NetImpact SLC was treated royally by GreenFiber employees during our on site visit on Wednesday, April 29th, 2009. The event was fantastic – we were greeted in person by their Frog mascot at the door and warmly welcomed.

GreenFiber™ website: www.greenfiber.com

Our group of seven NetImpact SLC members were introduced and given an overview of their business, followed by a tour. In one hour we were able to walk through their entire operation and see the incredible potential for a triple bottom line advantage created through recycling paper goods from paper towel tubes to cereal boxes, cardboard containers to regular office paper. (BTW, a triple bottom line advantage is when people, resources, and businesses all stand to benefit from an action.)

I have excerpted a few pieces from their website and have included them below for your potential reading pleasure. Many thanks to Becky for arranging this terrific opportunity to see how progressive businesses can be if they focus on being socially, economically, and ecologically responsible.

Written by Andrew Stone, Net Impact member:

As a member of my area’s local chapter of Net Impact I had an opportunity to tour the Salt Lake County landfill and recycling facilities.  It was very interesting to say the least.  Probably the most impactful thing I learned that evening was that all of our recycled plastics (we are blessed with a facility that takes virtually everything.  #’s 1-7) are loaded into shipping containers, placed on the backs of trains, transported to California, loaded on a ship and sent to china for recycling.  When I heard that I had to pick my chin up off the floor! What?!?  Why don’t we recycle it here? “Because”, I was told, “we don’t make the products here”.

Read Andrew's complete blog post on the landfill and recycling tour here.

Forty-eight attendees enjoyed Net Impact’s preview of Utah’s greenest building October 21st. The new Swaner EcoCenter, which has applied for Platinum LEED Certification and will likely be the first Platinum building in Utah, opened its doors to Net Impact for a preview tour of their new building.

Colleen Reid Rush, Swaner’s Co-Chief Executive Officer, hosted a presentation and walked members through the building which has incorporated sustainable design principles in everything from permeable concrete to high-efficiency hand dryers.

Some highlights included viewing materials used in construction such as countertops made of sunflower seed composite and learning about energy efficiency measures such as using a solar radiant heating system. The innovative design will likely inspire sustainable construction throughout Utah and offer visitors a unique experience.