Urban Scale Sustainability Initiatives Gain Traction in Boston
Newmarket Eco-Industrial Zone Project
Businesses and manufacturers throughout Boston are implementing broad sustainability measures to both green their facilities and reduce energy operating costs. While most may not have the capital to design and build a new energy efficient LEED certified building, many with strong sustainability goals have begun deploying energy efficiency improvements in fleet operations, lighting, water conservation, pollution prevention, and hvac and compressor equipment for refrigeration units.
Katsiroubas Bros., a wholesale produce distributor in the Newmarket District recently identified a series of solutions to reduce the electrical demands of their operation by replacing all of the lights to lower wattage and higher output which reduced usage by 92,972 kilowatts annually with a savings of $13,640.00 projected per year. By increasing insulation levels in their refrigerated trucks and installing idle-free systems that shut off automatically after 15 minutes their entire fleet has reduced fuel usage considerably. Katsiroubas Bros. has also increased their regional and local purchasing of produce from the Pioneer Valley Association, a group of 40 local farmers, while their green management team has begun tracking improvements on water, energy and trash usage throughout the entire business.
Here’s a link to Katsiroubos Bros. improvements-
[1] http://www.katsiroubasproduce.com/pdf/KATS_Green_Initiatives_2.pdf
Over the next six months the BRA’s Newmarket Eco- Industrial Zone Project funded through an EPA Sustainable Skyline’s grant will explore proven strategies for area businesses to increase building energy efficiency and facilitate the adoption of district-scale energy solutions including; combined heat and power (CHP), geothermal heating and biomass. Anti-idyling and plug-in solutions will be explored for the business district to reduce emissions from truck fleets, while cool and green roof solutions for targeted shading from street trees and awnings will be adopted to reduce urban heat islands. Stormwater management and asphalt coverage data will be compiled to identify district-wide strategies to reduce discharges into Fort Point Channel.
The creation of an eco-industrial zone will be a critical step in implementing district-scale synergies between businesses which will reduce their operating costs and make them more competitive as a sustainable model of economic growth for the city of the future.
The Eco- Industrial Park model was first implemented in the Kalundborg Eco-Industrial Park in Denmark where local manufacturers share resources through industrial symbiosis. At the heart of the project is a coal fired power plant which provides excess heat to 3500 homes, as well as a local fish farm whose waste sludge is then sold as fertilizer. By-products from the power plant scrubbers are used for a local gypsum manufacturer and the utilization of the excess heat prevents it from being discharged into the local fjord. Additionally other waste materials including fly-ash from the power plant are used in road construction and cement production.
More updates on this groundbreaking project to come…
read moreWorking Group Tackles Incubator Challenge
On Tuesday, September 7, we met with CleanTech industry leaders, real estate professionals, and architects at the Institute for Human Centered Design to discuss the development of a CleanTech Incubator in the Innovation District.
Brent Larlee discusses incubator branding
Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino called upon the BRA’s GreenTech initiative to create a cleantech incubator, following a meeting with a dozen cleantech CEOs in June. The City of Boston Cleantech Incubator is dedicated to accelerating the development and commercialization of Cleantech technologies, fostering innovation and strengthening job creation capacity within the industry, while amplifying the profile and brand of Cleantech in Boston.
Jim Hunt, the Mayor’s Energy and Environmental Services Cabinet Chief who participated in the discussion noted that “the mission behind the incubator dovetails nicely with the city’s sustainability and economic development goals.”
Often considered a component of successful industry cluster development strategies, incubators provide space for start-ups to grow, thrive, prototype, and perfect product and service designs by offering low cost (in some cases free) space in combination with a mix of additional features including access to professional services, lab space, or funding. Harder to quantify, but often linked with incubators, are the opportunities and environment they provide for creative interaction and cross pollination between occupants and even across disciplines. Incubator sponsors (governmental, academic, private sector) are motivated by the potential for industry specific localized economic development, or “clustering” (incubator “graduates” become attached and find space nearby), branding, and, in some cases equity.
Galen Nelson, Greentech Business Manager at the BRA, who has been tasked with spearheading development of the incubator, added “the Boston cleantech incubator will be part of a growing network of similar incubators state wide and complement an array of policy and program initiatives at the City level that boost market conditions for cleantech company growth.”
Tuesday’s discussion focused on the competitive advantages incubators offer cleantech startup companies, incubator management, function and ancillary service options, and possible strategic partnerships and funding opportunities. The group also struggled with the potential breadth of a cleantech incubator acknowledging that the industry has several diverse sectors, anchored by clean energy, that draw on multiple disciplines and require an array of facilities, equipment, and space configurations.
Participants included:
Dave Bergeron – T3 Advisors
Chris Bevacqua – General Electric
Jim Bowen – Massachusetts Clean Energy Center
Eric Graham – Fraunhofer Institute Center for Sustainable Energy
Brent Larlee – Waihaka Strategies
Michael LeBlanc – Utile, Inc.
Jhana Senxian – Sustainability Guild
Matthew Silver – IntAct Labs
David Silverman – map-lab,Inc.
Deb Stevens – Stevens Group
Steve Taub – General Electric
BRA/City Staff
Jim Hunt, Chief, Energy and Environmental Services, City of Boston
Galen Nelson, GreenTech Business Manager, Boston Redevelopment Authority
Lisa Hemmerle, Economic Initiatives, Boston Redevelopment Authority
Samantha Hammar, Economic Initiatives, Boston Redevelopment Authority
Dr. Hans-Peter Meister, Wilson Rickerson, and Neil Veilleux of Meister Consulting Group generously provided moderation services to the group.
Over the next 3 months, the group will reach consensus on a vision for the incubator and begin to seek strategic partners and funders. Please stay tuned and contact Galen Nelson if you want to get involved.
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