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WEI Update Archives

Table Of Contents

A quarterly newsletter of WEI’S Network of Members and Partners

January 1999

Wisconsin Environmental Initiative Convenes
Animal Agriculture and Wisconsin’s Future

Conference series goal is to reach consensus on how to grow the industry while protecting Wisconsin’s environment and quality of rural life

Animal Agriculture and Wisconsin’s Future, a conference held on Wednesday, December 16, 1998, in Wausau, Wisconsin, provided an important opportunity for stakeholders to explore the impact that animal agriculture has on our state’s environment, rural communities and economy. It was the kick-off event to a series of discussions on the subject which will culminate in producing consensus-based recommendations for profitable livestock farming that preserves the environment.

WEI facilitated this objective look at issues related to animal agriculture with an emphasis on livestock expansion. The December 16th conference and subsequent sessions will examine the economic and environmental impacts of expansion and help participants gain a clearer understanding of each others concerns about expansion. Other topics addressed at the conference included: changing farming practices and economic challenges of change, obtaining local credit and contracting locally for feed and other commodities, access to and siting of processing facilities, farm ownership and siting of animal facilities, addressing social conflicts and improving environmental performance with new practices.

"Wisconsin’s environment and livestock farming community can prosper together," said John Imes, Executive Director of WEI. "By learning together and producing workable solutions, we can avoid the serious environmental problems and conflicts experienced in other states. This program will foster outcomes which promote a profitable and sustainable livestock farming community, while preserving and protecting Wisconsin’s environment."

In addition to livestock farmers and processors, Animal Agriculture and Wisconsin’s Future participants included Ben Brancel, Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection; Jim Kurtz, Chief Legal Councel, Department of Natural Resources; Elton Aberle, Dean, College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, UW-Madison; Larry Swain, Community Development Specialist, UW-River Falls and Mike Krutza, President, Farm Credit Services, Wausau.

Discussions continue in early 1999 when Work Groups from throughout Wisconsin analyze the findings from Animal Agriculture and Wisconsin’s Future and produce recommendations that will be published and distributed to stakeholders to create programs and policies that protect Wisconsin’s environment and livestock farming community.

WEI is presenting the Animal Agriculture and Wisconsin’s Future series with grant support from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. The series Steering Committee includes: Ron Caldwell, Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection; George Crave, Crave Brothers & Wieckert Dairy Farm; Margaret Krome, Michael Fields Agricultural Institute; Jim Kurtz, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources; Fred Madison, Soil Science Department, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Ron Niemann, Farmer, Prairie Oak Farm; Adam Payne, Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Association; Dan Poulson, Wisconsin Farm Bureau; Steve Pinnow, Pinn-Oak Ridge Farm, Wisconsin Pork Producers; Bill Wenzel, Wisconsin Rural Development Center.

Director’s View

Greetings,

We talk a lot about "doing well by doing good" around here. I think you’ll agree it’s a compelling expression - it suggests that businesses, builders, farmers, developers and citizens can do well by doing good for Wisconsin’s environment. I don’t know anyone uninterested in that concept. The staff and Board of Directors retreated for a day last September at the beautiful River Wildlife Lodge in Kohler, Wisconsin, and used those ideas as key principles as we planned for the future of WEI.

But before we talked about our future, we reviewed our past. WEI has come a long way in its three year history. Our mission is clear, our programs in Business and the Environment, Wisconsin Green Building Alliance, and Agriculture and Land Use are strong, and our membership is growing and benefiting from the resources WEI provides. We end 1998 financially healthy and staffed with a talented and dedicated group of professionals.

Actually, there is nothing futuristic about "doing well by doing good"; it’s happening right now. Since late 1997 WEI has provided programs and resources related to competitive advantage through environmental management to business leaders throughout Wisconsin. Most likely you’ve read about companies that have reaped huge rewards from this approach. The idea is tried and true - the wave of the present.

In 1999, WEI will expand its "doing well by doing good" offerings to include conferences, roundtables, workshops, and events that provide value-added benefits for corporations and small businesses, state and local government leaders, farmers, developers and citizens. WEI is also leading a new initiative to increase market use of and demand for green and energy efficient building practices for residential construction. The Green Built Home program will be highlighted during the 1999 Madison Parade of Homes which will feature more than 20 homes that were "built green" and will educate over 60,000 home buyers about green built products and processes.

Our future includes innovative educational activities that can help the most eco-effective WEI members win and recognizing, promoting and celebrating those businesses and citizens that are "doing well by doing good" by helping them to gain the positive market distinction they deserve. WEI will also be partnering with regional and national organizations like Business for Social Responsibility and the Sustainable Business Forum to bring the very best information and mentoring opportunities to our members and adding value for every individual, organization or business that comes to WEI.

Our very best wishes to you for a prosperous and eco-effective new year.

John Imes
Executive Director

In brief…

WEI program Wisconsin Green Building Alliance receives $50,000 from Recycling Market Development Board

The source for green building education and information, the Wisconsin Green Building Aliance (WGBA), received a $50,000 grant from the Recycling Market Development Board. The grant will support WGBA’s mission of facilitating and promoting the development and use of ecologically sustainable materials and practices within Wisconsin’s built environment.

WEI launches website for services and information on business and the environment, green building and land use.

Looking for recycled glass tiles for your home? How about the latest ideas on profit-driven environmental management? Or maybe you want to learn more about WEI’s unique mission and approach. All of this information is in one easy spot - our new website at: www.wi-ei.org

"WEI’s website offers a one-stop shop of value-added resources for business and government leaders, builders, and citizens interested in "doing well by doing good" for Wisconsin’s environment," said John Imes, WEI Executive Director. "We believe that the environment and economy can prosper together - we’re excited to have another outlet to advance this philosophy."

The site, developed pro bono by Benefactor Member Barr Engineering Company, provides information on current WEI activities as well as summaries, conference reports and other information from past events. In addition, a host of other related resources are accessible from the site including regional partners in business and the environment efforts, and national organizations and information. For those wanting to learn more about WEI, the site provides detailed information on: WEI’s mission, its programming focus on Business and the Environment, the Wisconsin Green Building Alliance, and Agriculture and Land Use, a list of Board, Staff and membership and information on how to join.

WEI Brings National Leaders to Wisconsin for Environmental Management Excellence Series

WEI’s Business and the Environment program track got off to a great start with the five-part 1998 Environmental Management Excellence series that ran from April to December, 1998. The series featured environmental management leaders from across the country for sessions on profit-driven environmental management. The series kicked-off on April 2, 1998, in Milwaukee with internationally renowned architect and designer William McDonough.

Environmental Strategy: Using Environmental Management as a Business Lever, the first half day session held on June 11, 1998, was lead by Dr. Joseph Fiksel (Senior Director of Life Cycle Management Group, Battelle), Paul Paydos (Vice President of Technical Services, Guilford of Maine) and John Stein (Director of Strategic Environmental Initiatives, Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc.). Communicating the Business Value of Environmental Management

on September 8, 1998, was lead by Ronald E. Meissen, Senior Director of Engineering, Corporate EH & S, Baster International, Inc. and David Mayer, Director of Pollution Prevention & Environmental Management, Georgia-Pacific Corporation. Building an Environmental Education Program on November 12, 1998, featured Cynthia Axness, Manager, Auditing & Environmental Services, Northern States Power Company and Grant Esler, Manager, Training and Education for Health, Safety and Environment, Eastman Kodak Company. The final session in the series, Developing an Environmental Management Information System was held on December 10, 1998, led by Amy Carlson, Director, Environmental Management Information Section, Black & Veatch LLP and Brian Borofka, Senior Strategist, Wisconsin Electric Power Company.

To receive a copy of the Implementing Profit-Driven Environmental Management Conference Summary report or to participate in planning the 1999 EME series contact Karl Bryan by email at kbryan@wi-ei.org  or call (608)280-0360.

Conservationists and Developers Discuss Current Challenges and Possible Solutions for Shoreland Development

WEI presented Shoreland Development in Wisconsin: Balancing a Healthy Economy with a Healthy Environment on October 7, 1998, in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, bringing together over a hundred conservationists, developers, representatives from lake and other associations, and local, county and state government personnel.

The goals of the conference were to engage participants in meaningful and productive dialogue on shoreland development issues and develop plans for further examination and cooperation. The conference began with an informative keynote address by Robert Korth, Lake Specialist with the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point Extension, that underscored the urgent need for orderly development. Korth provided a thought-provoking historical framework from which to view development and then provided current data on the rate of development and the corresponding deterioration in the condition of vegetation and wildlife on many Wisconsin lakes.

Panel discussions on the economic and environmental impacts of development were lead by Ruth Goetz, Dept. of Tourism, Mary Thompson, Northwoods Realtors Assoc., Dave Marcouiller, UW Dept. of Urban & Regional Planning, Mike Meyer, WI DNR, Fred Rozumolski, Barr Engineering, Dean Premo, White Water Associates, Jim Wise, Wisconsin Stewardship Network, Jerry Deschane, Wisconsin Builders Assoc., Karen Pavilcek, Edina Realty, Becky Frisch, Langlade County Land Records and Regulations, Peter Peshek, DeWitt, Ross & Stevens and Bill Smith, WI DNR - Northern Region.

Roundtable discussions provided the opportunity to discuss these interrelated economic and environmental in-depth and share different perspectives. Despite differences, there was considerable agreement on many points including the need for a balance between the economic importance of tourism and development and the environmental impact of developing finite resources.

Participants also agreed that more research and information is needed to determine what that balance is and how development impacts lakes and communities in the short and long run.

Many ideas to encourage responsible development were offered including demonstration projects, joint efforts between conservation and zoning, creating incentives for undeveloped property such as conservation easements, deed restrictions, purchase of development rights and supporting the development and activities of lake associations. Participants agreed that more education is needed to communicate why environmentally responsible development is important and learn how "to do it." Peer-to-peer education and role modeling by lake associations and other organizations was suggested as an effective way to share that information and further understanding of the link between development and environmental degradation.

Attendees also discussed the need for builders and realtors to be proactive in educating customers about responsible development and promoting the benefits of lower impact development, noting that this approach would not undercut profitability. Selling an entire lake ecosystem as an asset of property, conservation subdivisions, cluster development and increasing green space and set backs, were suggested as realistic low impact ideas developers could use to continue profitable development.

As the day progressed a vision of what orderly development looks like began to take shape. More education, sensitivity to urgent environmental concerns and openness to change were cited as vital factors to realize that vision. A few of the suggestions offered by participants for orderly development were: a system of trade-offs where non-conforming additions are mitigated by preserve areas, developer imposed restrictions and/or condo restrictions enforced by owners - not government, vegetative removal restrictions, and minimal or no visual impact on the shoreland.

For the most part the group agreed that regulation is not the best way to encourage these practices, although new regulations along with better enforcement would be an improvement over the existing process. Current regulatory activity was criticized as outdated, weak and poorly enforced, costly and (the permitting process) difficult. There is also the perception that compliance is costly.

Participants thought positive recognition of alternate development practices, peer education and advocacy, increased local decision-making and economic incentives were superior ways to promote orderly development.

Conference sponsors included the Wisconsin Timber Associates, Wisconsin Association of Lakes, Wisconsin County Code Administrators, Wisconsin Builders Association and the Wisconsin Out-of-State Land Owners Association. To receive a copy of the Conference Summary report contact WEI (608)280-0360.

New partnership creates Green Built Home - a program to promote and certify "green" homes

Homes to be featured in the 1999 Madison Area Parade of Homes

WEI, the Madison Area Builders Association, Wisconsin Green Building Alliance, Madison Gas & Electric, Energy Center of Wisconsin and Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corportion are working together on Green Built Home - a program that reviews and certifies "green" homes that meet sustainable building and energy standards.

"Green Built Home will be a great way to recognize builders who implement "green" building practices and let the public know that these types of homes are available and affordable," said Jennifer Follstad, WGBA Interim Program Director. "As an industry-led voluntary program, Green Built Home can lead the way to a greener residential building industry - a move that is good for the environment and the consumer."

Certification is awarded after the Green Built Home Technical Advisory Committee reviews building plans and specifications to insure that the "green built" criteria is met. In addition, a Home Performance Rating, Wisconsin’s home energy rating system, of 86 or higher must be achieved; the rating will be administered by the Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corp. The green building portion incorporates use of recycled building materials, waste reduction and recycling on the construction site, indoor air quality issues, site planning and landscaping, among others, and is assessed by the Technical Advisory Committee. A goal of Green Built Home is to expand outreach and certification throughout Wisconsin. The program is based on a successful model used in Denver, Colorado. It is one of only a handful of such programs in the country.

Green Built Home certification offers participating builders a great way to distinguish themselves in the marketplace. Market research shows that consumers take environmental concerns into consideration when making purchasing decisions. Resource and environment conscious home buyers will look for Green Built Home certification when choosing their home. In addition to being featured in a well-publicized, well-attended event (the Parade of Homes), the program will also promote builders and green homes through on-going promotion in the materials and media of organizing bodies. Participants also receive an annual membership in WGBA, a link on the WGBA/WEI web site and Green Built Home and Energy Star Home Rating plaques for display.

For more information contact Jennifer Follstad (608)280-0360.

Beyond Eco-Efficiency

(William McDonough was the keynote speaker at WEI’s April 2, 1998 kick-off of the Environmental Management Excellence series.)

If you’ve ever heard William McDonough give his whirlwind, idea-a-minute discourse on design, industry, and the fate of the earth, you’ve had a taste of the irreverent and visionary thinking that populates the McDonough experience.

Now, a hefty chunk of that irreverent vision can be found in an article published in the October issue of The Atlantic Monthly. It should be required reading for anyone seeking to view the approaching horizon of corporate environmental responsibility. (The article is available online at www.theatlantic.com/issues/98oct/industry.htm.   )

McDonough, in case you’ve been out of the loop for roughly the past half decade, is an architect-entrepreneur, one of the leading thinkers on what is becoming known as "the next industrial revolution," which also happens to be the title of the Atlantic piece. McDonough is dean of the architecture school at the University of Virginia, and principal of an architectural and planning firm, William McDonough + Partners, and of McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry. His partner in that latter venture, German chemist Michael Braungart, co-authored the Atlantic article.

Corporate eco-efficiency, write McDonough and Braungart, represents a misguided response to the challenges facing companies at the dawn of the 21st century. Initially articulated in 1987 by the United Nations seminal report, Our Common Future, and promoted in the 1990’s by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, eco-efficiency has become a lodestar for many of the more forward-thinking companies.

But eco-efficiency, however admirable and well-intended, isn’t forward-thinking enough, maintain McDonough and Braungart. Its adherents subscribe to the notion that by reducing, reusing, and recycling, companies can be less "bad," cut costs, and be less fearful about their future.

That’s an end-of-pipe dream, it seems. Eco-efficiency "is not a strategy for success over the long term, say McDonough and Braungart, "because it does not reach deep enough. It works within the same system that caused the problem in the first place, slowing it down with moral proscriptions and punitive demands. It presents little more than an illusion of change.

"Relying on eco-efficiency to save the environment will in fact achieve the opposite - it will let industry finish off everything quietly, persistently, and completely."

What, then? McDonough and Braungart envision as a more sustainable alternative, what they call "eco-effectiveness."

It may seem a minor semantic change, but it is a significant one, say McDonough and Braungart. Where eco-efficiency deals with doing more with less, eco-effectiveness speaks of products and systems that exist in closed-loop cycles - that, at the end of their useful lives, turn into either "biological nutrients" (by returning to the soil) or "technical nutrients" (by reverting to industrial raw materials).

For my money, McDonough’s and Braungart’s article doesn’t adequately explain the concept of eco-effectiveness - that, no doubt, will be left to McDonough’s forthcoming book - but the idea makes sense: Efficiency can only take us so far. It has to be effective, too.

The two don’t necessarily go hand in hand, as McDonough pointed out in a recent presentation. After all, a cherry tree produces far more blossoms than cherries. It isn’t efficient, but it sure is effective.

The new design paradigms that stem from the notion of eco-effectiveness comprise the bulk of the Atlantic article. If you’ve heard McDonough speak, you’ve heard much of the substance: how McDonough and Braungart designed a nontoxic fabric "so safe that one could literally eat it;" the three principles of the Next Industrial Revolution; the ability for business to be not just sustainable, but regenerative. There’s the story of the now-famous carpet company that leases the services of carpet rather than selling carpet itself, and the potential for other companies to similarly "sell intelligence" - the services their products provide - rather than physical materials.

It’s all fun stuff, rich in imagery, and, much like the authors’ innovative fabric, ample food for thought.

--Joel Makower

Reprinted with permission from The Green Business Letter. Copyright 1998 by Tilden Press, Inc. For subscription information or a sample copy visit our web page at http://www.greenbiz.com , call 800-955-GREEN or email to gbl@greenbiz.com

Calendar

January

19:
How to Achieve Top Performance in Your Building: Commissioning Benefits, Process & Performance, Chippewa Falls, WI, Energy Center of Wisconsin; (608) 238-4601

22-24:
Soil Building with Organic Matter, Viroqua, WI, Michael Fields Agricultural Institute; Walter Goldstein (414)642-3303

25-29:
Lighting Systems and Controls, UW-Madison, Department of Professional Engineering Development; Don Schramm (800) 462-0876

February

2:
How to Achieve Top Performance in Your Building: Commissioning Benefits, Process & Performance, Madison, WI, Energy Center of Wisconsin; (608) 238-4601

12-14:
Farm Planning for Sustainable Farming, Viroqua, WI, Michael Fields Agricultural Institute; Walter Goldstein (414)642-3303

23-25:
Advanced Organic-Biodynamic Vegetable Production Workshop, St. Croix, MN; Michael Fields Agricultural Institute; Gail Kahovic (414)642-3303

March

20-21:
Cutting Chemicals without Cutting Profits: The Chem-Lite Approach, East Troy, WI, Michael Fields Agricultural Institute; Walter Goldstein (414)642-3303

Member Profile - Dick Lehmann

When Dick Lehmann, WEI Board Chair, joined with John Imes and Stu Rosenberg to form WEI in 1995 he wanted to help create an organization that would apply new techniques to finding common ground and points of consensus on environmental issues between stakeholders.

"I’m not satisfied that legislative and court processes alone successfully get disagreements resolved in all cases. I’m always on the look-out for better methods," said Lehmann. As he evaluated the nonpartisan, nonadvocacy approach of the Minnesota Environmental Initiative he believed he’d found a better method to adapt to Wisconsin.

Today Lehmann believes WEI has lived up to its promise. "There’ve always been efforts at consensus building and bringing differing views points together but they’ve mostly been one-time forums. WEI’s follow-through on topics, through ongoing steering committees that produces work papers and recommendations, is a great strength."

Lehmann’s professional experience and expertise is another great strength of WEI. A partner with Boardman, Suhr, Curry & Field, Lehmann’s law practice concentrates on land use and planning law. He’s represented a broad range of public sector clients including many Wisconsin cities, towns, counties and villages, and county and state departments, as well as other entities. His work draws upon his education in urban and regional planning and his certification as a professional planner by the American Institute of Certified Planners.

Prior to entering private law practice, Dick was on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin. He currently teaches land use law at the University of Wisconsin Law School, as well as other teaching assignments for the University and for public and private continuing professional education organizations.

Lehmann believes WEI’s nonpartisan approach differentiates it from other organizations and government committees. "We have government involvement on our membership and board but we’re not in government and therefore not political - that also gives us strength."

Lehmann is confident that WEI’s success in bringing diverse stakeholders together to collaborate on solutions will continue and in the process increase WEI’s credibility, visibility and financial support. "I think it’s a question of doing a good job on the activities we undertake and leveraging those successes to expand the circle of people who know about us and place their trust in us." That approach, he believes, will ultimately benefit Wisconsin’s environment, economy and quality of life.

Board of Directors

  • Brian Ohm, Acting Chair
    Urban and Regional Planning
    UW-Madison/Extension
  • Dan Barthold
    Miller Brewing Company
  • John Berrigan, Jr.
    Barr Engineering Company
  • Thomas J. Boldt
    Oscar J. Boldt Construction Company
  • Dave Cieslewicz, Treasurer
    1,000 Friends of Wisconsin
  • Noel Cutright
    Wisconsin Electric Power Company
  • Tom Estock
    Quad/Graphics Inc.
  • Richard Lehmann
    Boardman, Suhr, Curry & Field
  • Bill Malkasian
    Wisconsin Realtors Association
  • George Meyer
    Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
  • Nick Neher
    Wisconsin Dept. of Agriculture,
    Trade & Consumer Protection
  • Ronald Niemann
    Rust Environment and Infrastructure
  • Timm Speerschneider, Secretary
    DeWitt, Ross & Stevens, S.C.
  • Eve Tai
    The Nature Conservancy
  • Citizens for a Better Environment

Members

Benefactor

  • Barr Engineering Company
  • DeWitt Ross & Stevens, SC
  • Miller Brewing Company
  • Oscar J. Boldt Construction Company
  • Quad/Graphics, Inc
    •
  • Earth Tech Incorporated
  • Wisconsin Realtors Association
  • Wisconsin Electric Power Company

Sponsor

  • Boardman, Suhr, Curry & Field
  • C.G. Schmidt
  • Energy Center of Wisconsin
  • Firstar Corporation
  • URS Greiner Woodward-Clyde
  • Wisconsin Builders Association

Corporate Plus

  • Kohler Company

Corporate

  • Ayres Associates
  • Erickson's Diversified Corp.
  • Federation of Environmental Technologists
  • Geraghty & Miller, Inc.
  • Godfrey & Kahn, S.C.
  • Harnischfeger Industries, Inc.
  • Johnson Controls, Inc.
  • Lands' End
  • Liesch Environmental Services
  • Michael Best & Friedrich
  • Mid-America Planning Services
  • Rayovac
  • Snap-On Tools
  • Sigma Environmental Services, Inc.
  • Triad Engineering
  • WH Brady Company
  • Wisconsin Farm Bureau
  • Wisconsin Power & Light
  • Wisconsin Out-of-State Land Owners Association, Inc.

Staff

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