, was installing a solar water radiant heating system that feeds into the first floor and basement – providing ambient heat to the street level of the building.

“We used to just try to maintain our temperature during the winter with our furnace – bundle up and spot heat to stay warm while working in the store! Since January the new system has been in place, and it definitely makes a difference. Radiant heat is very different – you have to envision it working, as you don’t hear it kick on, but you definitely notice it,” comments Louise.

The comfort didn’t come without some trials – they recall several major challenges including historic building and district issues, grant applications, and a flood plane classification debacle – but in the end it appears the solar heating project will make it possible for the Whites to continue operating their business for years to come. They look at the project from a realistic viewpoint: “This was not the cheapest thing we could have done,” says Louise, “but it seemed like THE RIGHT thing to do.”

Jennifer adds: “We figured, if the Vatican can do it, we sure should be able to!”

The project might have even made a sun worshiper out of Louise.

“Once you do something like this, you can’t believe how obsessed with the sun you become,” Louise exclaims, just as the store feline stretched out on a beautiful warm hard wood floor, in a picturesque shop – just up the street from the Mississippi River.

Decorah Cleaners – Decorah
Some businesses just tend get a bad environmental rap – dry cleaning is one of them. But wait – it doesn’t have to be that way! Decorah has been retrofitted for many years to work with environmentally friendly laundering equipment and chemicals. The current owners, the Walter family – Erlin, Wanda, and Darrin – have continued operating Decorah’s only dry cleaning outfit with high hopes of making the business even more “green.”

Darrin, the eldest son of Erlin and Wanda, now handles much of the cleaner’s daily operations and would like to implement several new facets to decrease their environmental footprint and increase their bottom line.

Currently the cleaning operation uses minimal toxicity cleaning agents that are free of hazardous air pollutants to treat dry cleaning items. These agents are much more eco friendly than the typical “stoddard solvents” that have been found in dry cleaning businesses for the last several decades. They have also switched some cleaning systems and types of equipment to bring down energy consumption. But Darrin has bigger ideas for this little cleaning business.

“I’d love to see a solar panel array out on the side of our building, however,” he continues,  “it would only offset part of our energy usage.”

Decorah Cleaners is also in the planning stages of bringing even more eco-friendly laundering options to our region. But like all good ideas, they are not a reality – yet. The kind of technology that Darrin would like to install brings him to the crux that many small business owners find: it may not directly increase the business’s bottom line, but indirectly could drive more customer traffic and support due to their mission of “greening” a once not-so-green industry. With some smart business moves and the right inspiration it’s likely that getting your duds clean in Decorah will be a little easier on the environment than it used to be – and that’s an inspiring cause worth shining light on.

Rochester Landscape Artisans – Rochester & Lanesboro
Rochester Landscape Artisans is a duo of highly skilled friends who take natural materials from a particular region of land and make something incredible with them. Jason Resseman and Dana Heydt met several years ago at the University of Minnesota Waseca and forged a friendship that would become a business. Resseman started working pieces of land in his early teens through his FFA horticulture program in Northfield, Minnesota, and found a niche in life he liked. Following his dream through high school and college, he eventually went to work for traditional landscape companies of all shapes and sizes. “I’ve worked for everything from Mom and Pop landscapers to a several thousand employee company owned by Menonites,” Resseman proudly proclaims.

It was this experience – mostly in traditional landscaping – that left him pining for something else. With concrete everywhere and a “carpenter mentality” being the norm, he wanted to find a way to use his passions in a more creative way – and a way that would suit the environment better than preformed geometric shapes and heavy chemicals. So slowly Resseman and Heydt started finding jobs to show off their eco-friendly work. They focused on using natural materials and plants native to their work locations –which varied from central and southern Minnesota to Northeast Iowa and Western Wisconsin. “The key was getting away from the mass-produced and cookie cutter mentality for me,” said Resseman. “We focus on using native or indigenous materials whenever possible – things that are a bit more in tune or friendly to nature and their surroundings.”

Landscape Artisans work one-on-one with clients, surveying the area to be landscaped to figure out what will fit best and be “in tune” with the land. Often boulders of local stone are incorporated as major features in their work. In fact, Resseman and Heydt have gone as far as to become certified miners in the state of Minnesota, which allows them to enter quarries and directly access regional materials that feature unique characteristics for their projects. “It’s a safety thing really,” says Jason. “But what it actually allows us to do is go in and scout out the most appropriate and unique pieces for each individual project.”

The artistic approach at landscaping can lead to impressive results. Jason sites Japanese horticulture for its abstract lines, retro architecture, and “tea garden” aesthetics as well as a bit of Frank Lloyd Wright material usage as major influences in his pallet. But more importantly is the combination of unique elements that will still hold the natural feel of the area’s environment.

This all may seem subtle, but in a world where pre-formed landscaping materials are most often created out of Portland cement then trucked hundreds of miles to their retail destinations, the environmental and physical impacts of local materials is a major step in the right eco-friendly direction. Landscape Artisans are a great example of a traditional business that has found new and more sustainable ways to achieve breathtaking, artistic results. And after all, who doesn’t want a beautiful outdoor space that is not only easy on the eyes, but also easy on the Earth?

Decorah Bank & Trust Co., Cresco Bank & Trust Co. – Decorah & Cresco
The Decorah Bank & Trust Company was chartered by the State of Iowa in 1935 and has actively thrived as a community bank since the 60s, through three generations of the Grimstad Family. For several years now the bank has focused on becoming more environmentally sustainable both in their Decorah and Cresco Banks.

In 2003, Decorah Bank broke ground on a major building project on the corner of Water and State Streets in Downtown Decorah. In fact, they didn’t just take on a building project; they did so with the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star rating in mind. The bank was given this prestigious award in June of 2008 – three years after completing the building project – and is one of less than 3500 buildings nationwide that has been the recipient. This means that the building uses on average 35% less energy and releases 35% less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than typical structures. The building features a recyclable metal roof material, soy-based foam insulation, high efficiency lighting, occupancy-sensing lighting, automatic plumbing fixtures, recycled tile, computerized set-back heating, ventilating, and air conditioning, durable concrete (vs. oil based asphalt) parking areas, furnishings utilizing renewable materials and green manufacturing practices, and solar panels on the drive-through center that offset a portion of their energy usage. In addition, the Cresco Bank & Trust utilizes an efficient geothermal heating/cooling system that helps maximize environmental comfort in the facility while using as little resources as possible.

It is no secret to those who know second generation Decorah Bank President Larry Grimstad that he has a very personal and passionate interest in the environment and sustainability. Although it was partially his interest that set these actions in place, a passion for “green” technology, sustainability, and ecological sense is woven deeply into Decorah Bank’s philosophy of business. Their board of directors even made a resolution to address such issues this past year stating:

“The long term future of Decorah Bank & Trust, Cresco Bank & Trust and the communities they serve are dependent on environmental sustainability.

Be it resolved that Decorah Bank and Cresco Bank will take all reasonable steps toward becoming environmentally sustainable from this time forward.” – February 8, 2008

Statements like these are proof that committed businesses are really serious about environmental sustainability and are willing to be pioneers in their efforts.

The bank takes things a step further, considering sustainability in all their decisions: they choose fuel efficient vehicles, recycle a majority of their shredded used paper and they work to create paper-free solutions for reports, statements, and communications, they even make sure to buy eco-friendly cleaning solutions.

And all of these things add up, affecting both the bottom line and the health and efficiency of the staff and customers. “It’s safe to say that we’ve gotten a lot of the low hanging fruit, so to speak, but our goal is to take things even further with sustainability. We’d love to see our employees truly buy into these ideas, and we continue to share these concepts with our customers and the public,” says Joe Grimstad. “After all, the real reason we’re doing all of this is because it is the right thing to do.”

Smart Green – Decorah
SmartGreen is as much a mindset as it is an amazing energy assessment tool, created by Decorah I.T. specialist Scott Bassford. Established just over a year ago, SmartGreen represents a way to measure your exact energy usage in each circuit breaker of your home or office – and it not only measures that usage, but also analyzes it using an incredibly powerful Internet-based interface.

Originally from Maryland, Bassford ended up moving to Decorah with his wife and Des Moines native, Lisa Lantz in 2006. With a strong interest and background in Internet Technology and computer programming, he specializes in custom IT work for large organizations and educational institutions. Through his interest in computer technology, and the ever-growing need for energy usage assessment, Bassford hatched the idea for a technology that would affordably allow the everyday consumer to analyze their power usage. “Affordability is the key word here,” says Scott. “There are several other companies out there that offer ways to measure power usage to this level of detail, but none of them come close to an affordable price point, and SmartGreen does that.”

Part of what Bassford did in order to create SmartGreen Logger was to use mostly off-the-shelf parts to build his sensing units. To the every day person, this may indeed seem like rocket science, but to Scott it made sense. “The system is actually very quick to install and doesn’t require disconnecting existing wiring. All it needs is a wired or wireless Internet connection.”

The SmartGreen Logger works by magnetically measuring the amount of energy that passes through each circuit. It then reports to a central server that posts the information to a personal password-protected SmartGreen.com web page, customized for each user. From there, you can log in – just like an email account – to look at the amount of energy that a home or business is consuming on each circuit. The software, created by Bassford, is then able to plot and graph the usage, giving exact pictures of energy consumption over specific time frames.

“In one recent case, we were able to identify within just the first couple days of operating the SmartGreen system several components of a very new commercial building that were not operating efficiently. This assessment and identification of problems will potentially save the business well over a thousand dollars per year,” he says. “Things like hot water recirculation running excessively, HVAC fans that may not be set correctly, or night time set-backs for air handling, electric hot water and heat sources, or even lighting systems are easily identified by the system. One of the biggest challenges is getting businesses to realize that this service can easily pay for itself in a matter of months, depending on the efficiency of a building.”

The SmartGreen system is obviously a powerful assessment tool. The system can help to lower the immediate energy usage of a facility, but also brings awareness to power usage patterns in a home or business. “It can be an eye-opening experience to see just how much energy a single appliance can use – and the actual dollars that could be saved by changing just that one link in the chain,” explains Bassford. “We hope to be able to help as many families and businesses in the region as possible with this new technology – after all, everyone wants to save money, and helping out our environment at the same time is a win-win.”

Benji Nichols is Inspire(d) by businesses that are “doing the right thing.” Look for a series in the August/September Inspire(d) on local homes and farms that are focusing on Sustainability – and make sure to mark your calendars for “Dig IN” weekend August 21-23 in Decorah.