The Day it Began to Click

Wow a gigantic thank you to all of our new subscribers to Sustainable Communities Newsletter. When i began this newsletter last week I hoped for 20 subscribers. I am happy to see enthusiasm behind this topic, finally. Sustainability may finally get the attention it deserves/requires after all. You truly inspired me to take a whim seriously. Thank you.

Following the previous edition of Sustainable Communities, let’s continue with the story about a nexus of realizations that I had while auditing the Jaybird’s Inn of St. Augustine, as a graduate student of global sustainability.?Although this newsletter is not about hotels, the events of this day will set into motion future posts. The information discussed here will become relevant down the line.

So, Jaybird's Inn. The 1950s style motel had been retrofitted in recent years and achieved certification from the green motels initiative in my state.? My classmates and I had been trained for weeks to perform an audit from a disorganized list of lists within lists. In essence, my role was to gather proof of claims made during an initial paper and pen assessment the previous year. The following experience not only had an impact on the ways that I think about sustainability, it inspired me to begin developing a new type of system that I continue to hack away at to this day.

One thing that can never be recycled is wasted time.?So, let me set the stage...

It Got Awkward

I can hear my trainer from the previous week saying "Don't forget to take extra pens" as I printed out all of audit paperwork. We gassed up my partners truck and headed towards the east coast. Driving across Florida from Tampa to St. Augustine to audit the sustainability claims of Jaybird’s Inn, to me, seemed ridiculous for a variety of reasons. ? As a graduate student of global sustainability, taking 60 pieces of paper filled with questions to ask, after they had already answered them, at the time, seemed like a really dumb way to analyze whether or not a hotel (or any business for that matter) had in fact done what they said they would do.? Even before arriving, the whole situation made me feel awkward.? It felt a lot like I was headed there to interrogate someone.? I kept telling myself… “an audit is an audit...but dang..this is 2015.”

During this time in my life, i recall my attitude towards sustainability to be somewhere between David Hume and Franz Boas. The logic made me skeptical but the problem seemed anthropological. To me, it seemed like if this was the way verification and certification assessments are handled, the whole notion of becoming more sustainable may be in trouble.?It simply takes too long to sort the truth from the greenwash. No wonder there are as many people out there are as doubtful about sustainability messaging as they are, I thought. ? Just thinking about the amount of time that occurs between someone getting certified based on their answers and the actual audit to see if they are doing what they claim made me suspicious.

As a side note, guess who was the professor's assistant for this particular class - yours truly. So in the end, I alone was responsible for gathering everyone else’s scanned PDF audits and had to then OCR extract all of the notes and scores from the other student’s assignments.? This was a total nightmare. ? There had to be a better way than this.

A Change in Perspective

When I arrived at Jaybird’s Inn unannounced, I was greeted by Scott the manager.? When he saw my stack of paper and realized that I would be taking up the next 4 hours of his time, he both chuckled and cringed.? I actually told him about how embarrassed I was and remarked that a better (paperless) way to do this was needed. He agreed.? I felt even worse once I began to see all of the hard work that he had been putting into the retrofit of this Inn.???

Here were my first impressions as written in my report:

My first impressions of the Inn were that it was carefully kept, smelled clean and fresh, inviting and hospitable.? Before even entering the building, I was immediately drawn to notice the emphasis placed upon the value of pedestrian type activities, utilizing the local trolley transit and ability to check out a bicycle to explore the city.? Once inside, I noticed many of the features inspired by our local green lodging criteria at work in the lobby and business center.? I was impressed with the methods which have been implemented for recycling paper and plastic waste at every turn.? In fact I counted 8 different opportunities to recycle waste in the lobby alone.? Multiple recycling bins placed directly beside trashcans encourages both guests and employees to respect the environment. I jumped to the front desk and began asking a few questions regarding the environmental policy of the Inn and it was at this time that I met Scott *****, the General Manager and his assistant.? I quickly realized just how incredibly knowledgeable and proactive the staff were about making the Inn as low impact upon the environment as possible.? My partner and I were invited back into the office to discuss our checklist and audit and we were impressed at how even in the backstage, practically every aspect of the business from paper use to furniture choice was ‘green’ eco friendly and eco-conscious.? While reviewing their application and claims, I found that there were even more criteria which had been met since the submission of their form.? From the employee uniforms made from recycled cotton to the bedspreads made from woven recycled plastics from ocean pollution, Jaybird’s Inn is certainly doing its part to protect the planet, one guest at a time.

I finally realized what my assignment was - it was to see what is possible when teams work together. Also as you'll see below and in future posts this was just a gateway realization opening doors to the larger picture - a more holistic approach to understanding the interconnectedness and interdependencies found between parts of any sustainability system.

Here are just a few specific feature examples that I discovered on my tour throughout the property which demonstrate efforts to reduce carbon emissions and lower environmental impact:

Features of Guest Rooms

• Porcelain Flooring which reduces energy, replaced less often and retains heat in the winter and cooling in the summer
• Bedspreads are fleece made 100% recycled plastic bottles reclaimed from ocean pollution
• Environmental Policy was clearly stated and prominently displayed in 3 areas of guest rooms
• Smart Carrier Heating and cooling Units
• Biodegradable Bamboo features such as toiletry stands and counter top accessories
• Organic Toiletries and Lotions provided by Inn to guests
• Rainfall shower heads with shower controls located on opposite side of stall is a prime example of just how much care has been placed upon the details.
• Timers and motion detectors on all lights - saves energy!
• Platform beds reduce need for bed springs
• All soap products are recycled at a rate of 500 lbs per month
• Hurricane proof double paned glass and new windows have been installed throughout

Lobby Area

• All Furniture in lobby is crafted locally using local wood and recycled plastics
• No charge bicycle fleet reduces guest carbon emissions while staying in St. Augustine
• Materials from old structure such as Oak beams in lobby were reused in new design
• Easynap dispensers ensure guests do not take more napkins than needed, controlling the amount of waste produced by Inn
• Coffee in lobby is grown and ground locally
• All food product bought in bulk and waffle iron as option for breakfast. way cool.

* my mention of all of these features will make more sense in future newsletters

What can I say about an operation which is in a constant state of improvement? In fact the attention committed to detail in the Jaybird’s EMS made it quite difficult to discover very many aspects of the operation in need of change. My recommendations to Jaybird’s Inn were few simply because the team seemed to be running on a new type of fuel which burns clean and leaves no trace.? Powered more and more by the sun, they are going above and beyond. I found it hard to discover, given my limited time, many ways they were failing and when something was missing Scott was aware and already had it in his sights on a solution.

A Lightbulb Went Off ??

• A hotel or community cannot improve if they do not have an established baseline shared with everyone on the team. Data sitting in silos does not help a team improve
• This baseline should also include answers to the metrics which are not yet being addressed.
• The auditing should take place at the exact same time as the initial assessment
• The whole idea of auditor traveling to reassess a property is no longer sustainable
• Those who have gone through the processes of becoming more sustainable should not have to feel interrogated.
• The criteria and units of measure should be global so efforts can be aligned with neighboring communities…
• Neighboring hotels and communities should have access to the best practices showcased by similar entities / communities.

The Ball Begins to Roll

Practically every choice made by the Jaybird's team leads to a reduced carbon footprint. The minimized environmental impact happens at the nexus where the product of these decisions can be found. I saw how excited and proud the employees were to be working there - a place which did a lot more than you'd expect with far less than you'd think.

I must mention that Jaybird’s Inn, despite all of the amazing efforts, for whatever reason has changed the amazing name.? It is now called the Flagler Inn and although I haven’t been to visit it, I imagine they inherited a lot of retrofitted upgrades which should bring guests joy and a lowered impact upon St. Augustine for years to come.??It will depend on the team. Honestly, I've only been as far as the website and all of the rooms look exactly the same. Nevertheless, it appears the Flagler has been downgraded to 2 stars without Scott at the helm.

Now you may be asking yourself, “What does this hotel’s sustainability have to do with entire communities?”? My answer is everything.? Hotels, restaurants, cruise lines, tourism operations all operate similar to a community, if they are working well.? Teams set public goals and achieve them in real time.? The public gains faith in the teams for achieving these goals…..much more on this soon.

Cool Tools to Try:

This is a section i intend to include in every newsletter. A place for some cool new tools that are worth checking out.

Ocean Cleanup Plastic Tracker - This map is an educative tool to illustrate the fate of floating plastic 20 years from now, should you lose it today from your location or anywhere else in the world. Where will it go? How probable is it that it will reach the ocean? This tool will give you a possible answer to these questions and show you just how far plastic can travel from its starting point.

Global Marine Fishing Watch - A decade ago, building an open-access picture of global fishing activity was out of reach. But thanks to advances in satellite technology and machine learning, Global Fishing Watch is now making it a reality.

Global Green Jobs Board - I built this for the Blue Community and for any sustainability professionals out there looking for employment opportunities. You can also post your available green jobs for free. Follow @bluecommfla

Spreadsimple - Quickly build websites from spreadsheets on this constantly evolving platform. Here are a few examples of what you can accomplish with Spreadsimple in just a few minutes.

For my land surveyor friends out there who may have felt left out in this post, check out Land Surveyor Tools and Resources You Should be Using in 2022 Fear not..there will be much more for you in future posts. If anything, definitely check out the new Surveyor Wiki I installed into the community for you into the community.

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