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This is the first in a series on sustainability and the internet, excerpted in parts from Designing for Sustainability: A Guide to Building Greener Digital Products and Services (O’Reilly Media, 2016) by Tim Frick. 

The internet is something that over half the world’s population uses every day. Yet few consider that it is well on its way to becoming the world’s largest source of carbon emissions. In this series, we will discuss some potential ways to build a cleaner, greener internet.

Depending on who you ask, there will be between 20 billion and 50 billion devices connected to the internet by the end of this decade, each of them updating, tweeting, sharing, posting, or sending usage data back and forth to servers across the planet. Whether it’s a car self-diagnosing faulty brakes or a chip in your pet’s collar that texts you Fluffy’s location when she has run away, anything that can be assigned an IP address and transmit or receive information will contribute to the huge amount of data we produce. In fact, in the past 12 months alone, according to Salesforce, we have created over 90 percent of all data that ever existed.

The impact of a single tweet is small, less than 0.02 grams of CO2 according to the website Tweetfarts (yes, that’s a thing). But when you multiply those interactions by the number of people on this planet who send, search, and post each day—over half the world’s population, by some calculations with a total of 7.6 billion expected by 2020—that impact becomes much, much larger. When barriers to access disappear, demand rises: Jevons Paradox in action.

Fueled by this growth, the ability to deliver software on a global scale has led to a digital/information economy that in their Information Economy Report the United Nations estimates is in excess of $15 trillion for business-to-business (B2B) and another $1.2 trillion for business-to-consumer (B2C) with both expanding rapidly (the latter faster than the former). And that is just e-commerce. The UN’s report doesn’t take into account the amount of money saved by companies as they undergo the processes of transmaterialization, turning products into services, or dematerialization, converting resource-heavy physical products to their digital equivalents. The financial opportunities also drive huge demand.

Now, couple this exploding demand with the current inefficiency of our digital products and services. The average web page is nearly 2.5 MB in size, despite the fact that many devices will have problems loading that amount of data quickly due to lack of processing power or network availability. In fact, one in four websites are not properly configured to perform well on mobile devices, even though they drive the majority of internet traffic and, starting in 2014, Google penalizes websites that aren’t optimized for mobile in search results. Moving video backgrounds, rotating image carousels, social sharing widgets, excess server requests, and many more commonly requested bells and whistles added to web pages lead to bloated, inefficient sites that waste energy and frustrate users.

Plus, streaming video services already make up more than 70 percent of consumer internet traffic. And virtual reality, which is on the rise, takes up 20 times more bandwidth than fullscreen HD video. This all puts massive energy demands on both front-end devices and back-end servers and data centers. In the U.S., less than 15 percent of this energy comes from renewable sources.

Lack of awareness is a huge roadblock for this issue, but we are not entirely without tools or resources. Some companies, like Carbon Analytics, Third Partners and ClimateCare, have started including digital properties as part of their overall sustainability assessments. Agencies like Manoverboard and DOJO4 have begun folding sustainable design principles into their existing processes for building digital products and services. My company Mightybytes created a free web tool, Ecograder, to help companies better understand how to make their digital products and services more sustainable. With Ecograder reporting, you can improve your own website in four key areas:

• Search and content strategy: If content is clearly written and optimized for search, users will spend less time (and energy) locating information that is relevant to them. This results in reduced server requests and fewer page elements—like photos and videos which take up a lot of bandwidth—loading unnecessarily. These small energy savings accumulate over time.

• Performance optimization: Speedy, reliable pages are better for users and better for the environment. Your customers expect to get the content they want instantly. Performance-optimized websites or mobile apps send fewer files and use less processing power on both the server and front-end sides, which of course means they also use less energy. Optimizing your site for performance can also significantly reduce bounce rates and abandoned shopping carts.

• Design and user experience: Creating a great experience across devices and platforms—including enabling technologies for users with disabilities—is more sustainable. If users have to struggle with design experiences not optimized for their particular devices they waste time and, you guessed it, energy.

• Green hosting: The servers that store your files require power 24 hours a day, so the single most impactful thing you can do is to use a hosting provider that runs on 100 percent renewable energy.

By following sustainable web design principles, you can reduce the impact of your digital products and services. In this series we will explore each of the above topics in greater detail.

Image credit: Pexels

By James Gray-Donald

It’s been more than a decade since owners of commercial real estate started taking the need to become energy efficient and environmentally sustainable more seriously. From the start, buildings proved their green bona fides to prospective tenants by gaining third-party certifications such as LEED, Energy Star and Boma Best. But even with certifications in place, many question the ROI of green investments.

Although studies show a correlation between green building certification and higher rent and occupancy, their methodologies typically lacked rigor—in part because there was not enough history to make a fair comparison. Past studies have also compared average rental rates of green and non-green buildings without taking into account the cost of tenant concessions, which can be substantial. Having access to that usually-private information enabled the researchers to better measure green ROI.

Now, the data is in—and the history has been documented. Green ROI has been quantified. In partnership with its clients, Bentall Kennedy brought on board top global academics, sharing a deep ten-year data pool of nearly 300 office buildings, including 58 million square feet of properties across North America. The study determined that green certifications bring direct benefits—higher rent and occupancy—as well as indirect benefits such as higher lease renewal rates and tenant satisfaction scores.

The numbers are in: Different certifications, different ROI

LEED: In the U.S., properties with a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification enjoy an average 3.7 percent rent premium and a 4 percent gain in occupancy over comparable non-certified properties. In Canada, LEED-certified properties saw 10.2 percent higher rental rates and 8.5% higher occupancy than other properties in Bentall Kennedy’s portfolio.

Boma Best: A Canadian program that focuses on sustainable management and tenant engagement, the Building Owners and Managers Association of Canada’s Building Environmental Standards was associated with 4 percent lower rent concessions and on intangible measures: 7 percent higher tenant satisfaction scores in buildings with Level 3 and 4 certifications, and 5.6 percent higher lease renewal rates in Level 3 properties. These metrics are noteworthy as the cost to fill vacated spaces is far more than to keep tenants in place.

Energy Star: Within Bentall Kennedy’s North American portfolio, Energy Star-rated office buildings averaged 2.7 percent higher rents and 9.5 percent higher occupancy than non-certified buildings.

Using the study’s statistically significant U.S. and Canadian findings on a combined basis, a green-certified North American office asset would enjoy, on average:

• 3.7 percent higher rental rates;


• 4 percent higher occupancy levels; and


• 5.6 percent higher tenant renewal probabilities.

These metrics could translate into an 8 to 10 percent increase in asset value over an identical non-certified office asset.

To illustrate a hypothetical change in value using a discounted cash flow approach, consider the following example and underlying assumptions for a commercial office asset:

This illustration is for the purpose of estimating a possible value impact of the changes in rental rates, rent concessions, and occupancy rates correlated to green building certification in the study. There is no assurance that an investment in green certification would have a similar impact on an actual building. Market conditions vary by geographic area and could differ significantly from these assumptions. The increase of value shown is at a point in time based on changes to assumptions in the valuation model, and it does not represent a rate of return. The model further does not reflect fees, transaction costs and other expenses that might decrease the return on an actual investment.

The credibility of the research gets a boost from the quality of its authors. Dr. Nils Kok, associate professor of finance and real estate at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, is widely known in the institutional real estate sector as an expert on financial implications of sustainability in buildings, and one the most published authors in this emerging field. Dr. Avis Devine, assistant professor in real estate and housing at Guelph University in Canada, also has a background in private-sector commercial real estate underwriting and valuation.

The research validates our intuitive, on-the-ground experience managing hundreds of certified buildings over the past ten years and preceding cycles. Now more than ever, we have the numbers to demonstrate to investors that sustainability drives long-term value.

We continue to innovate, and with recently approved LEED Volume program plus a Boma Best Portfolio program we are well positioned to continue to advance work in this field as a key aspect of our institutional investment management solutions for the next ten years.

Image credit: Pexels

Graphics courtesy of Bentall Kennedy 

James Gray-Donald is Vice President of Sustainability at Bentall Kennedy, one of North America’s largest real estate investment advisory companies.  The 2014 Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) recognized the firm’s commitment to environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations in ranking Bentall Kennedy as the top firm globally (Global Leader) for the Diversified property type, the top North American firm (Regional Leader) for the Diversified - Large Cap property type, and the United States leader for the Diversified property type peer group, as real estate advisor for Multi-Employer Property Trust/MEPT Edgemoor.

 

Spring cleaning came early for my family when I was young. Like many Canadians in sunny Vancouver, my parents usually started sorting out unused belongings and amassing their boxes of household donations long before the winter snow melted from the ground. My mother called it "paring down," but anyone who watched her burrow through closets and cupboards -- setting aside this, saving that -- could see that it wasn't the tidiness of her closets that mattered, but the good the items would eventually bring to others in need.

When the Canadian Diabetes Association began collecting donated household goods for charity in the 1980s, that late-winter ritual (which, incidentally, went on at least twice more throughout the year), took on a special, personal significance. By the time I was in my 30s, at least a third of my immediate family members had been diagnosed with diabetes. In the years to come, our family would become a reflection of rising statistics in Canadian society.

Today, says Janelle Robertson of the Canadian Diabetes Association, more than 11 million Canadians live with diabetes and pre-diabetes (an early stage in which 50 percent of those affected are later diagnosed with the disease). Robertson is the vice president and general manager of CDA's Clothesline program, which coordinates the collection of donated goods. In the last decade alone, the number of Canadians impacted by the disease has doubled, increasing the demand for CDA's services. The Clothesline program has become an essential component of what makes CDA such an effective nonprofit.

"We do about 2 million home pickups across the country every year," Robertson told TriplePundit. The donations of used clothing, shoes, bedding, small appliances, electronics and other household goods are picked up by CDA drivers and taken to a central location. They are then weighed and then sold to Value Village, CDA's for-profit partner. Value Village, a subsidiary of Savers, then sorts the items for resale. Most go on their thrift store shelves to be resold to consumers. Those that are too old or used to sell in the store often have use elsewhere. Fabrics may be repurposed into cleaning rags. Old, out-of-date electronics are often broken down for their valuable components, which can then be resold.

Consumers who find it easier to drop off their household goods can also take their donations to drop-off points around the region. The CDA maintains about 3,500 drop-off points across the country Value Village stores, CDA offices and local sponsor locations.

The funds raised from the Clothesline program help to support a wide array of programs and services, from CDA's D-camp for children, to classes and nutritional counseling that help newly-diagnosed adult patients understand the nuts and bolts of a diabetes-friendly meal plan.

"The great thing ... about the funds that are raised by Clothesline is that they are undesignated funds," Robertson explained. "[That] means we are able to use them across a variety of programs and services. Approximately $7 million goes toward diabetes research each year to help further investigations into management techniques and hopes of a future cure."

The money also helps fund the organization's renowned D-Camp, summer and day camps that teach children with Type 1 diabetes how to manage their daily insulin injections, blood monitoring, and and other issues that often make them feel apart or "different" from other kids.

"Approximately 2,500 children every year attend those summer camps and oftentimes it’s the first opportunity for them to meet other children that may have Type 1 diabetes and actually learn to manage their diabetes in a medically supervised setting," Robertson said.

The program also provides other benefits that coincide nicely with today's growing concern about the environment by keeping discards out of the landfill. While environmental concerns may not be the first issue on every consumer's mind when sorting through closets or garages of old stuff, Robertson says the feedback that the CDA gets from donors shows that they care about what happens to those items they give to the Clothesline program.

"[Oftentimes] what prompts them is just the need to get something out of the house," she admitted. "But when they are making the decision where to donate items, they are very interested in what organization they are donating to, and what that organization does with the goods." That "three-part decision" process reflects what Savers has found as well: Donors care about the actions they inspire and what impact it may have on the environment.

These days, the Canadian Diabetes Association is almost a household name in many cities across Canada. That familiarity hasn't just helped ensure donations, but it also cut down on some of the advertising costs that can weigh a nonprofit down. Robertson says CDA will often organize marketing to coincide with seasonal donation drives to remind repeat donors to "spread the word" about the Clothesline program. That word-of-mouth support, which is often through families that are acquainted with diabetes and the importance of CDA's work, has been an invaluable factor in Clothesline's success.

But the true reason the program works, she says, is the support it enjoyed over the years from both donors and its professional partner, Value Village.

"Probably the greatest [lesson] that we have learned over the years is that people, in general, or donors from a charitable perspective are looking for unique and varied ways to be able to donate to charity," Robertson told us. Recent economic times have made it difficult for many people to donate cash. "So, one of the great things about this program is it really allows people another channel through which they can donate and support the association, such as with used but useful household goods.

"I think the [lesson] has been is that even in the charitable sector, much like the for-profit sector, in order to engage people. And in order to be able to garner their support and maximize their support, you need to be able to offer them different and unique ways to both support and become involved in the organization."

And CDA's partnership with Value Village remains an essential part of the Clothesline's success. The last 31 years of joint effort has been a learning experience."We were able to grow with Savers, or Value Village as they are known in Canada, when they were really were growing their stores across the country," Robertson explained. "It allowed us to make this [Clothesline] a national program" with door-to-door impact and household recognition.

Sara Gaugl, director of communications for Savers/Value Village, said both organizations benefit from the long-term partnership.

"[Savers/Value Village was] founded on the idea that businesses have the power to create social good in their communities. That’s why our business model is rooted in developing local nonprofit partnerships," Gaugl said. "We’re very proud of our partnership with CDA [and] we are grateful for the opportunity to help support their efforts across Canada to make an impact through their vital diabetes research and programing"

"[The] partnership that the Canadian Diabetes Association has with Value Village is a fantastic one," Robertson added, "and it’s one that quite frankly, allows us to do so much work in Canada in terms of supporting people with diabetes, that we would not be able to do without this partnership."

Images: Clothesline Program/Canadian Diabetes Association

Deb Nelson

Between 2011 and 2013, companies with a woman CEO received just 3 percent of venture capital investment: a $1.5 billion sliver of a $50.8 billion pie.

It’s a depressing figure, particularly because enterprises run by women are just as likely to be successful as those run by men. So, why are women entrepreneurs so often overlooked and underfunded?

Unconscious bias

Unconscious bias is real. And academics are discovering that it can drive decision-making in the business world. A study led by Harvard Business School found that investors had a strong preference for pitches presented by male entrepreneurs, even when the content of men’s and women’s pitches was identical. In fact, in one test male entrepreneurs were found to be 60 percent more likely to receive funding than their female peers.

Unconscious bias can partially explain the funding gap. But it’s not the only problem for women seeking to get their enterprises off the ground.

Venture capitalists typically look for ‟hockey stick” growth: exponential growth in revenue, sales or users. Many of the women entrepreneurs I meet are launching organizations that have a positive social or environmental impact — in addition to providing a valuable product or service — and these ventures tend to have a sustainable but more gradual growth curve. That means they often lose out, even if they have a greater potential to deliver value in the long term.

Closing the funding gap

Despite the huge potential of women-led enterprises, very few investors are actively trying to close the funding gap. A handful of women-led VC firms support women entrepreneurs, but, given the chasm between the amount of funding going to women and the amount going to men, we need to do much more.

That’s why RSF Social Finance is launching the Women’s Capital Collaborative, a philanthropic fund designed to help women entrepreneurs get the funding and support they need to thrive and grow. Our integrated capital approach makes this new fund unique: In recognition of the fact that social entrepreneurs need different forms of capital at different stages of growth, the Women’s Capital Collaborative will provide a mix of loans, loan guarantees, investments and grants, as well as access to a network of advisors who can provide much-needed expertise at short notice.

We are greatly indebted to our lead donor, who pledged $1 million to kick off the Women’s Capital Collaborative (and who wishes to remain anonymous). We recently received another $1 million donation from a mother-daughter pair, and we plan to raise an additional $2 million and begin distributing funding by early 2017.

In terms of recipients, we’re acting on feedback from our feasibility study about the need for diversity. As one interviewee said, “I often find the same group of entrepreneurs keep getting supported and circulated. I hope you can reach a wider network.” We have extended our reach, and already have a pipeline of over 50 diverse women-led social enterprises that could be a fit for the fund.

The integrated capital approach

We’re excited about bringing the integrated capital approach to a broad spectrum of women-led enterprises because we know it works.

Just one example: In 2010, the Crown O’Maine Organic Cooperative, run by Marada Cook, came to us in need of a loan and a line of credit. As a produce distributor, it lacked the assets to access traditional finance, but we worked with the community to organize the necessary funding.

We’ve since jointly provided a technical assistance grant so Crown O’Maine could engage a finance expert, who became its CFO. The grant made a huge difference to the company’s profitability, and to date its revenue has grown by more than 100 percent.

Creating a balanced economy

As our lead donor said: “Women are not equally invited to the discussion table. Their knowledge is not engaged, and that is a real loss to our society.”

We can’t afford to wait for venture capitalists to wake up and seize the opportunity presented by women-run enterprises, so it’s encouraging to see others also stepping forward with efforts to support women entrepreneurs. We are collaborating with as many people as possible to create a more balanced economy that works for everyone. Without solutions such as the Women’s Capital Collaborative, women are going to keep missing out on their slice of the funding pie. That would be bad for their families, bad for our communities and bad for the economy as a whole.

Image credits: 1) Eddie Lackman; 2) Maria Molinero; 3) Courtesy of Crown O’Maine Organic Cooperative

Deb Nelson guides RSF Social Finance’s field building activities, client engagement programs and strategic partnerships. Prior to RSF, Deb was executive director of Social Venture Network (SVN), a community of mission-driven entrepreneurs and investors. When she’s not at RSF, she enjoys exploring the Bay Area with her sons and serving as mentor-in-residence at Presidio Graduate School.

The Bonn Challenge, a global multi-stakeholder effort to restore the world’s forests, was at center stage here in Honolulu during this week’s IUCN World Conservation Congress.

This initiative aims to restore 150 million hectares (579,000 square miles) of forest by 2020. The effort could result in the conservation and restoration of an area larger than the U.S. states of Texas, California and Montana combined. First launched five years ago in Bonn, Germany, this project seeks to restore a total of 350 million hectares of forest by 2030.

Dozens of NGOs and governments committed to do their part to make the Bonn Challenge a reality. On Saturday, Naoko Ishii, CEO and chairperson of the NGO Global Environment Facility (GEF), announced that the organization secured the cooperation of 10 countries in Africa and Asia. Together, these countries will add a total of 46 million hectares to this global commitment.

The $250 million forest restoration partnership with IUCN is a massive step forward for this initiative to meet its first target within four years. “The Bonn Challenge changed the way in which countries approach forest restoration, and has put this important movement much higher on the global agenda,” Ishii said to an IUCN audience last weekend in Honolulu.

Ishii cited several reasons why the drive to replenish more of the world’s forests is important. This multi-country effort will allow the rapid exchange of knowledge, tactics and best practices that can help heal these important ecosystems while preventing further deforestation. The GEF-IUCN partnership can also help countries develop stronger environmental and forestry policies.

And a critical long-term goal, Ishii insisted, is to help the private sector develop new business models that are bankable and will encourage companies to join the global effort to replant forests. Forests have several fundamentally important roles, including their function as the earth’s lungs in order to absorb carbon and mitigate long-term climate change risks. “We need to change how we work with the private sector so that climate finance can become an important part of this agenda,” Ishii said.

Indeed, one reason why deforestation has become worse in recent years is because the world’s forests are underpriced, much like other natural resources water. Forests are the foundation of many companies’ supply chains, even those that don't churn out products such as timber or paper. They also provide an economic lifeline for some of the world’s most vulnerable citizens, including indigenous peoples.

If the business community is going to survive, if insurance companies will be able to maintain their ledgers in a world where climate-related disasters wreak more financial havoc, and if farmers and food processing companies will still be able to grow and package products, then clearly more cooperation is needed to not just preserve, but expand the globe’s forests.

Some environments are quick to point out that the world’s multinational companies are a driver of deforestation. That may be true, but these companies also have the resources to reverse this trend. So far, however, the Bonn Declaration has been fueled mostly by NGOs and governments.

One company that says it is aggressively expanding the world’s amount of forests is Asia Pulp and Paper (APP). After years of confrontation with NGOs, which accused the company of being a leading cause of environmental degradation in Indonesia, the world’s largest pulp and paper company agreed to a zero-deforestation policy in 2013. The company also announced a forest conservation policy that includes several goals for 2020. As part of this agenda, APP said it will logistically and financially support the conservation of 1 million hectares of Indonesian forests. “We are the only private company to set such a challenge,” said Aida Greenbury, managing director and chief of sustainability for APP. “This is important because we have the opportunity to decouple economic opportunity and environmental degradation.”

Of course, it is important to note that, so far, these are just goals. It will take years for the fruits of these efforts to be visible, let alone have a positive impact on the climate.

But as more governments and companies make similar commitments, others will not want to be left out – and business can provide the finances and capacity that NGOs currently lack. If the world’s largest companies want to remain viable for the long term, they need to ensure their supply chains are cleaned up. And that starts with the most basic resources, including forests.

Image credit: Leon Kaye

Disclosure: Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) is funding Leon Kaye’s trip to Hawaii. Neither the author, nor Triple Pundit, were required to write about the experience. 

His career went into a free fall after he brought the San Francisco 49ers within a pass of Super Bowl victory four seasons ago. But now Colin Kaepernick is in the news again after he stayed seated during the national anthem at a preseason game last week. Kaepernick cited what he calls ongoing racism and police brutality in America for his decision not to stand.

And although he will play second-string behind Blaine Gabbert this season, Kaepernick's statements led to a spike in sales of football jerseys with his No. 7 on the back.

On Monday, Kaepernick’s jersey outsold those of all his teammates’ put together, according to ESPN reporter Darren Rovell, with more sold in the previous week than over the past eight months combined. That may not sound impressive, considering the 49ers came off an awful 2015 and are expected to repeat that performance again this season.

But as of press time, the now-backup quarterback’s $100 jersey kept surging in popularity. After Labor Day weekend, his red version was the top seller on NFLShop.com, outselling stars such as Carson Wentz and Ezekiel Elliott. Kaepernick reportedly said any revenues he receives from those sales will go to charity.

Kaepernick’s stand on race relations in America reaped reactions all over the map. Spike Lee compared Kaepernick’s actions to Muhammad Ali’s stand against the Vietnam War in the 1960s. But some don't agree, and one NFL analyst even criticized Kaepernick because he’s “not black.” (Kaepernick is biracial and was adopted by white parents.) Tommie Smith, one of the athletes who gave the Black Power salute during a medal ceremony at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, defended him.

Others savaged Kaepernick for his stance. One of them is his birthmother, who did not reappear in his life until he hit stardom four years ago. Others have made the assumption that since he was raised by white parents, he really does not understand racism or is simply taking on a political stance that is inappropriate. Those who were offended by Kaepernick’s activism have responded in kind, with plenty of racist trolling leveled his way.

Not that comments about his background and race are new to Kaepernick. His stratospheric rise during his rookie 2012 season put him under a microscope, and not always under the best lens. The fact that his physique is draped in tattoos, many of which are Biblical verses, garnered plenty of snarky assumptions. Kaepernick’s appearance led one Sporting News analyst to compare him to a San Quentin inmate. After the outrage on social media, an editor responded that David Whitley’s op-ed was not about race, but a “generational issue.”

As Guardian writer Rebecca Carroll noted, Kaepernick is another African-American public figure whose looks, behavior and actions have been scrutinized far differently from those of a white athlete or celebrity:

“He is a reminder that being black in America, no matter how light or dark skinned you are, means shielding yourself against the inevitable arbitrary assessment of your worth at the drop of a dime.”

To many African Americans, the discussion about Kaepernick shows that there is a double standard when it comes to comparing the actions of white and black athletes. We recently saw it during the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Many were quick to defend the vapid and inarticulate Ryan Lochte after his shenanigans in Brazil, with many downplaying the 32-year-old's behavior by saying “boys will be boys.” A few days before that chapter, Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas was attacked and trolled for her body language during a medal ceremony.

Kaepernick stands out for the fact that he is taking on all of society and is pointing out that, from his perspective, injustice and hypocrisy are everywhere. And no one really knows how to respond. One CNN analyst applauded Kaepernick – until No. 7 said Hillary Clinton should be in jail over her deleted emails. “A rant of the type you hear from the conservative right!” complained Clay Cane.

Whatever you think of Kaepernick, it is clear that many have long tried to pigeon-hole him, and he is not having it. The result is that many of us are spending more time analyzing the messenger than listening to his message. But that message is resonating, as the renewed interest in his jersey, due to the fashion statement many want to make, show.

Image credit: NFL Shop

By Leah Thibault

For a community struggling with job loss and economic downturn, the last need you might think about is good art. But for three communities, art is exactly what they needed.

A fine art renaissance in Rockland, Maine

The city of Rockland in the Midcoast region of Maine was known for more than a century as a fishing community, particularly for the fish-processing plants that dotted the small town’s waterfront. But in the late 1980s, in response to a growing disdain from the community regarding the smells emanating from the processing industry (along with fine-heavy, anti-odor legislation), the city’s largest remaining fish-rendering plant closed its doors. Add this to declines in fish stocks, and the traditional base of Rockland’s economy was rapidly changing.

The limited tourism at the time was largely centered on a single resort with a golf course. But one resort cannot supplant an entire fisheries industry. How is it then that Rockland has become one of the most desirable tourist destinations in the state? Much of it can be traced back to the Farnsworth Art Museum.

The Farnsworth Art Museum was founded in 1948, but its standing as a home for fine American art increased greatly when it developed a relationship with the renowned Wyeth family. Each of the three generations of painters (N.C. Wyeth, Andrew Wyeth and Jamie Wyeth) had homes in nearby towns.

As the museum’s reputation and annual visitor count grew to 60,000 annual visitors, other businesses and galleries sprung up to accommodate. The development culminated in the opening of the Center for Maine Contemporary Art (CMCA) and a new five-story hotel this summer.

However, despite its important role in the community, the Farnworth suffered from long-deferred maintenance. Its endowments are restricted to art purchases and museum programs, leaving little cash to maintain the museum or its collection of historic properties.

An investment made through the Maine New Markets Capital Investment program, modeled after and paired with the federal New Markets Tax Program to bring investment into low-income communities, allowed the museum to make the repairs and upgrades it needed to continue its role as an anchor in this arts economy.

The CMCA and the Farnsworth are expected to generate $88 million in annual economic activity in the region.

The rise of theater in Worcester, Massachusetts

At the same time, the city of Worcester, Massachusetts, is experiencing an economic renaissance thanks to a different kind of art, theatre. Today, the Hanover Theatre for Performing Arts is the centerpiece of a burgeoning arts district that hosted 168 events and over 190,000 visitors in 2015. But as with many America’s historic theaters, it took a long road to get there.

Originally built as the Franklin Square Playhouse in 1904, the theater hosted touring productions of plays and musicals. But with the advent of silent films in the 1920s, it was converted into a grand movie palace with chandeliers, mirrored walls and marbleized columns. The theater, now known as the Poli Palace, continued to be a staple of Worcester’s downtown with the rise of talkies and maintained a steady patronage through the 1950s. As with many similar movie palaces, its grandeur was chipped away with multiple changes in ownership and a conversion to a multiplex in the 1970s.

But even four screens couldn’t save the Poli Palace, as Worcester felt the national trend of families moving from urban centers to the suburbs. The city lost 20 percent of its population from 1950 to 1980. The final nail in the coffin for the theater was the opening of a multiplex on the outskirts of the city. And in 1998, the former grand palace that once brought “something of rare beauty and dignity and comfort” into the everyday life of the community, became just another shuttered building in an increasing empty downtown.

But in 2000, a local executive with an interest in the performing arts saw a “for sale” sign on the building, and the revitalization of a downtown began. That executive, Edward P. Madaus, formed the nonprofit Worcester Center for Performing Arts, which began the work of raising donations, grants and private capital to fund the $31 million renovation. Tax-incentivized investments made through the federal Historic and New Markets Tax Credit programs targeted at preserving historically significant properties and revitalizing economically distressed communities provided the final pieces of the financing puzzle.

The Hanover Theatre, as it is now called, held its first live performance in 2008, and opened the doors for more investment in Worcester’s surrounding downtown. Motivated by the success of the Hanover Theater project, and hoping to benefit from the increased foot traffic of the theater’s patrons, the Worcester Business Development Corp. decided to concentrate on redeveloping downtown. It named the new Theatre District the focal point of those efforts, and put $42 million into purchasing and renovating the other major property in the area, a former newspaper facility. It's now home to Quinsigamond Community College and an innovation center/incubator space for startup entrepreneurs.

These developments are only the first steps in Worcester’s recently released $104 million Urban Revitalization Plan anchored with the Theatre District. And that doesn’t even include the $565 million City Square project already underway by private developers just a few blocks over, or the $5.5 million renovation of 551 Main St. near the Hanover Theatre.

Marfa, Texas becomes a destination for young creatives

In remote West Texas, the town of Marfa (pop. 2,191) is quietly reinventing itself as an art-tourism destination. The funky and eclectic art showcased in and around the city is the darling of today's fashionistas and glitterati. They came to see the now iconic pop-up recreation of a Prada shop, along with Marfa's vast public art installations and a burgeoning live performance scene.

But the small number of local hotel rooms and an underdeveloped downtown limited the town’s ability to capitalize on its creative resources. The Marfa Growth and Revitalization plan uses art as an anchor to ignite an economy with a poverty rate of 19 percent, according to the U.S. Census.

The central development of the project is a hotel, restaurant and event space that will create an estimated 116 new jobs, all of which will pay above the living wage for a single adult and provide strong benefits. The project also includes the Crowley Theater, which provides performance space to nonprofits and community groups free of charge. Again, the development received lynchpin financing through federal tax credits designed to incentivize outside investment.

The bottom line

Art, whether in the form of theater, dance, painting or sculpture, has the unique ability to bring people together. This could mean working collaboratively to bring an artistic vision to life, or sitting side-by-side to share the experience. The arts can introduce patrons of all ages to new perspectives, cultures and views on the human condition.

In the best cases, as it has in the communities of Marfa, Rockland and Worcester, that sense of cooperation and innovation pushes its way past the doors of the galleries and stages into the wider community, sparking a revitalization.

So, does an economically depressed community need good art? I’d say they need it most of all.

Image credits: 1) Flickr/JR P; 2) Flickr/JR P; 3) Flickr/TravelUSA; 4) Flickr/Nan Palmero

Leah Thibault is Director of Executive Administration and Projects for CEI Capital Management which creates and preserves jobs and improves quality of life in rural, low-income communities nationwide by providing businesses and nonprofits access to project capital, primarily through the Federal New Markets Tax Credit Program.

Today, C&A Foundation, LaborVoices, Project Just, and TriplePundit came together at #FashionTransp, to take a look at transparency in the fashion and apparel supply chain.

Fashion is one of the largest industries in the world with many moving parts. It can be difficult to navigate, especially for those who are on the ground doing the work. Traceability is about the where. Transparency is about the what, who and how. These two concepts are key to improving environmental and workplace conditions in fashion supply chains; and the ultimate goal is always accountability.

Over 100 years ago, the first fledgling calls for business transparency were heard in grueling textile mills where children worked intolerable schedules in place of school. Today, transparency figures into every business sector. Businesses know that consumers care not just about what they buy, but also the values the company puts to work -- and they are willing to ask for accountability!

During #FashionTransp, we discussed the following and much more:

• How innovative businesses, organizations and movements are amplifying the voices of textile workers to affect real change


• How transparency can empower real changes that lead to the ethical, accountable supply chains consumers are demanding


• Why organizations unwilling to make their operations visible to consumers may be left behind

• Jill Tucker (@madaatuckaa) - Head of Supply Chain Innovation and Transformation, C&A Foundation


• Ayush Khanna (@ayushk) - Director of Product & Marketing, LaborVoices, Inc.


• Natalie Flournoy Grillon (@Project_JUST) - Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Project JUST

About C&A Foundation

C&A Foundation is the corporate foundation affiliated with global clothing retailer C&A. They are working to transform the fashion industry by providing partners with financial support, expertise and access to networks in order to drive change. C&A Foundation’s work focuses on four areas that they believe will have the biggest impact for people: accelerating sustainable cotton, improving working conditions, eradicating forced and child labour and strengthening local communities.

Image credits: Norwood Themes and Marten Bjork via Unsplash

By Indy Ratnathicam

Millennials – otherwise referred to as Generation Y, the digital generation or echo-boomers – have businesses across industries and geographies scratching their heads. Defined as the generation born between 1980 and 2000, this demographic wields tremendous power, totaling roughly a third of the world’s population.

And while businesses understand the value of getting millennials on their side – especially as many of them are now old enough to start businesses and climb the corporate ladder – they are finding that their traditional engagement and sales methods don’t cut it with this generation.

Compared to past generations, millennial workers are consumed by digital and social channels, and have very different thoughts about brand engagement. Brand loyalty doesn’t exist; millennials choose services that are fast, easy and customized. Not only that, but – having grown up with technology – they expect to communicate through digital channels. Adding to the complexity of this mystery demographic is that it tends to favor solutions that are ethical, sustainable and eco-friendly.

This combination of factors creates a major challenge for utilities. With millennials becoming more influential in the business world, forward-thinking energy providers are reassessing their customer engagement strategies – changing everything from the type of information they provide to the channels they use to communicate. Utilities that don’t follow suit stand to lose a significant portion of their customer base: 80 percent of this generation said they would switch supplier if their current one did not provide a seamless experience, compared with 51 percent of those aged above 55, according to an Accenture study.

How they are engaging

As digital natives, millennials account for 41 percent of the total time that Americans spend using smartphones, according to a report by Experian. Constantly plugged into mobile apps, it’s no wonder that 51 percent say they are mostly or always online and connected.

With this in mind, utilities are doubling down on their digital engagement strategies. Leading utilities are leveraging the time millennials already spend online by offering online bill pay services and using other digital platforms, such as email and SMS, to send messages and alerts around energy use or anticipated outages. They’re deploying online portals that use advanced analytics to personalize the self-serve experience and advise customers on their energy use and potential for bill savings.

What they are offering

Generally speaking, millennials have a keen interest in sustainability. A Cox Conserves Sustainability Survey found that millennials showed greater knowledge about sustainability than any other generation and are committed to increasing their sustainable practices. They are interested in learning more about renewable resources and how implementing renewable solutions improves efficiency and reduces the impact of climate change. As such, utilities can expect more and more questions from this customer group around the value of solutions like solar panels.

The experience of millennials with mobile has also set different expectations about customer service – 68% demand an integrated, seamless experience across all channels. To meet these expectations, forward thinking energy providers are leveraging digital tools that can be accessed by both customer service representatives and customers in tandem. By providing seamless, cross-channel data analytics and digital access to energy use and savings opportunities for each individual business, utilities can partner to help customers achieve their sustainability goals and become smarter energy consumers in the future.

How frequently they’re communicating

We live in an on-demand economy, and millennials expect regular, customized communications. Utilities must adapt their existing communication strategy and leverage customer intelligence to communicate with customers when and how they want. Today’s leading utilities are taking note and sending business customers customized text messages with mid-month energy use alerts, and enabling customers to access real-time usage information via online portals. These personalized interactions don’t just go out more often, they give deeper insight into business energy use and enable utilities to build lasting customer relationships.

The millennial generation is forcing utilities to rethink the way they operate. As this generation continues to age and take on responsibility for where and how company resources are spent, it’s imperative that utilities demonstrate a keen understanding of their business customers’ energy needs and preferences. Utilities who adapt and implement digital customer engagement programs will capitalize on reduced cost to serve by engaging customers in self-serve channels. They’ll also see measurable improvements in customer satisfaction and engagement. Better customer engagement is not only key to maintaining utilities’ millennial customer base, but represents the new bar for performance in customer service for all generations to come.

Image credit: Suhyeon Choi via Unsplash

Indy Ratnathicam is the vice president of strategy at FirstFuel.