WHEN: 5:30-7:30 Thursday, April 15

WHERE: Schlafly Bottleworks  7260 Southwest Ave.  Maplewood, MO 63143

You can also join in the discussion at the group’s Linkedin page.

The world’s largest brewer announced today it aims to trim water use by 18.6% by end of 2012, establishing A-B InBev “as the most water-efficient global brewer in the world.” Last year, the company used 4.3 hectoliters of water per hectoliter of production (beer and other drinks). It wants to get it down to 3.5.

(Because “hectoliter” sounds like some archaic unit of measure — like the now-forgotten rotolo or braccio — Lager Heads would like to point out that a hectoliter equals 100 liters, or about 281 12-ounce cans.)

Some fun facts about the new plan, courtesy of the company:

* A-B brewery in Cartersville, Ga., and the Wernigerode brewery in Germany already  achieved the water-use goal in 2009.

* The anaerobic digestion systems at 10 U.S. breweries, along with the landfill gas at the Houston brewery, allows the equivalent of one out of every six beers to be brewed and packaged using alternative fuels. That’s one beer out of every six-pack! (The exclamation point was contained in the company’s news release — a rare but welcome sight in corporate communications.)

* A-B has cut total water use at its U.S. breweries by 38 percent since 2000.

* Last year, A-B’s U.S. breweries recycled 99.4% of solid waste they generated in the brewing and packaging process.

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The company is accepting applications for its Environmental Grant Program for innovative, community-based projects. The entry deadline is March 22.

Examples of activities supported by the program include watershed cleanups, restoration efforts, biodiversity projects, streamside buffer restoration projects and hazardous waste collection efforts, the company said.

Information, application forms and a look at past winners can be found here. Entries should be mailed to Christie Barnhart, Missouri American Water, 2650 E. 32nd St., Suite 121, Joplin, Mo., 64804.

Frank Kartmann, president of Missouri American Water, said the company encourages communities, schools and non-governmental associations involved in these efforts to consider applying for a grant.

To be eligible, a proposed project must be located within Missouri American Water’s service area and be completed between May 1 and November 1 this year. It must be a new or innovative initiative, or a significant expansion to an existing program. Projects will be judged in part on projected impact, and collaboration with other organizations.

St. Louis-based Missouri American Water, a subsidiary of American Water (NYSE:AWK) is the largest investor-owned water utility in the state, and provides water and/or wastewater services to about 1.5 million people. American Water, based in Voorhees, N.J., is the largest investor-owned U.S. water and wastewater utility company, providing services in 35 states, as well as Ontario and Manitoba, Canada.

SOURCE: St. Louis Business Journal

Last Tuesday, the city council voted to become a full member of Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI), a membership association of local governments committed to advancing climate protection and sustainable development. By becoming a member, the council agreed to pay a $600 membership fee and pledge “to take a leadership role in promoting public awareness about the causes and impacts of climate change.”

The measure was put forward to the city council by the city’s Cool City Initiative Advisory Committee – a committee set up by the mayor soon after he made a pledge in 2009 on behalf of the city to become a Cool City. The Committee reviews opportunities for the city to reduce carbon emissions and advises it as to which steps can be taken.

City Planner Scott Hanson, a Cool Cities Committee member, said the ICLEI membership is part of the city’s steps as a Cool City.

Cool City steps include: take the Cool Cities pledge, conduct a global warming emissions inventory, create a solution plan and implement and monitor progress.

Hanson said the Cool Cities Committee recommended the membership which would allow the city to thus utilize software provided by ICLEI to calculate its carbon footprint, the negative impact the city has on the environment based on the amount of carbon it is emitting.

He said the software is included in the membership fee and the city has found someone to enter the data for free as part of their master’s degree internship.

He said the intern will collect data from sources such as the city, Allied Waste and Ameren.

“To determine our carbon footprint,” said Hanson.

According to the resolution/membership with ICLEI, the city “will undertake ICLEI’s five milestones to reduce both greenhouse gasses and air pollution emissions throughout the community, and specifically conduct a greenhouse gas emissions inventory and forecast to determine the source and quantity of greenhouse gas emissions in the jurisdiction; establish a greenhouse gas emissions reduction target; develop an action plan with both existing and future actions which when implemented will meet the local greenhouse gas reduction target; implement the action plan; and monitor and report progress.”

In addition, it states reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing energy efficiency, “provides multiple local benefits by decreasing air pollution, creating jobs, reducing energy expenditures and saving money for local governments, its businesses and its residents.”

In January, 2009, Mayor Gary Niebur signed the U.S. Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement. As a result, Niebur took a pledge on behalf of the city to take steps to reduce global warming through solutions such as smart lighting, renewable energy, energy efficiency, green vehicles, clean transportation, green buildings and green communities. He was the 911th mayor to sign the agreement in the U.S. and the second in the Metro East.

To learn more about the initiative, visit www.sierraclub.org/coolcities or for more information about ICLEI, visit www.iclei.org.
SOURCE: The Edwardsville Intelligencer

Meets: First Wednesdays and Fourth Thursdays, 7:00 – 9:00 pm

Cost: Free

The Architecture Section is a regional resource for the examination, critique and exhibition of architecture as a fine art in the context of a sustainable approach to the built environment.

Our group is open to architects, builders, designers, engineers, architectural historians, writers, critics, planners, policy makers and artists who have a passionate interest in the built environment and in our region. We see great value in crossing disciplinary boundaries as a means to advance the level of critical discourse of the built environment.

We are particularly interested in sustainability and preservation and we can easily imagine other topics and areas of interest which would be brought to the table by membership.

Visit the Architecture Section’s blog for more information about meetings and activities.

Chair: Richard Reilly

Phone: 314-727-6266

Email: rreilly001@gmail.com

Etimex Solar is a subsidiary of Germany-based Etimex Holding GmbH, which is controlled by funds affiliated with Alpha Gruppe. Etimex Solar, which employs about 60 people in Germany and reported a profit of $31 million in 2009, makes a film that covers and weatherizes solar panels. Solutia currently makes a different kind of film that covers solar panels to protect them from the elements and will become the only company to provide both types, said Melissa Hammonds, a Solutia spokeswoman. Solutia plans to expand Etimex’s operations in North America and Asia, she said.

“This acquisition is a solid step forward that strengthens our core competencies, expands our end markets and supports Solutia’s growth strategy,” Chairman, President and Chief Executive Jeffry Quinn said in a statement. “Renewable energy is an acknowledged source of long-term growth that fits well with Solutia’s businesses.”

Solutia said it expects to finance the deal with existing cash and additional debt.

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and Kirkland & Ellis LLP advised Solutia on the deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter.

St. Louis-based Solutia Inc. (NYSE: SOA) develops specialty chemicals, fibers, fluids and other performance products for the auto and construction industries. It reported sales of $1.7 billion in 2009.

In addition to energy assessments, the intern program seeks entities with projects involving water use/reuse, wastewater, stormwater, air quality, solid and hazardous waste. The program recruits top level engineering students, who receive additional training in applied engineering for pollution prevention and are then matched with company or community needs. Throughout the project, interns have the advisory support of engineering faculty. Interns work full time for 10 weeks at $15 per hour. For more information, go to  www.missouribusiness.net/eac/news/internships_summer10.asp or contact Marie Steinwachs at the Environmental Assistance Center at (573) 882-5011 or moeac@missouri.edu.

Last year, the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, led by President and Chief Executive Jim Buford, received nearly $7.4 million in federal stimulus money to provide free home weatherizing for low-income families and to expand the program to residents with income at the 200 percent of the federal poverty level.

The program reduces utility costs for residents by $260 to $700 a year by sealing leaks and boosting the efficiency of furnaces and hot water tanks.

Every $1 million invested in weatherization creates at least 16 direct, full-time jobs, as well as additional jobs in the clean energy, said the Apollo Alliance, citing data from the Political Economy Research Institute.

In Missouri, the weatherization program currently supports 450 jobs.

The Apollo Alliance, along with Legacy Building Group, led by CEO Todd Weaver, and the Green Building Council-Greater St. Louis Area Chapter, led by Executive Director Emily Andrews, plan to recognize the Urban League’s weatherization program Tuesday as an example of the potential for green job creation nationally.

The Apollo Alliance, based in San Francisco, is a coalition of labor, business, environmental and community leaders pushing for green jobs and clean energy.

Come stop by the 19th Annual Earth Day Festival and e-cycle household electronics, recycle used athletic shoes, worn out hard- and softbound books, phonebooks and shred confidential documents. (Note there is a five-box limit for confidential document shredding and recycling of cardboard will NOT be offered.) Bring the family and learn what you can do to keep our watershed cleaner through this year’s theme “Water’s Where It’s At!” Don’t throw your expired medications in the trash! Keep them out of the watershed by turning them in at the Prescription Drug Take Back booth for proper and safe disposal, sponsored by the Chesterfield Alliance for Positive Youth and the Chesterfield Police Department.

Plan to visit with over 50 exhibitors who will be showcasing green services and selling eco-friendly products, such as native Missouri wildflowers, rain barrels, and recycled glass art. Pick up a FREE native Missouri tree such as redbud, flowering dogwood, spicebush, buttonbush, river birch, or ninebark.

Click here to see flyer