WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2001

Firms find going green can pay off
Recycling, waste management make economic good sense

By Geoff Kirbyson

It's becoming profitable to be green.

A growing number of Manitoba businesses have adopted environmentally friendly purchasing and operating procedures to not only satisfy their ecological goals, but their financial ones as well.

Jane Maslowski, chair of the Manitoba Green Procurement Network, said well-developed green plans can lead to cost reductions and increased market share.

The Fairmont Winnipeg hotel, for example, saves between $40,000 and $50,000 each year through its efforts, which include reducing wasted paper, recycling whenever possible and retrofitting its air conditioning system.
All told, the Fairmont has diverted 7,000 tonnes of garbage in the last five years, the hotel's general manager Brigitte Fritz said.

"Having a green plan is an absolute no-brainer. It's common sense, it's good for the environment and it's good for the pocketbook of responsible people as well," she said in an interview.

In the last year, the Fairmont has saved more than 62,000 pages of paper, donated 1,350 pounds of amenities to local shelters, donated more than 450 kilograms of food to Winnipeg Harvest and recycled nearly 2,500 kilograms of pop cans.
At least a quarter of the savings come from lower garbage-hauling costs, Fritz said.

Maslowski said arguably the biggest development in the push towards more widespread concern for the environment it's the Manitoba Sustainable Development Act. The legislation, passed in 1997, requires government departments and publicly funded organizations to apply sustainable development principles and organizational practices.

Brett Eckstein, policy analyst with the pollution prevention branch of Manitoba Conservation, said over the next few months, the government will practise what it preaches by implementing procedures to buy environmentally friendly products, make sure its building are heated and cooled in a sustainable way, and require civil servants to stay in "green" hotels.

"Education is the most important aspect. We want to inform people who make purchasing decisions that they have choices to make. They can look at buying products that are environmentally friendly and lead to greater sustainability for the province," he said.

For its efforts, the Fairmont was recently awarded a four-leaf rating (out of five leafs) from the Hotel Association of Canada. In a release, the HAC said the rating means "a hotel has shown national industry leadership in terms of environmental performance for both hotel management and facilities."

With the Fairmont's recent launch of Eco Meet, she said the hotel will likely realize even more similar-minded customers. The concept will see in-room recycling bins, options for guests to replace sheets and towels on a less-than-daily basis, energy efficient lighting, biodegradable soap and water-conserving shower heads.

Fritz credited many of the hotel's past and future saving to the Fairmont's Green Team, a group of 11 volunteers from all departments who meet once a month to discuss new ways to reduce, reuse and recycle.

Maslowski said there are many groups that have policies to work with other companies or groups who are environmentally friendly and will make such businesses their first choice supplier.

She noted that environmentally friendly habits can lead to business opportunities as well. One example is XPotential Products Inc., a recycler of non-metal parts of cars headed for the car shredder. It takes seat cushions, dashboards and carpeting and mixes it with post-consumer and post-industrial plastics to make multi-purpose posts and parking curbs.

After starting to develop its technology in 1990 and building a 12,000-square-foot pilot plant in Regina four years later, XPotential opened up it 27,000-square-foot plant in Winnipeg last summer.

James Zonneveld, the company's vice-president, said production will soon be virtually doubled to keep up with growing demand for its products. He added while he has a long history of working in the recycling industry, there's more to the business than environmentally friendly principles.

"The idea is to make money and expand, we're not shy about that. There is an economic case for these plants. Car-shredding operations avoid disposal fees rather than dumping and we produce a product and sell it for a price," he said.

Green with profits

Here are a few companies which have built upon their environmentally friendly principles and created successful businesses.

New World Technologies: This 65-person operation remanufactures laser printer cartridges and rebuilds them back to their original specifications. Last year it rebuilt some 150,000 cartridges in its 30,000-square-foot building. Some of the firm's clients include Manitoba Hydro, Centra Gas and the City of Winnipeg.

Enviro West Inc.: This firm, which has operations in both Winnipeg and Edmonton, takes care of automotive waste, including recycling antifreeze, used oil, oil filters and fuel. It then turns it into industrial burner fuel. The company employs 26 people, including 14 in Winnipeg.

Reliable Tire Recycling: The company, which has 20 employees, picks up scrap tires at landfills and tire dealerships throughout Manitoba and brings them back to its yard in Winnipeg to be shredded in two-inch chips or rough shred. The chips are used for civil engineering projects, building temporary roads, and blasting mats used to prevent flying rock when detonating dynamite.

XPotential Products Inc.: This 35-employee firm recycles all non-metal parts of cars headed for the car shredder. It mixes seat cushions, dashboards and carpeting with post-consumer and post-industrial plastics to make multi-purpose posts and parking curbs. It has a new 27,000-square-foot facility in Winnipeg and another smaller one in Regina.

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