Florine Luhr, Buffalo Niagara Enterprise

James Bates, Dept Housing & Urban Development

Dana Bobinchek, NY League of Conservation Voters

Justin Booth, Wellness Institute

Jean Brun, Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo

Lorraine Clemente, Bflo Economic Renaissance Corp.

Mark N. Donohue, Buffalo Niagara Enterprise Intern

Drew Eszak, Erie County Environment & Planning

Gordon Fraser, Buffalo State Great Lakes Center

Laura Gang, Buffalo Niagara Partnership

Kevin Georger, M&T Bank

Leigh Georger, Buffalo Niagara Partnership Intern

Dick Grainger, Solar Splash

Linda Hardie, Erie County Clean Cities Program

Garner Holdsworth, Integument Corporation

Mike Lodick, SEER Buffalo

Randi Mail, Green Gold’s Project Coordinator

Bill Nowak, Legislative Staff Manager, Common Council

James W. Pitts, Common Council/Green Gold President

Deanna Rizzo, Zippy Delivery

Michael Rizzo, Zippy Delivery

Chris Sanson, Erie County Environment & Planning

Suzanne Spinks, Alternative Transportation for Buffalo

Darryl Tills, Quality 1^st Appliance Center

Elizabeth Vejins, NY League of Conservation Voters

Winners, participants and honorable mentions for this year’s essay contest were awarded at the May 29^th, Common Council meeting. The question was: Discuss new polices that the City of Buffalo can adopt to encourage sustainable practices in government, business and industry. Analyze your policy’s effect on society, culture and the urban and natural environment. 1^st and 2^nd place winners were Heather Wilson and Christina Pasternak, respectively, both seniors from City Honors. Honorable mentions were David Ruperti of the Buffalo School of Visual and Performing Arts and Isaiah Choczynski of City Honors.

Chris Sansone read Christina Pasternak’ s essay at the meeting’s commencement, which focused on sustainability in schools. Christina called for the Buffalo Schools rehab and new construction project to fully integrate green design building principles, make school facilities accessible to the public and to emphasize sustainability in school curriculum.

Heather Wilson integrated many different strategies for sustainability in her essay. Issues stressed included increasing the residential population, improving ridership in mass transit, creating low-maintenance/high performance buildings, utilizing existing infrastructure and limiting construction of new, giving tax exemptions to locally-owned businesses and establishing more community spaces and parks to elevate socialization and an overall sense of community.

Bill Nowak shared the exciting allocation by the Common Council of $150,000 to establish an Office of Sustainability within the City of Buffalo. As an initiative of Green Gold, the office’s goal is to improve the quality of life in the City of Buffalo by providing a framework for decision-making that integrates sustainability principles into our culture. The initial tasks of the office will be to establish a network of city staff to educate and initiate a dialogue on sustainability, establish Guiding Principles to be adopted by the Council and the administration, and to audit current policies and form new policy to streamline sustainability. For further details on the proposal contact Randi Mail, 851.5779.

The Common Council also allocated $100,000 for the remediation/redevelopment of the Buffalo Forge facility at 490 Broadway. Green Gold plans to convert this 14-acre facility into an Eco-Industrial Park, featuring an incubator for environmental technology companies.

Green Gold is proud to have confirmed that Paul Hawken, business leader, environmentalist, and author known as one of the leading architects and proponents of corporate reform with respect to ecological practices will be speaking on October 12, 2001 as part of the Learning Sustainability Forum. Hawken’s writings and work have caused CEOs to transform their internal corporate culture and business philosophy towards environmental restoration.

Randi Mail indicated that she would like to start a summer reading group to explore Hawken’s writings and to allow Green Gold businesses interested in engaging his cutting-edge concepts regarding business and sustainability and in taking the Sustainable Business Challenge to be unveiled at the Expo. To get involved contact Randi @ 851.5779.

Garner Holdsworth presented on his company’s environmentally friendly applique used primarily as a replacement for paint on aircrafts. The technology uses fluoropolymers, which yield high performance and chemical resistance as a replacement of other traditional coatings. Fluoropolymers benefits include: easy application, resistant to any temperature, no VOCs or hazardous substances, eliminates need for solvents and disposal of hazardous waste. The material is recyclable, can be melted down and reused. Fluorine gas however, is a byproduct of incineration. Mr. Holdsworth stressed that with a new welding process, that can be eliminated.

Integument partnered with UB to develop this superior technology that views 3M as its only competitor. Currently, Integument’s R&D facility is based in California and they hope to open another facility in WNY. Mr. Holdsworth noted that they are looking for governmental and investment leaders to help their expansion interests. For more info call 716.873.1199

Mike Rizzo, President of Wet Buffalo Land & Water Tours introduced his latest business venture, Zippy Delivery – a locally owned and operated bike messenger service serving downtown Buffalo. Started in February 2001, Zippy Delivery guarantees fast, reliable and eco-friendly service. Standard delivery time is 30 minutes (usually less), half the time of what car and van delivery services can promise.

Zippy’s manageably sized customer base allows accommodation for specialized service requests. Messengers can handle packages up to ~25lbs, as they are equipped with a back rack and carry bags. Architectural, law and accounting firms are regular customers and Zippy hopes to develop their governmental base.

Dick Grainger informed Green Gold of this exciting event scheduled to take place in Buffalo June 20-24. Solar Splash is the World Championship of Solar/Electric boating. It is an international intercollegiate competition, being sponsored by the City of Buffalo, Erie County, WNY Sustainable Energy Association, the Buffalo Museum of Science, Erie County Environmental Management Commission, Greater Buffalo Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Buffalo Yacht Club, and ASME Solar Energy/Petroleum Divisions.