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Description
GREENBIZ CUPERTINO
City of Cupertino: MiniGrants and Kirsch Center Partnership
GreenBiz Cupertino is a new pilot program established to both champion and incentivize local Cupertino businesses that support our community by conserving energy and water, minimizing waste generation and preventing pollution. In this sixth installment, City of Cupertino Environmental Affairs Coordinator Erin Cooke discusses minigrants and the Kirsch Center partnership. (14 min.)
A
A
So
the
city
wants
to
make
sure
that
there
are
other
resources
available
to
you
to
basically
assist
in
your
enrollment
in
the
program,
your
certification
and
so
on,
and
this
meeting
is
an
example
of
that.
So
I
do
want
to
get
some
feedback
from
you,
but
I'm
just
going
to
actually
pull
up
some
other
resources
that
we
offer
before
I
get
too
much
into
the
program
element.
So,
in
addition
to
offering
services
such
as
this
an
actual
program,
we
do
offer
incentives.
A
We
have
two
very,
very,
very
new
programs
that
we're
offering,
which
we
call
a
tree
for
free
and
go
green
grants,
and
I
have
a
flyer
about
those
up
here
that
I'll
just
pass
around.
So
there
are
two
separate
programs.
They
are
started
in
earth
day
of
this
year,
basically
with
the
group
with
two
separate
goals,
so
I'll
talk
to
them
each
independently.
First,
the
girl
go
green
grant
program,
which
is
a
mouthful
I
want
to
hear
everyone
say
that
three
times
fast
go
green
grant,
go
green
grant,
go
green,
ok,
I
got
it
good.
A
When
I
was
talking
about
it
on
earth
day,
it
was
a
little
bit
challenging
because
I
was
saying
it
so
frequently,
but
the
go
green
grants.
I
explained
it
a
little
bit
earlier.
The
goal
is
to
basically
fill
any
funding
gaps
that
exist
within
currently
offered
utility
rebate
programs.
What
we
found
in
the
residue,
shull
sectors
that
residents
were
interested
in
pursuing
things
like
planting
or
developing
rain
barrels
and
doing
water
recycling
programs
in
their
homes.
A
They
wanted
to
buy
electric
lawn
mowers
and
things
like
that,
and
there
aren't
any
rebates
that
are
available
for
those.
So
we
wanted
to
basically
elevate
the
existence
of
rebate
programs
that
are
available
and
fill
those
funding
gaps
by
offering
a
city
grant
program
and
that's
what
that
is,
and
in
order
for
business
to
enroll
in
that
program,
you
have
to
submit
a
green
business
checklist.
A
So,
if
your
see,
if
your
business
identifies
that
you're
having
a
really
hard
time,
purchasing
recycled
copy
paper
or
installing
more
efficient
or
planting
a
native
garden
or
something
like
that,
the
program
is
very
flexible
and
it's
growing
significantly.
So
we
want
to
basically
work
with
you
to
figure
out
what
your
funding
gaps
are
and
then
fill
those
with
the
grants
that
we
offer.
Secondly,
we
offer
another
program
called
a
tree
for
free
program.
If
you
own
your
business
and
own
the
land
around
it.
I
know
this
doesn't
apply
to
everyone.
A
So
we
will
offer
a
free
tree,
I'm
thinking
actually
now
as
I'm
standing
up
here,
that,
given
that
your
business
may
or
may
not
actually
own
space
that
if
you
have
gone
through
the
program-
and
you
want
to
donate
your
tree-
say
to
someone
else-
that
the
city
would
probably
consider
that
as
well.
If
you're
not
actually
able
to
plant,
it
yourself
seems
like
a
good
incentive
and
then
that
tree
could
be
donated
on
your
behalf
to
a
local
school
or
something
like
that.
A
So
those
are
the
two
like
primary
incentive
programs
that
the
city
is
offering
right
now
and
then
we're
just
working
to
kind
of
build
into
this
program.
So
we
don't
want
to
reinvent
the
wheel.
We
think
the
county's
program
is
incredibly
effective
and
very
much
comprehensive
and
we
think
that
the
best
way
to
get
our
businesses
involved
in
saving
money,
saving,
energy
saving
water
and
conserving
resources
is
through
this
program.
A
So
that's
why
we're
here
today
and
in
addition
to
those
grant
programs
and
tree
programs
that
I
mentioned,
we
want
to
further
incentivize
your
participation
in
the
program,
so
we've
pulled
together
a
few
other
resources.
If
you
do
submit
a
green
business
checklist,
you
are
eligible
to
receive
a
kilowatt
meter
and
the
kilowatt
meter.
Is
it's
pretty
funky
device?
It's
very
interesting.
What
you
do
is
you
can
plug
in
existing
appliances
or
electronics
and
see
what
typically
called
vampire
load.
A
So
what
energy
is
being
sucked
or
drawn
from
your
utility
outlet
when
those
things
are
powered
and
standby?
So
a
lot
of
your
electronics
or
play
appliances
have
little
LED
devices
or
backlighting.
That
draws
energy
when
they're
not
in
use
exactly-
and
this
is
how
you
can
determine
how
much
energy
they're
using
on
an
annual
or
an
ongoing
basis.
A
So
we
think
this
is
a
good
and
it's
also
an
educational
tool,
something
that
you
can
use
and
work
with
your
employees
to
better
understand
how
much
draw
say
their
cell
phones
are
having
during
the
day
and
or
other
appliances
you're
interested
in
looking
at.
So
this
is
available
to
all
businesses
that
submit
a
green
business
checklist,
and
we
will
also
give
you
a
Cupertino
green
t-shirt.
I
should
have
brought
one
of
those
to
look
at.
We
didn't
know
if
that
would
be.
A
You
know
the
biggest
incentive
in
the
entire
world,
but
it's
becoming
pretty
popular
in
our
community
to
wear
one
of
the
Cupertino
green
business
or
cupertino
green
t-shirts.
There
are
a
hundred
percent
organic
cotton-
quite
soft
and
I'd
like
to
sleep
online
most
days,
so
we're
welcome
to
give
you
one
of
those
as
well
and
if
you're
a
certified
green
business.
Currently,
you
should
come
and
visit
us
and
we
will
give
you
one
of
those
as
well.
A
We
had
a
lot
of
interesting
names
that
we
were
brainstorming
on
and
that's
what
we
ended
up
with,
but
one
thing
that
the
city
recognizes
we
were
going
through.
Our
certification
program
is
that
there
are
a
lot
of
measures
that
relate
to
procurement.
Those
being
you
know
what
types
of
paper
clips
are
you
buying?
A
What
types
of
paper
and
paper
towels
and-
and
things
like
that,
and
so
we
thought
it'd-
be
easy
just
to
transition
you
to
using
some
of
those
products
by
offering
you
them
today
and
what
we're
offering
our
kind
of
the
most
resource
conservation
version
of
those.
So
we
have
the
hundred-percent
recycled
paper,
the
hundred-percent
recycled
paper
towels.
A
We
have
recycled
paper
clips
and
things
like
that
and
so
I'm
going
to
invite
everyone
after
we're
done
presenting
to
walk
back
to
the
green
Depot,
we
have
tote
bags
available
for
everyone
and
you're
welcome
to
pick
those
up
and
take
them
back
to
your
office.
Furthermore,
yes,
we
do
have
actually
faucet
aerators,
so
I
know
that
Karen
presented
that
the
Santa
Clara
Valley
Water
District
also
offers
faucet
aerators.
But
it's
a
really
simple
device.
A
You
just
twist
out
that
the
tip
or
the
nose
of
your
faucet
and
screw
that
in
and
it'll
basically
reduce
your
water
consumption,
typically
by
about
seven
point,
seven
or
one
gallon
per
minute,
depending
what
flow
rate
you
use,
and
we
have
the
one
gallon
flow
rate
here
today
and
then
we
just
have
a
myriad
of
other
things
that
are
kind
of
fun
and
I'll
walk
back
to
and
just
introduce
you
to
some
of
those
things.
The
one
kind
of
high
gift
item
is
I,
guess
the
recycled
copy
paper.
A
I
thought
it
was
interesting,
actually
that
one
of
our
panelists
mentioned
that
that's
usually
a
tough
transition
for
a
lot
of
businesses.
You
may
have
office
managers
that
have
told
you
that
one
hundred
percent
recycled
copy
paper
will
clog
your
machine.
But,
as
we
know
here
at
the
city,
we
worked
with
Rico,
who
told
us
that
all
of
our
printers
are
ready
raring
to
go
for
that
hundred
percent
copy
recycled
copy
paper.
So
it's
here
for
you
to
try
out
and
or
with
or
without
the
support
of
your
office
manager.
A
We
did
a
little
bit
of
the
same
pilot
where
we
just
put
it
in
the
tray
and
check
to
see
if
any
notice
and
everyone
seemed
very
happy
with
it.
So
that's
available
for
you
today
and
then.
Lastly,
another
element
that
our
panel
talked
about
was
basically,
how
do
you
market
your
business
once
you've
gone
through
the
program?
What's
another
and
sense,
it's
of
course
making
sure
that
your
name
gets
out
there
and
that
you're
able
to
distinguish
your
business
for
the
environmental
attributes
that
you've
pursued
through
this
program.
A
So
beyond
the
elements
that
can
mention,
which
are
the
logo
getting
your
name
on
the
county's
website
by
participating
in
the
program,
the
city
also
has
a
similar
program.
So
we
are
working
to
acknowledge
businesses
that
have
participated
in
the
program
by
hosting
an
event
at
one
of
our
council
meetings
that
will
be
coming
up.
It's
very
likely
we'll
do
it
around
Earth
Day.
We
haven't
done
that
as
far
as
I'm
aware,
so
we
are
have
committed
to
making
sure
that
we're
acknowledging
our
businesses
that
are
participating
in
the
program
at
a
council
recognition
event.
A
The
county
also
hosts
their
award
ceremonies,
which
can
and
mentioned
earlier,
and
then
we
want
to
also
grow
and
expand
the
marketing
opportunities
that
are
available
to
you.
So
this
is
kind
of
a
free
advertising
venue.
We
will
absolutely
be
focusing
on
having
articles
about
your
business
in
seeing
the
community-wide
newspaper
and
I
know
the
mayor
mentioned
this
earlier,
and
we're
also
interested
in
learning
your
story.
What
was
it
like
to
go
through
the
program?
A
What
benefits
did
you
receive
by
participating
similar
to
what
we
talked
about
today
on
the
panel,
and
we
want
to
showcase
those
on
our
radio
station,
as
well
as
our
television
station?
So
we
think
that's
a
really
great
way
to
get
the
word
out
about
the
program,
talk
about
the
benefits
and
then
also
loop
back
to
growing
those
supporters
and
customers
that
are
coming
to
your
business,
because
you
offer
great
products
and
services,
but
also
have
a
heightened
level
of
commitment
to
the
environment
in
our
community.
So
we're
very
committed
to
doing
that,
and
then.
A
Lastly,
this
is
a
little
bit
of
what
we're
considering
part
of
our
pilot.
There's
a
really
neat
little
book
that
is
a
local
to
well,
it's
not
just
in
the
bay
area.
It
is
up
in
I,
think
Oregon
and
Portland
I
would
say
very
north
west
coast,
but
it's
called
the
chinook
book,
formerly
the
Eco
Metro
guide
and
it's
a
series
of
basically
coupons
that
are
available
to
residents.
It's
available
for
purchase.