Six more Sonoma Valley businesses go green

A fresh new group of Sonoma Valley businesses are saving money and energy – and generating excitement among staff and customers – with their sustainable business practices.
Barking Dog Roasters, El Pueblo Inn, Haus, Sonoma Valley Bank, Friedman’s Home Improvement, and Wine Country Film Society received their Sonoma Valley Green Business Recognition certificates from Laurie Decker, county economic development project manager, at the July 16 Sonoma City Council meeting. The six join 13 other Sonoma Valley businesses that have successfully converted to sustainable practices. The process, representatives said, was easier than they’d thought, and bore surprising results.
“It was a little bit cumbersome at the start,” said Jim Ashoff, chief engineer at El Pueblo Inn, “but once it got going we started recognizing the significant savings.” By changing linens every third day or when guests request it, said Ashoff, El Pueblo has cut their laundry water use in half. By learning to recycle, they’ve halved their dumpster use as well. They’ve changed their cleaning materials, eliminating toxins, and converted all their lighting to low-wattage fluorescent or 12 volts, saving energy and money. They converted their pool to solar. Next, he said, they’ll be looking at solar for their whole operation. Customer reactions, said Ashoff, have been positive. “In the past, we tried fluorescent lights and people complained it was too dark. Now people realize if we don’t lower our carbon footprint, we’re going to be in trouble. It’s the coming thing.”
At Friedman’s Home Improvement Center, going green was a natural step for the company and the customers. “There are so many little things people can do,” said Greener Choice Coordinator Rebecca Bautista, “especially when they’re building. It’s exciting. We realized at the start we were actually fulfilling most of the things on the list. I just think it speaks volumes about Friedman’s.”
Barking Dog Roasters, a completely different kind of business, experienced similarly positive results. “I learned all this cool stuff that I can use in my personal life too,” said operations manager Libby Hodgson. “We changed everything we could, such as our cleaning supplies, our faucets. A lot of little things that add up economically. It’s been a really excellent experience. I use a lot of these practices away from work. It’s great.”
For Sonoma Valley Bank, going green meant reducing and recycling, from water to paper to toners and cartridges. Vice president of business development Molly Fedorchak explained that the bank worked with Energy Alliance to change all their lights, reducing energy expenditures, and then went on to reduce their paper and water usage. “We imaged all our loan files. We do a lot of our reporting online and that eliminates paper. We’ve always shredded and recycled paper. We recycle cardboard and toner and cartridges. We put energy-efficient toilets in the bathroom.” They send their recycling to St. Francis Solano School, so they can get the benefit. “It was just real important to us to participate and get our green certificate,” said Fedorchak.
The Green Business Recognition Program is designed to promote, encourage and support green business practices throughout the community.