Did you take part in Daylight Hour 2017? This year, Great Forest joined clients and more than 820 offices around the world, turning off the lights in about 100 million square feet of office space, saving enough energy to power 9,400… Continue Reading...
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21 Jun 2017
Great Forest attended the Waste Expo in New Orleans in May to discuss trends with industry experts and get a peek into new innovations in the field. The event drew over 12,000 participants and 620 exhibitors. Here is our quick… Continue Reading...
21 Jun 2017
This could be the summer of reckoning. Americans just learned that the U.S. is turning its back on the Paris Agreement. With that at the back of our minds, Great Forest team members from across the country gathered recently in Pennsylvania to… Continue Reading...
13 Jun 2017
NYC hotels are being fined. Now help is on its way. Join us for the upcoming HANYC Waste Management Seminar on June 29, organized by the Hotel Association of NYC with support from Great Forest. The event was organized quickly… Continue Reading...
12 Jun 2017
We are thrilled to receive the Daylight Hour 2017 “Gear Head” award for best monitoring and analysis, as documented in our case study, which is also featured at the Building Energy Exchange. Thanks to the creative folks behind the annual Daylight… Continue Reading...
5 May 2017
The music will go on, at least for two baby grand pianos past their prime. The instruments came from the Grand Ballroom of the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. Rather than disposing of the old pianos, the hotel worked with Great… Continue Reading...
5 May 2017
Great Forest will be in New Orleans for the WasteExpo, a key annual gathering of waste industry experts. If you are attending, look for us. We will be meeting with vendors and talking to industry insiders to keep you in the… Continue Reading...
4 May 2017
Read the press release See the case study for details After a successful pilot, Great Forest launched an innovative program in the Mid-Atlantic region to take waste management to the next level. Now we are proud to reveal the results. Working with… Continue Reading...
5 Apr 2017
Great Forest founder Richard Fuller’s nonprofit Pure Earth has partnered with supermodel Molly Bair and over 20 leading jewelry designers to curate a special collection of jewelry crafted using recycled, Fairtrade, or mercury-free gold for auction. “Consumers have probably… Continue Reading...
5 Apr 2017
This year, Earth Hour fell on a weekend! Nevertheless, we heard from clients around the country who went dark for at least an hour. The action is a great reminder, as we approach Earth Day, that we all need to renew… Continue Reading...
3 Apr 2017
Accurate metrics is key to a successful waste and recycling program. It helps you evaluate the effectiveness of your efforts, and determine if changes are needed. The numbers also inform your overall sustainability reporting and affect your goals. But what… Continue Reading...
3 Apr 2017
With regulations targeting organics on the rise nationwide, a new online resource backed by the USDA, EPA, and other partners, aims to gather relevant material together in one place to make it easier for businesses and organizations looking for information and… Continue Reading...
7 Mar 2017
No matter where your business is located across the country, staying on top of new and updated regulations is key to avoiding fines, which can add up. Take note of the date a law goes into effect, and the date… Continue Reading...
7 Mar 2017
In NYC, inspectors are currently out in force issuing fines for non-compliance of the city’s new organics law, and gearing up to enforce updated waste and recycling rules in a few months. NYC hotels seem to be bearing the brunt of… Continue Reading...
27 Feb 2017
ORGANICS New rules began enforcement Jan. 2017. Fines are being issued now. The new business organics rule applies to hotels and businesses with food and beverage operations. Law includes hotels over 150 rooms with any size back-of-house food preparation and delivered… Continue Reading...
31 Jan 2017
The beginning of whole new year is a great time to review your sustainability strategy, and set the tone for the months ahead. What should you do? 1) Check on new and upcoming regulations Ensure you are in compliance to avoid… Continue Reading...
19 Jan 2017
Attention all NYC businesses. New waste and recycling regulations went into effect last year. We are now in the warning period. The warning period for the new organics rule just ended. Enforcement begins Jan. 2017. Are you ready? Learn more: Q&A On… Continue Reading...
21 Dec 2016
CONGRATULATIONS ON ANOTHER GREAT YEAR 2016 has been such an eventful year. What did we all accomplish together? Below is a short list of highlights. Happy holidays from the entire Great Forest team. The EPA incorporated Great Forest’s volume to weight (VTW)… Continue Reading...
19 Dec 2016
The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) recently incorporated Great Forest’s volume to weight (VTW) data into their updated industry standard for calculating waste and recycling weights from volume. These conversions can now be used across all industries to help standardize how waste and… Continue Reading...
12 Dec 2016
Register now for Innovation in Waste Management, hosted by the NYASG. Great Forest CEO Ross Guberman will join experts from Rubicon Global, Terracycle and others to discuss what’s next in waste management and recycling. They will offer insights on “..the current… Continue Reading...
28 Nov 2016
During this season of giving and thanks, we thought it might be helpful to put all our advice on donating for reuse into a handy guide. Each year, over 100 million tons of material end up in landfills. This includes… Continue Reading...
28 Nov 2016
What do you do if you need to get rid of 100 gallons of furniture polish and clear out over 400 beds? While many businesses would simply pay to get the items hauled away, often to the landfill, the Fairmont Hotel… Continue Reading...
22 Nov 2016
Congratulations! Winners of the 2016 HANYC Sustainability Awards were revealed in New York City on November 14, 2016 during HX: The Hotel Experience 2016, North America’s largest hospitality industry trade event. Presented by the Hotel Association of New York City,… Continue Reading...
15 Nov 2016
America Recycles Day is November 15. It is the one day to remind yourself and everyone around you about the importance of recycling. NEED HELP? Here are 20 TIPS to get you started. Following this list of 20 tips will… Continue Reading...
10 Nov 2016
When paper is shredded AND then recycled, you are not only handling your confidential/sensitive documents corrrectly, but you are also being environmentally friendly. You are reducing the demand for lumber, water and energy required to produce new paper. For secure… Continue Reading...
26 Oct 2016
Oct 2016–NYC’s expanded energy efficiency laws will now cover more buildings than before. An additional 10,000 properties to be more precise, covering nearly 350 million square feet. Chances are that your NYC building, portfolio of buildings, or your tenants WILL BE AFFECTED by these newest changes… Continue Reading...
26 Oct 2016
This blog post is from Great Forest sustainability research intern Kathleen Emerson, a recent graduate from Hunter College holding a B.A. in Environmental Studies: Policy and Management. She is a zero waste enthusiast who is actively mindful of reducing consumption and… Continue Reading...
26 Oct 2016
A big thank you to Mike Doherty, President/CEO of Building Maintenance Services; Ralph Scopo from Classic, the team from Royal Waste, and all the other industry folks who turned out in force to support this year’s Pure Earth golf benefit. As many… Continue Reading...
24 Oct 2016
October 31, 2016 is the last day to register LEED® projects under LEED 2009 rating systems. After that date, all new LEED projects will transition to using LEED v4. Register at LEED online with your project details, payment and any forms to show you… Continue Reading...
7 Oct 2016
Read the full story, which first appeared in Green Lodging News. The results of the New York City Mayor’s Zero Waste Challenge were recently revealed, with The Peninsula New York emerging tops in the hotel category. The Peninsula was able to… Continue Reading...
30 Sep 2016
“Great Forest has been instrumental in helping us minimize trash and maximize recycling and composting at our large-scale festivals,” said Estelle Silberman, event manager, Stone Barns Center For Food And Agriculture. Read the full testimonial. And we are looking… Continue Reading...
23 Sep 2016
Have you seen our new recycling stickers? They have been so popular that we have had to re-stock them already. And that is good news because these standardized recycling bin stickers/labels have super powers… well, sort of. What can they… Continue Reading...
23 Sep 2016
This post is by James Bernard in Great Forest’s San Francisco office. Recently, I was reminded of the three Rs of waste diversion—Reduce, Reuse, Recycle—set to music by mellow musician Jack Johnson as a children’s song. Johnson’s deceptively simple “3 R song,”… Continue Reading...
23 Sep 2016
Great Forest is a proud supporter of Pure Earth, a nonprofit that works to clean up some of the world’s worst polluted communities. Our blog features regular stories about their work is Making A Difference. Recycling is a great thing. But it… Continue Reading...
31 Aug 2016
Our new recycling stickers have arrived! These new labels have been proven to increase recycling, and are part of what has been called the “#1 solution to fix recycling.” Great Forest is proud to be working with the nonprofit Recycle… Continue Reading...
30 Aug 2016
NYC businesses should take note of new/updated rules covering organics, and waste and recycling: New organics rules went into effect July 19, 2016. See the official notice for details. Rules enforced Jan 2017. New waste and recycling rules went into effect… Continue Reading...
30 Aug 2016
For the first time, data submitted by some of the NYC’s biggest buildings under Local Law 84 (benchmarking) and Local Law 87 (auditing) have been analyzed together to give a clear picture not only of the amount of energy and water… Continue Reading...
30 Aug 2016
EPA’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager has introduced a new feature to track “Waste and Materials” in addition to Energy and Water, in an effort to streamline sustainability data. 29 types of materials can be tracked (eg: Trash, Mixed Recycling, Paper,… Continue Reading...
30 Aug 2016
Aug 2016 — Businesses in Arlington, VA, should be on the lookout for a notice from the County’s Department of Environmental Services, which details changes to the recycling code. Note that Arlington businesses may be inspected by the County for compliance. An… Continue Reading...
28 Jul 2016
Earlier this year, the Mayor challenged New York businesses to go zero waste. The results are in. Great Forest’s NYC clients are among the top performers, with the Peninsula New York leading the way in the “hotel” category. The challenge attracted… Continue Reading...
25 Jul 2016
The search is on again. Apply now for the 2016 HANYC Sustainability Awards from the Hotel Association of NYC. The HANYC awards identify and honor New York City hotels that are leaders in environmentally friendly lodging practices and socially responsible initiatives.… Continue Reading...
25 Jul 2016
Congratulations to First Potomac Realty Trust for their double wins at the recent 2016 TOBY (The Outstanding Building of the Year) Awards! Not only was First Potomac named the grand winner, taking the big prize of the night for their… Continue Reading...
27 Jun 2016
Great Forest was one of over 650 offices worldwide that participated in the 2016 Daylight Hour movement on June 17. The fun event, designed to encourage the use of daylight instead of electricity when possible, reached over 10 million people on social media,… Continue Reading...
17 Jun 2016
At noon today, flip the switch to join the movement. We challenge everyone to work by daylight for just one hour. Then use this calculator to see how much energy and money you saved today. You can also estimate what you… Continue Reading...
24 May 2016
It is that time of the year again. Over the past few weeks, Great Forest has helped clients do a bit of spring cleaning. But instead of treating the unwanted items as trash, we found them all new homes–in a school, an… Continue Reading...
24 May 2016
As noted in this blog a few months ago, with e-waste rules firmly on the books across the country, the trend now seems to be towards greater enforcement, with bigger, multi-million dollar fines being levied. Why? Perhaps because a new investigative report… Continue Reading...
24 May 2016
Great Forest has installed new composting programs in a number of buildings in Washington D.C. that is making a difference in more ways than one. Launched earlier this year, the program at the U.S. Department of Transportation is already diverting approximately 5… Continue Reading...
24 May 2016
San Francisco is proposing the most extensive ban on Styrofoam in the country, building on its decade-old ban on most foam food containers. While some applaud the move, others are pushing for recycling the foam. Read more. NYC Approves Bag Fee.… Continue Reading...
24 May 2016
UPDATE: Please note that the upcoming Hospitality Roundtable on July 27 has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. We apologize for any inconvenience. We will work with those who have already bought tickets for a refund. If you have any questions,… Continue Reading...