Wednesday- Over forty businesses attended a Green Your business Affair hosted by the Cambridge Energy Alliance (CEA) and the Sustainable Business Leadership Program (SBLP). Participants represented a diverse background of small and large commercial entities from the efficiency, renewable energy, nonprofit, design, and retail sectors. The business affair connected attendees to sustainable programs including the New England Wind Fund renewable energy program and Prism Consulting Inc., which provides energy efficiency audits to commercial entities. The Cambridge Energy Alliance shared information about its free one-stop-shop service available to Cambridge businesses including access to NSTAR’s business audit and rebate program, financing options through local banks, and an in-house energy advisor to help businesses connect to the services they need. Lilah Glick, Outreach Manager for the Cambridge Energy Alliance notes that there is a huge opportunity for energy efficiency improvements in the business sector. “Almost 80% of Cambridge’s greenhouse gas emissions come from buildings, and the commercial sector makes up 2/3rds of total emissions. Energy efficiency is a great way for businesses to not only become green leaders but also reduce their energy bills.” Ms. Glick noted that saving energy is easy and makes financial sense, with robust incentives made available through the Cambridge Energy Alliance. Emily Kanter, consultant at the Sustainable Leadership Program, has over nine years of working with local businesses and recognizes the challenges they face in a global economy. Ms Kanter performs sustainable assessments and shares that, “greening a company’s operations reduces both resource usage and expenses.” The Sustainable Leadership Program identifies viable environmentally sustainable improvements and then pairs companies with the tools and resources to make those changes happen. Participating businesses learn about ways to become sustainable through improvements in energy efficiency, water conservation, recycling and waste reduction, transportation, pollution prevention, and sustainability management The event was hosted at Greenward Eco-botique located in Porter Square. Greenward is a small, locally-owned eco-boutique in Cambridge, MA, owned by the husband-and-wife team of Scott Walker and Simone Alpen. Locally brewed beer was provided by Cambridge Brewing Company, pizza was donated by Stone Hearth Pizza, and organic fair-trade chocolate from Theo. Ms. Kanter concluded that the, “event was a great success and the Sustainable Business Leadership Program and the Cambridge Energy Alliance aims to host similar Green Affairs in the future.”

Sunday- Community members traveled door to door in the Riverside neighborhood of Cambridge distributing free energy efficient compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs and efficiency resources to hundreds of homes. This community event, organized by the Cambridge Energy Alliance (CEA) and the Home Energy Efficiency Team (HEET), was held in order to help residents lower their home energy consumption and cut carbon emissions in Cambridge. Jason Taylor, a HEET Team leader, enthusiastically remarked, "Changing light bulbs will put money in your pocket. And it helps the Earth." The Riverside light bulb exchange is part of a broader effort by HEET to help Cambridge residents lower their carbon footprint by implementing efficiency measures in homes with support from volunteers. Twenty-four volunteers met traveled on foot door-to-door in the Riverside neighborhood, exchanging CFL bulbs for incandescent bulbs. The CFL bulbs were generously donated by TCP, Inc., and Metro Pedal Power provided the carbon-free delivery for the CFLs to the Cambridge Community Center—making it a carbon free event. Four hundred and forty-two CFL bulbs were exchanged today, saving 132,000 pounds of CO2 emissions from being emitted per year. If a resident were to exchange 20 light bulbs in their home it would save approximately $1200 dollars over the life span of the bulbs. The exchange will help Riverside residents decrease their energy consumption, combat climate change, and also save money on their energy bills. After the canvass, a community party was held at the Cambridge Community Center to celebrate the volunteers’ outreach efforts. Lilah Glick, Community Outreach Manager for the Cambridge Energy Alliance considers the event to be a great success and shared, “this demonstrates how a small group of committed individuals can make a real difference in their community and lead the way for a more sustainable, healthy future”. The Riverside light bulb exchange is a continuation of CEA’s summer canvass program, connecting Cambridge residents to efficiency programs and services to help them save money and save the planet. Ms. Glick views changing out light bulbs as a great first step toward reducing energy use and recommends Cambridge residents get connected to CEA’s energy audit programs and services to help identify deeper savings opportunities that create more sustainable, healthier, and comfortable homes.”