The fourth year of Green Check businesses have completed certification! These nine local businesses represent a variety of industries and have gone above and beyond to ensure they are doing their part to make Lexington more sustainable.
Most Valuable Pets – Silver
Local pet store, Most Valuable Pets, has been around for 26 years and has led the way nationally for pet store sustainability. They regularly share their ideas at pet store conferences around the nation! These innovative ideas include developing a water reuse system for fish tanks, reusing old paperboard boxes for animal bedding, and selling natural and BPA free items. During the Green Check process, Most Valuable Pets was able to expand their initiatives by taking advantage of Bluegrass Greensource’s free Energy Audit Kit check out program – available at all Lexington Public Library locations.
EARTHeim Landscape Design Studio – Silver
Receiving Silver level certification is no easy task. Fortunately for EARTHeim Landscape Design Studio, becoming more sustainable and receiving a specific certification level is not contingent on employee size. EARTHeim joins Green Check as our second ever single-employee business. Utilizing rain barrels on site, assisting the City of Lexington with the Plant by Numbers program, establishing a composting program, and conducting a waste audit are a few of the many initiatives that EARTHeim has completed to receive Silver level certification.
Leisure Lawn & Landscaping – Silver
The landscaping industry might seem sustainable on the outside however, like most industries, sustainable practices must be the priority in order to actually make an impact. Leisure Lawn & Landscaping has done so and made several changes to their “business as usual.” To limit their CO2 emissions, they installed an idling tracking system on all of their trucks. Internally, all of their files, employee documents, and manuals are stored on a digital database to avoid excessive paper use. They also recommend using environmentally-friendly soil, mulch, and lawn treatments to their clients so as to help teach those best practices to our community at large.
West Sixth Brewing – Bronze
West Sixth’s community involvement and environmentally conscious attitude is well known in Lexington. Anyone that attends one of their brewery tours will notice that they highlight their sustainability initiatives on the very first stop. Some of those initiatives include installing energy-efficient fans and housing the brewery in a 100-year-old refurbished building instead of building a whole new structure. West Sixth also regularly partners with environmental groups like Kentucky Waterways Alliance, Wolf Run Watershed, and Floracliff Nature Sanctuary.
GRW – Bronze
With offices in Tennessee, West Virginia, Indiana, and Kentucky, the Lexington branch of this engineering, architecture, and geospatial firm sought Green Check certification to serve as a model for other GRW offices in the region. GRW has made the most of implementing sustainable practices by executing the following initiatives: installing programmable thermostats to control energy use during non-operational hours, double-sided printing, and establishing an office recycling program. Regularly hosting litter cleanups and teaching home owners how to conduct water testing, GRW shows how important it is to them to be heavily involved in their community.
Carson’s Food & Drink – Bronze
Green Check is excited to have another certified, full-service restaurant in our network! Like West Sixth Brewing, Carson’s is also housed in a refurbished building and has taken into consideration the opportunity to have a positive environmental impact in their recycled space. Most notably is their use of reclaimed Kentucky farm wood throughout the restaurant. Carson’s also composts food scraps, reuses Woodford Reserve bottles as water bottles for their tables, and purchases local products as much as possible.
Downtown Lexington Partnership – Member
The Downtown Lexington Partnership is responsible for many of Lexington’s most popular downtown events as well as highlighting and encouraging partnership among businesses along the Main Street corridor. In an historic house they use as an office, Downtown Lexington Partnership takes advantage of the large windows that let in a great deal of natural light rather than using unnecessary electricity. They have also provided sustainability information in their staff kitchen that outlines recycling, F.O.G. (Fats, Oils, & Grease) disposal, and energy efficiency.
Clark Law Office – Member
Green Check’s first law office, Clark Law, completed certification in just two months! Staying true to their industry, many of their newly adopted initiatives were centered on creating new office policies. Clark Law created a sustainability handbook that included policies such as powering down lights and computers during non-working hours, purchasing Energy Star-rated appliances, and implementing environmentally-friendly printing. They also created a sustainability statement to include in new hire materials.
Barnhill Chimney – Member
Local chimney care and supply specialist, Barnhill Chimney, has made it a priority to have a positive impact on the community and environment. Highlighting sustainable best-practices on posters throughout their showroom, Barnhill showcases their commitment to sustainability. Installing water-efficient faucets in the bathroom, providing weather protected bike storage for employees, and having the HVAC system evaluated every two years are some of the other sustainable initiatives they have adopted.
Want to talk to these businesses about their work in sustainability? The 2019 Green Check Awards Celebration will honor all nine on Tuesday, September 24th at West Sixth Brewing’s main location on 6th Street from 3:30-5 PM. This event is free and open to the public. For more information on the ceremony, please check out the official Facebook event.
For more information on Green Check, check out LexingtonKY.gov/GreenCheck