Member Innovations

Sustainable Connections has been successful because of the amazing commitment to innovation and sustainable practices of our member businesses. Here are a few business practices that we want to highlight.

Click any business name for more information...

Aiki Homes - Appliance Depot - Bellingham Bay Builders - Bellingham Pasta Company - Bellingham Public Market - Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship - Botanical Laboratories - Enterprise Excavating - Garden Spot Nursery - Gato Verde - Let Them Eat Cake - Mac & Mac Electric - Moles Greenacres - NW Ecological - NW Washington Fair - Osprey Farm - RMC Architects - Sip-T Tea Company - Whatcom Community College - Windy Meadows Nursery

We'd love to hear more about what your business is doing! Click here to tell us your story.

Appliance Depot - Duane Jager

Applicance Depot staff Duane Jager’s innovative appliance store reuses/recycles appliances, while providing job training for students and local residents to develop marketable skills. Appliance Depot accepts donated appliances, which divert waste from the landfill and extends the lifespan of existing appliances, further reducing the need for producing new materials

Promotes job training for students and local residents

In 2008, Appliance Depot stripped and salvaged over 5,000 appliances.

Appliance Depot offers curbside pick-up for unwanted appliances
Hosts annual “Appliance Art Revival” celebration which turns “trash” into works of art

Greenacres - Brian Flowers

Greenacres Memorial Park provides green burial services for those who choose an environmentally friendly burial process. “The Meadow” is one of only two Green Burial sites certified by the Green Burial Council in Washington State.

Uses only non-toxic and biodegradable materials.
Memorial stones are sustainably gathered from Skagit quarries where no fuel is burned to obtain them.

Contributes to the natural restoration of the ecosystem by providing nutrients to native species.

Bellingham Pasta Company – Anna Rankin & Katie Hinton

“Taste the difference, and see the difference,” says Anna Rankin.

Anna and Katie have reinvented the dry pasta we once knew by creating fresh, handmade pasta right here in Bellingham. Bellingham Pasta Company is a wholesale producer that keeps sustainability in mind when creating their savory products. Anna encourages other businesses to “transition from using a car to bikes. Before, I use to bike for pleasure, but now it is part of my work."

Pasta packaged in PLA compostable containers or wrapped in recyclable butcher paper

Made from locally sourced wheat flour

Delivers all orders on bicycle

NW Ecological - Analiese Burns

NW Ecological is a local consulting firm dedicated towards creating a balance between complex development and natural landscapes. Since 1991, the firm specializes in biological assessments, salvage site landscaping, environmental permitting, low impact development and mitigation plans.

Low impact development projects: Kulshan Community Land trust housing at Mattei Place, Moles Funeral Home and Creatatory’s Green Burial site, rain garden on Racine street and more.
Adopted File Transfer Protocol, which electrically sends reports to developers rather than printing information
Cartridge-free printer uses only 100% recycled paper
Office has switched to walking, biking or busing to work

Bellingham Public Market

Whether quenching their thirst at Juice it, or shopping for specialty skin care products at Terra Organica / Bargainica, local shoppers can count on the knowledgeable businesses to cater to their needs with locally sourced products. Market manager Gary Holloway says “the Bellingham Market tries to deliver authentic products as well as the Northwest experience by giving customers options”.

Recycle restroom paper towels
Future plans: Eliminate trash cans within the market and adopt 100% food and container recycling

Enterprise Excavating- Gina Brester

Enterprise Biodiesel

Gina Brester and her husband operate Enterprise Excavating in Ferndale, where they offer project assessments and installations ranging from site preparation, septic/sewer hook up, concrete prep and excavations, all with the intent of creating as little environmental impact as possible. To further reduce their environmental impact, Gina has begun creating biodiesel to fuel her work vehicles.

Enterprise Gina

Refined biodiesel to run their dump truck and diesel pick-up truck.
4-6 miles per gallon.
Biodiesel is made from vegetable oil from local restaurants, methanol and potassium hydroxide.

Aiki Homes – Rose Lathrop

Aiki Homes

As one of Bellingham’s green building pioneers, Aiki Homes welcomes the LEED Platinum Holcomb Residence to exemplify the future in energy and water efficiency, sustainable resources, and community education.

Roof pitch designed for maximum active solar potential.
Waste reduction and recycling was a primary goal throughout building process. Achieved a 70% recycling rate
First house in Bellingham to have permitted rainwater reuse system
First certified Built Green 5 Star and LEED Platinum

Sip-T Tea Company - Cheyenne Black

SipT Just one small staple- that’s the only thing in Sip-T Company’s new packaging that cannot be composted. Sip-T Company has taken a new direction with their packaging to reduce waste.

New packaging is tree-free and uses hemp paper, a plant - based compostable cellophane and reusable cotton tea infuser
All materials are grown and sewn in the USA

Garden Spot Nursery - Marcy Plattner

Drop off your Nursery Pots and Trays with the Garden Spot! We are pleased to again accept clean nursery pots and trays for all Sustainable Connections members and customers. Just stop by the Garden Spot during business hours to drop off your clean pots and trays. We will be collecting and recycling as a service to our community.

Clean containers only please! – brush clean if necessary
All colors, numbers and sizes accepted
Labels OK

Bellingham Bay Builders

BBB house

Bellingham Bay Builders - Bellingham Bay Builders (BBB) is a residential general contractor specializing in eco-friendly remodels and new construction. BBB prides itself in its unique cooperative business model where employees own and operate the business since 2004.

LEED accredited professionals
Democratic and cooperative business model where employees have theopportunity to co-own the business
Employees have equal wages, benefits and share of company which promotes commitment to quality work

Osprey Farm - Anna and Geoff Martin

For the last 6 years, Anna and Geoff Martin adopted the mindset of “working smarter, not harder” on their permaculture farm in Acme, Washington. The key to success for Anna and Geoff is the shared firm belief for biodiversity in agriculture, which accounts for the 14 various types of garlic, 18 rare types of tomatoes on their farm among other heirloom vegetables. Anna and Geoff currently house hundreds of organic heritage turkeys.

Wetland for ducks and other species to nest on their farm
Constructed a moving greenhouse to increase efficiency
Invites the community to visit their farm to learn about permaculture
Believes sustainability should be incorporated in the process of their work rather than viewing it as a goal

Mac and Mac Electric Company - Eddie Pankow

Mac & Mac specializes in repairing electrical apparatuses such as motors, pumps, kitchen equipment and generators. Eddie Pankow’s business philosophy is to repair products to extend the life of a product by fixing the problem as a form of recycling. Aside from repairing electric equipment, Eddie Pankow and his team began working on electric car conversions in 2006 when gasoline prices significantly increased.

Retrofit a vehicle into an electric car in a week’s time
Converted about 2 dozen electric vehicles in Bellingham
Converted to an electronic faxing system. Faxes are qued on the computer and selectively print to reduce paper use

Let Them Eat Cake - Andy Millage

Zebra Cake “Let Them Eat Cake” is the first residential food business in Whatcom County. Self-taught artisan baker Andy Millage, specializes in custom 3 dimensional cakes, sculpture, cupcakes and cookies using only homemade buttercream frosting rather than traditional fondent frosting. With 30 years of experience, Andy Millage says “the cake should reflect the personality of the client” and aims to help people discover the possibilities for their memorable occasions. Andy’s unique business plan has created a convenient commute to work, requiring only 20 steps downstairs to her private bakery downstairs from where her family resides.

Lobster Cake

Business and family residence in the same building
Upgrading all electrical lighting in her historic home to increase energy efficiency
Switched over to a tankless waterheater that heats water on demand to save energy and money

Gato Verde - Todd Shuster

Gato Verde offers overnight/day sailing packages in the first plug in diesel electric hybrid catamaran in the Northwest. In March 2006, Captain Todd Shuster Gato Verde converted from a diesel auxiliary propulsion engine to a plug-in diesel-electric hybrid propulsion system. The innovative upgrades he made to his catamaran eventually:

Reduced diesel consumption by 50%
Converted 80% of lighting to LED lights to reduce electricity consumption
Used hydronic heat to warm the cabin of the boat
Minimized noise on endangered Orca populations by converting engine

Botanical Laboratories - Lori McKnight

Growing WA stacked Botanical Laboratories specializes in marketing, manufacturing and distributing premium liquid supplements. For the last 3 years, Lori McKnight has been personally involved with Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and was motivated to introduce CSA into the workplace. She began putting together presentations at work and gained support from the CEO of Botanical Laboratories to support 50% of the CSA costs.

44 employees purchase 61 CSA shares
CSA are delivered to the office, cutting down delivery costs and GHGs emissions
Expanded TZW program by recycling plastics, composting restroom waste, recycling labels used in production and allowing Western Washington University to reuse container drums

Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship - Rachel Manrique

BUF Rental Space

Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship (BUF) is a place for worship, education and community activities. The newly developed addition located on 1207 Ellsworth Street incorporates green building features by Architect Dave Verret of Urban Design Group. To serve the community, BUF welcomes requests for rental of its facilities for weddings, concerts, recitals and other community events.

Built to LEED and Built Green Light Commercial standards
Bike, bus and inter-urban hiking trail accessibility
Building oriented for passive solar and natural lighting
Installed zonal heat pumping system and energy-efficient vinyl windows
Rain garden to filter stormwater run-off from roof
Unitarian Universalist Association recognized BUF as a Green Sanctuary since 2009

RMC Architects - Neil McCarthy

RMC is an architectural design firm offering an impressive portfolio highlighting institutional, commercial/mixed-use and residential projects. While not all projects are “green projects”, RMC finds ways to incorporate environmental principles in all projects. RMC designed a retrofit to 5 existing Bellingham Housing Authority buildings focusing on improved air quality, community connections and energy efficiency. The project was funded by a $9.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The project began in October 2010 and is estimated to be complete November 2011.

Community Connections: Permeable paths to absorb rainwater, bike shelters to promote bike riding and paths to encourage public transportation
Energy Efficiency: Photovoltaic panels on roof, high efficiency boilers for heating and hot water, insulation and replacing windows and energy efficient light fixtures.
Air Quality: Replacing fans to draw air in a more effective way, pressurized corridors and heaters with air intake to increase air flow
Green Roof: Demonstration area of how water moves and is used, cistern supplies water to green roof during summer and vegetable beds are available for residents to grow food.

Windy Meadow Nursery - Scott Titus

Scott Titus believes in taking a new approach to farming. His revolutionary research for sustainable agriculture has lead to high performance organic potting soil containing coconut piths, bacteria and fungi to naturally suppress disease and nutrient cycling without the use of harsh chemicals. Since 1999, his Intrepid Coco-Coir Premium Potting Soil has been recognized by Washington State Department of Agriculture for use on certified organic farms. Scott Titus believes practicing precision in farming through education can help break the fallacy of using more fertilizers for better crop performance.

Locally sourced building materials from the Re-Store and salvaged materials from
State Reforestation Nursery (where Bellis Fair is now) to build green houses
Directly bill the customer upon delivery to reduce carbon footprint
Intrepid Coco-Coir Potting Soil's innovative formula helps plants retain water and reduce water use

Whatcom Community College - Blanche Bybee

Whatcom Community College (WCC) incorporates sustainability as an integral part of student life. Through student lead composting programs and facility/administration support to include sustainability courses within its curriculum, WCC is taking dramatic steps towards an environmentally conscious student body. As a result, the campus has seen significant reductions in energy and natural resource consumption.

Composting Grants from the Department of Energy made energy upgrades in facilities and computer labs on campus possible. Immediate reductions in excess computer lab printing were observed through implementation of print quotas this year. Administrative offices and computer labs have upgraded to a thin client server allowing WWC to tap into energy, economic and maintenance savings.

Print quota challenges students to “think before they print”
Transition from a CPUs to thin client server
Student-lead composting program
Sustainability and service learning projects in curriculum

Energy Efficiency Upgrades:

New heating and cooling system for buildings
Upgraded HVAC system
Installation of low flush toilets
Light sensors for classrooms

NW Washington Fair - Jim Baron

Signs The Northwest Washington Fair celebrates 101 years of entertainment for friends and family in Lynden Washington August of 2011. With over 200,000 visitors attending the Fair during its100 year anniversary, Jim Baron, General Manager of NW Washington Fair and staff continue to encourage recycling cardboard to raise money for local charities. Lynden Christian Recycle Center volunteers picked up 6 tons of cardboard from last year’s fair and generated $800 to support school related activities for K-12 students. Jim Baron and staff plan to continue their efforts towards sustainability by encouraging food vendors to use compostable food containers next year. Fair Sunset

Recycled cardboard generated $800 for charities to support local educational activities
Reduced packaging waste by discouraging vendors from using aluminum and plastics