Sustainable Growth, LLC - Press

Ned Tillman will tell BBI members ‘There are some wonderful opportunities’ in Central Maryland

bht — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 17:00:00 +0000

Sustainable Growth’s Ned Tillman was invited by Base Business Initiative to lecture on Sustainability Management Plans to members of the greater Fort Meade business community at aBBI Brown Bag to be held on Thurs., Dec. 13.

“Several key decisions are being made by local legislatures at the moment,” said Tillman, president of Sustainable Growth, a consulting firm that

helps organizations become more sustainable. “As a result, there are some wonderful opportunities for local businesses that BBI folks should know about.”

Executive Orders by Presidents Bush and Obama direct federal agencies to implement sustainability management plans. Federal-level action has helped inspire Baltimore City and the counties near Ft. Meade to embed sustainable practices at all levels of their operations while corporate America has lowered energy costs, increased market share, reduced supply-side risks, engaged and retained employees and reduced the negative health impacts of operations by adopting sustainability as a core value, according to Tillman.

“I plan to cover issues that affect local businesses and talk about green and sustainability initiatives at the state and county levels,” said Tillman.

The Brown Bag meeting is scheduled to run from noon to 1:30 p.m. in Room 1, 6751 Columbia Gateway Drive, Columbia. A holiday networking event will immediately follow Tillman’s presentation in the same location. Both events are free of charge and open to the first 25 registered BBI partners (members). Interest parites may register by emailing company, name, and title to kfew@howardcountymd.gov. Water and snacks will be provided. Attendees are free to bring their own lunch and are encouraged to bring a dessert to share during the networking event.

“I hope business owners come to hear what other businesses have done in this area and how a small business can become a healthier and more robust organization,” said Tillman.

Sustainable Growth supports Howard County’s Economic Development Authority

bht — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 02:44:37 +0000

November 20, 2012

COLUMBIA, MARYLAND Howard County’s Economic Development Authority today published a webpage titled Going Green that included a link to Sustainable Growth’s blog, Green Business Matters, and a downloadable sustainability checklist developed by Sustainable Growth as a free resource to business leaders.

The new webpage is part of an outreach program intended to support local businesses striving to green themselves. It was published under the direction of Jeryl Baker, marketing manager for HCEDA.

The worksheet, Steps toward a More Robust Organization, was developed to help focus business leaders’ thinking in six operational areas.

“We are pleased to support EDA on this very important initiative,” said Frank Hazzard, principal of Sustainable Growth. “We developed the checklist to provide guidance on achieving sustainability. Our hope is to inspire more people to greatness.”

Hazzard and his business partner, Ned Tillman, publish blog posts twice each week on Green Business Matters. Frequently they profile companies that are championing sustainability. “Often we’re inspired by what companies are doing and can’t resist sharing it with our audience,” said Hazzard. “If people are making the effort to improve their businesses, we want to do our part to spread the word so that they’ll profit from it.”

FASCON launches new website in support of its global initiative

bht — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 22:27:19 +0000

FORT MEADE, MARYLAND “Our restructured website is designed to better serve our current
and future customers,” said Gene Welch, CEO of Facility Site Contractors, Inc. (FASCON), a
construction and facilities management company based in Maryland.

The website, launched this week, includes new information and features, among them a jobs
board where FASCON can advertise its open positions, according to Ed Spirko, a business
developer for FASCON who headed up the project.

“Our old website was okay, but this is better. It’s more representative of what we do and where
we’re headed as an organization,” said Welch.

“The concept and design were a little tricky because they have so many DOD customers with
secure buildings and there are regulations about what you can post on a website when it comes to
classified information,” said Frank Hazzard, principal with Sustainable Growth, LLC, the firm
that was hired to manage the project.

“Frank and his people did a nice job. It took longer than we thought it would, but there’s more to
a website than people realize, and in the end it was well worth the effort,” said Spirko.

“This website is part of a larger business strategy to better position our company to compete in a
global marketplace,” said Welch.

FASCON provides services to multiple federal government customers both within the
continental United States and throughout the rest of the world.

“We pretty much do anything related to buildings – build them, provide the engineering staff,
renovate them, do maintenance,” said Spirko.

“Quality control and safety are getting a lot of attention in our industry right now. We wanted
this website to communicate to our customer base that we excel in those areas,” said Welch.

“Effective web design and development hinges on listening and getting to know a company
first,” said Hazzard. “FASCON is run by a good group of people doing work of vital importance
to our nation. It was important to me that I help them convey not only their capabilities but also
their passion and commitment to their work. I hope that came through in the final product.”

Future maintenance will be handled mostly by FASCON personnel, according to Spirko.

“We believe in empowering our customers to do their own website updates – it’s their site,” said
Hazzard.

“It’s gratifying when a plan comes together,” said Welch. “We have the tools, the people, and
the know-how. Now all we have to do is keep this organization moving forward.”

New website features information and utilities for overseas job seekers

bht — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 22:09:59 +0000

“Our new website is at the core of our business strategy; it will help us build a community of expats and foreign nationals pursuing overseas jobs,” said Maurice Hasting, president of Life Changing Job Services.

Hasting, speaking from his office in the Middle East, said that he launched LCJS to meet the needs of an underserved market – Americans and foreign nationals seeking insider information on overseas employment opportunities.

“These are tough times. People are hurting. Work in foreign countries makes a lot of sense to more and more people,” said Hasting. “The vast majority of people employed overseas report excellent experiences.”

The information contained on the site, including employer profiles, recently awarded government contracts, and advice for job seekers, does not exist on any other single website, according to Hasting.

“Our site has a Forum that my fellow expats are using to forge a community where we can exchange information and ideas,” said Hasting.

“The Job Board page has some pretty nifty functionality,” said Lynne D’Autrechy, web developer for Sustainable Growth, LLC, who designed the website. “This was a great project to work on. Maurice has a clear vision for where he wants to take LCJS. Vision is a good thing. If the client can articulate his vision, we can bring it to life.”

The leading reasons why people take jobs abroad, according to Hasting, are accelerated career advancement, meaningful work and above average pay.

“We took those motivating factors at face value and built a site that addresses them,” said D’Autrechy.

“The future of this space is essentially boundless,” said Hasting. “We’re tapped into a goldmine. Overseas jobs change peoples’ lives – hence our name.”

Executive director of homeless shelter for women emphasizes wellness, education and entrepreneurism

bht — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 21:57:36 +0000

A recent wellness day at INNterim in Pikesville was organized by the facility’s benevolent yet demanding executive director and intended to relieve stress and broaden the thinking of homeless mothers as they transition to independent living.

AUGUST 12, 2012 – PIKESVILLE, MARYLAND Millie Johnson knew it was unlikely that the 10 women living in her Pikesville, Maryland, transitional housing complex had experienced therapeutic massage, acupuncture or Reiki, and that was exactly why she organized a wellness day for them.

“INNterim provides a home for women with children who otherwise would be homeless. People struggling to survive typically view holistic medicine as a luxury that they can’t afford,” said Johnson, executive director of INNterim. “I wanted them to experience something new. There was a lot of skepticism beforehand, yet they were intrigued.”

That skepticism was tempered by deep admiration for Johnson among the residents, whom they fondly referred to as Miss Millie. Clearly she had earned their trust. This was not the first time she had pushed them to broaden their horizons.

“Miss Millie brings people in for credit counseling, home buying lessons, entrepreneur mentorship – other shelters don’t give you the tools to help you stand on your own. She lets us know we can do anything you want to do,” said Deborah Fitzgerald, an INNterim resident.

“This is not charity without strings; it’s a pathway to independence,” said Johnson. “If you’re contented as a homeless beggar, this is not for you. I absolutely believe that a lot of the empowerment fluff is just that, fluff. I believe in education. I require them to adhere to an action plan that they must agree to and sign before they can move in. The action plan sets goals that they must achieve to remain here. We provide more resources but at the same time we require more from our residents,” explained Johnson.

Most of the women work outside of their homes and attend school. Residents are given up to three years to transition to permanent housing. Since INNterim was founded as a nonprofit organization in 1994, 90 percent of residents have gone on to live independently, according to Johnson.

And so, Sun., July 15, was set aside as Wellness Day at INNterim. Johnson called upon an old friend and colleague whom she met through Landmark Education, Jennifer Stukey, founder of Awaken Wellness in Columbia, Maryland, and asked her for help.

“As you know, Millie can be very convincing,” said Stukey, who recruited five fellow practitioners for the cause. “I thought what a great gift to give the women – a day of relaxation.”

“They were so receptive and grateful that we were there,” said Stukey. “The effects of our services were immediate and very dramatic. Several [residents] shared that everyday stressors threatened to overwhelm them; they really benefitted from some healing.”

“I’ve always wanted to get a massage. I had heard that it was good for the soul. It relieves you physically and mentally. I feel like I could jump off a building and fly, and conquer the rest of my week. I work and go to school Monday through Friday and I feel like I can do it now,” said Monyette Fitzgerald, Deborah Fitzgerald’s daughter. The Fitzgeralds share a townhouse with Monyette’s children.

“My favorite part was the Reiki; it was so calming. I felt a transfer of energy from the lady that was giving service to me,” said Monyette Fitzgerald. “The acupuncture was good too. The pins didn’t hurt. I really felt at peace. They should have holistic healing in the medical field. You can’t heal everything with medication.”

“Several of the women expressed an interest in complementary alternative medicine and asked about careers in it,” said Stukey.

“That’s exactly what I like to hear; it’s great that they are thinking that way,” said Johnson. “I am big on entrepreneurship. If they have their own businesses no man or anyone else is going to take it from them. They can create their own security. It can be anything – jewelry, a restaurant, holistic healing.”

Johnson, a native of Montserrat who earned a PhD in organizational leadership from Johns Hopkins University, has a bold vision for INNterim’s future. “I would like to build an economic initiative – probably in the cooking world – so that the residents and others can make a living right here. Perhaps a restaurant or bakery right on our property.”

“Miss Mille is God’s gift; she’s an angel,” said Deborah Fitzgerald with a tone of adoration and respect. “Everything she [does] is for the families. She builds up their self-esteem.”

Family-owned printer bucks industry trend, expands operations

bht — Tue, 01 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

DC area printer finds growth in spite of the economy

By Frank Hazzard

Quick Print Magazine

When Bobby Firestein announced this spring that his family-owned company, SVECONWAY Printing, was expanding its operations by 25 percent and taking over the vacant warehouse space next to his Silver Spring, MD, shop, the DC-area printing community took notice. Suffice it to say he’s bucking a trend.

“Over the past decade, only the most resilient small printers have been able to navigate the extremely challenging business environment that has pushed approximately 30 percent of their colleagues out of business,” says Dr. Ronnie Davis, vice president and chief economist of Printing Industries of America.

“The industry is down to a few stubborn holdouts like me and a collection of large printers who are owned by out-of-state conglomerates,” says Firestein from his tiny office in a drab industrial park.

“In printing, like many industries, technology has allowed smaller companies to reach up to the lower end of the mid-market and bigger companies to reach down to the upper end of the small market. This has put the squeeze on family-held businesses,” says Kerry Stackpole, president of Printing & Graphics Association Mid-Atlantic.

The Internet is also to blame for the decline in the printing industry, according to a recent report published by InfoTrends, a document technology consulting firm. Just as travel agencies, the US Postal Service, and bicycle couriers have been threatened by the proliferation of electronic information, so has the printing industry. “We continue to see consolidations and acquisitions,” says Stackpole.

Those companies that survive have been relegated to an endangered-species-like status. Firestein considers himself lucky to be among the survivors and readily acknowledges his tenuous existence.

Solid Strategy

If the truth is told, however, Firestein’s business acumen probably has more to do with SVECONWAY’s survival than stubbornness and luck. In spite of his insistence that he is “not an entrepreneur,” Firestein has not only dodged the Grim Reaper, but grown his business by three-fold over the last eight years. “Printing is changing fast, but I doubt it will ever go away completely. I think it will continue to evolve. Recognizing and capitalizing on new opportunities is the constant challenge,” says Firestein.

“The printing industry landscape continues to evolve at an unprecedented rate, but with that comes opportunity,” says Mike Philie, vice president and senior consultant for National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL). “The potential for success in the market redistribution happening today lies in refocusing a company’s sales effort, staff and overall operation to align with marketplace expectations.”

In that vein, Firestein has differentiated SVECONWAY as a greener printer and has taken several steps to make good on that claim. For instance, he purchases electricity from renewable sources, buys carbon offsets so that his operation is carbon-neutral, uses only chain-of-custody paper, recycles everything he can, and has a tree planted for every print job to replace the paper used.

“I wanted to make my business greener because it’s the way of the future, the right thing to do, and there is a growing core of customers out there who value sustainability,” says Firestein.

Because so many other companies have failed, Firestein has been able to recruit top-notch employees who seem grateful to have a job. “I have a great crew that accepts that they have to multi-task and cross-train to keep the business profitable. They are okay with working weekends and evenings if that’s when we have jobs,” says Firestein.

He also makes good use of part-time labor. “I have a lean staff of full time people that I can usually keep busy, and when I need extra help, I call in part-timers,” says Firestein. “That way, I rarely have to pay people to stand around.”

A Family Affair

Because he asks so much of his employees, Firestein pays them above NAPL Scale, an industry-standard wage scale published by the industry association. Even though his labor costs are slightly higher than average, Firestein keeps his other costs down by relying on friends and family members. “My uncle, brother, and a cousin do most of the equipment maintenance and my aunt, who has been in the printing business for more than 40 years, runs the office.”

Firestein says that he never seriously considered closing up shop, even during the darkest days of the Great Recession, mostly because, “Printing is all I know.” Both his mother and father came from printing families. “I’ve been working in this industry since I was 15 except for my college years at RIT. If my shop foreman, general manager, and I weren’t running a printing business, I don’t know what we’d be doing—probably nothing well,” says Firestein, 47, with a chuckle.

“What keeps me up at night is the ever-present possibility of failure,” admits Firestein. “If we fail, it most likely will be because of a quick drop in revenue—either losing an account or because a big customer goes insolvent and leaves us with a huge receivable.”

“I get calls all the time from people I know—people I worked with years ago in my uncles’ printing businesses. A lot of people are rooting for us to make it,” says Firestein. “I am cautiously optimistic about all the changes and diversity of business, but I don’t harbor any fantasies about the printing industry getting better. Survival is the new 10 percent growth!”

County looks for balance in new general plan

bht — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 11:46:48 +0000

By Kevin Rector

The Baltimore Sun

In the next month, Howard County officials are hoping local residents will help vet a recently released draft of the county's new "Plan Howard 2030" general plan in a series of open houses and through an online comment portal.

The document, an update of the county's 2000 general plan, outlines development and growth priorities for the county that will shape a wide range of economic and community revitalization initiatives during the next decade.

It also incorporates the 2010 Downtown Columbia Plan and state and local environmental guidelines developed in recent years, including new storm water regulations.

Comments gathered through the public process, which will culminate in a public hearing before the county planning board April 18, will be considered along with the board's input by the administration as it finalizes a version of the plan to present as a bill before the County Council, likely this summer.

According to Marsha McLaughlin, the county's director of Planning and Zoning, the plan works off a "solid framework" of past county plans and implements guidelines from last year's PlanMaryland document at the state level — making Howard one of the first local jurisdictions, if not the first, to adopt the state's new guidelines.

At 242 pages, the county document is "hefty" and can be slightly overwhelming, McLaughlin said, and the open houses are intended to be a "quick and easy way" for residents to understand the plan through slideshow presentations and opportunities to talk with county staff members, she said.

Public participation in the planning process will be critical if the plan is to succeed, McLaughlin said.

"Most of the land in the county is privately owned, so we're trying to make a point that if we're going to sustain our environment and the business sector and the communities, everybody has to help," she said.

East-west 'sustainability'

Straddling the high-growth corridor between Baltimore and Washington, and having a relatively high standard of living, Howard County is poised to see tremendous growth in coming years, McLaughlin said.

McLaughlin said growth inherently creates challenges for the environment and infrastructure, but that the county will meet those challenges, in part because of its new Plan Howard 2030.

"It's certainly a challenge, and it would be easy to allow too much development to take over things and impact adversely, but on the other side, you can't just stop any kind of growth and evolution," McLaughlin said. "We have a great location. Businesses want to come here. People want to come here. So the question is: How do you balance that?"

Under PlanMaryland, local jurisdictions have been tasked with better defining their priority funding areas — those pegged for state infrastructure dollars — and the county has done so largely by maintaining its existing east-west development axis.

Areas slated for "growth and revitalization" in the plan mostly fall in existing communities in the county's developed east, while areas slated for "low density development" and "rural resource" use fall in the county's largely undeveloped west.

Almost all of the county's land east of Route 1, a prioritized growth corridor, is slated for revitalization under the draft plan, as is a swath of land between routes 175 and 32 heading west toward the center of Columbia.

Two areas slated for rural resource use straddle Interstate 70 above and below the Turf Valley area, which is slated for growth itself. They fall just east of a stretch of land that bisects the county and is slated for low density development. Everything west of that stretch is slated as rural resource.

One section of the county west of Turf Valley is slated to gain access to county water services. Village centers in Columbia are also pegged for revitalization.

Transportation the 'Achilles' heel'

The draft plan, which was created by the administration in collaboration with Ulman's General Plan Task Force, otherwise breaks down into 12 chapters: quality of life and sustainability, public participation, environmental protection, resource conservation, economic development, growth, transportation, infrastructure and services, housing, community design, implementation and stewardship.

Environmental emphasis is placed on implementing a federally-driven watershed implementation plan and the county's green infrastructure network, to establish hubs and corridors of green space, while developmental emphasis is placed on the revitalization of the routes 1 and 40 corridors, on building mixed-use projects and mixing affordable and mixed-income housing.

In transportation, emphasis is placed on providing public transit options and bike-friendly and pedestrian-friendly methods of travel.

According to Ned Tillman, chair of the 36-member General Plan Task Force and a professional planner, members approached the plan with county residents' current quality of life in mind, but also with the knowledge that they had to be "pragmatic about what can be done and can't be done."

Of all the data the task force had to process — they were given more time to do so than originally scheduled — the extent to which the county will continue to grow is what surprised Tillman the most, he said.

Between 2010 and 2030, projections indicate the county population will grow by 54,000 residents, or about 19 percent, to more than 341,000 residents.

The county population will also age dramatically and grow more racially diverse, projections show.

"Coming into this and looking at the data, I thought we were closer to the build out than we are," Tillman said. "I moved here in the late 70s and I thought I was one of the last people. And we've doubled in size and still there's going to be a lot of growth in the next decades."

Controlling traffic and congestion will be the county's single largest challenge in coming years, Tillman said.

"Transportation is our Achilles' heel," he said. "It's really the challenge here, because it is going to get more dense, but maybe not dense enough to support mass transit in a major way."

Sveconway’s Bobby Firestein must find new revenue streams to keep his printing business alive

bht — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Washington Business Journal

by Emily Mekinc, Multimedia Intern

The small Silver Spring printing company was founded in 1982 by sales representatives Richard Svec and Frank Conway when a small printing company where they previously worked was being unionized.

Svec operated the company until 2003, when he looked for someone to buy it. Wary of handing the business ...

Download Full story

Horizon Foundation Elects Five Trustees

bht — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Five new members have been elected to The Horizon Foundation’s board of trustees. They are Duane Alexander; Paul Gleichauf; Henry Posko, Jr.; Ned Tillman; and Dou Alvin Zhang.

Alexander is scientist emeritus of The Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health; Gleichauf is a senior vice president at Howard County General Hospital; Posko is president and CEO of Humanim; Tillman is CEO of Sustainable Growth; and Zhang is a cardiologist at Mid-Atlantic Kaiser Permanente Medical Group.

Sustainability saves money

bht — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:33:27 +0000

Being environmentally resourceful isn't a frill these days, its essential for business and governments to function

By Ned Tillman

Recently, when one of the candidates running for office in my county was asked what she would cut from the budget, she said, "I would not have created an office of environmental sustainability." I find this comment amusing and disheartening. Doesn't she want to lower the cost of government? Doesn't she want to reduce our dependence on foreign oil? Doesn't she want to reduce our waste-management costs? I have to conclude that the concept of sustainability is not clear to this politician, and probably many other people — and therefore runs the risk, like so many good ideas, of being condemned and politicized.

This politician may not realize that adopting sustainability as a goal is not pie-in-the-sky idealism but is, in fact, the rational businessperson's response to the increasing number of societal and environmental challenges that businesses and governments face as a result of our increasing population. Creating and adopting a sustainability plan has become the prudent way to address these challenges while managing costs. It is erroneous to think of incorporating sustainability planning into a management process as a costly line item; it is just good business and a way to reduce risks and manage costs today and in the future.

Many counties (and businesses) throughout the state have lowered their costs and created a more efficient operation specifically because they created an office or champion of sustainability. The specific office that this politician would not have created has already helped to reduce costs to Howard County of more than $800,000 in waste reduction, recycling, transportation fuel reductions and electrical energy reductions. Beyond our county, the Maryland Green Registry lists hundreds of members (http://www.mde.state.md.us/marylandgreen/Pages/ListofMembers.aspx) who are making strides at reducing their impacts and their costs. The state Department of Natural Resources maintains a list of offices of sustainability throughout the state (http://www.dnr.maryland.gov/sustainability/network.asp#howard). The Chesapeake Sustainable Business Alliance (http://www.csballiance.org/) is another source of firms focusing their efforts on sustainability initiatives within and outside their organizations.

The goal of sustainability efforts is to take a critical look at operational costs and impacts, energy and material supply options, and waste streams. Most big organizations know this. Over the past 15 years, almost all of the Fortune 100 firms in America have adopted the concept of long-term sustainability into their strategic planning operations. These bastions of good business practice and common sense have hired directors of sustainability and have created annual sustainability reports. Yes, they want to show off all of their efforts as good corporate citizens and demonstrate that they are leading the way into a more sustainable future. But even more, they want to lower their costs, find new opportunities and improve their bottom lines.

To fully appreciate how incorporating sustainability goals into strategic planning helps the bottom line, take a good look at the costs and risks of doing business. Stakeholder issues and energy/environmental issues are critical to supply chain costs and to product acceptance and liability. Good sustainability practices offer a way to balance stakeholder, environmental and economic issues at every step of the process, from procurement to disposal. If good sustainability practices are not incorporated into every step of operations, increased costs and problems are much more likely in the future. That is why most if not all business schools recommend incorporating sustainability initiatives as a best management practice in this age of increasing accountability.

To learn more about corporate sustainability I suggest reading "Green to Gold" and "The Triple Bottom Line." These best sellers summarize the successes of American businesses that have turned to sustainability to improve their bottom lines. Even the Department of Defense has been pursuing sustainability planning for over a decade as the most prudent way to conduct warfare in the future. Military leaders don't want to be reliant on vulnerable flows of fossil fuels, and they don't want to leave any waste behind that can be used by their enemies. They want to win, and they are going to win by being more sustainable than their foes.

This is not new. Business has always been about sustainability. Corporate sustainability planning just happens to be a logical way to deal with all the increasing demands of doing business on an increasingly crowded planet. Instead of having to respond to a random barrage of issues in an ad hoc and therefore very costly manner, modern businesses have responded by adopting a systematic approach for dealing with these issues.

We should applaud our local governments that have adopted such good business practices. It is great that local governments and many businesses are starting to deal with these challenges in a rational and sustainable way. Maybe, someday, everyone will.

Sustainable Growth, LLC - Press

Ned Tillman will tell BBI members ‘There are some wonderful opportunities’ in Central Maryland

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Sustainable Growth supports Howard County’s Economic Development Authority

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FASCON launches new website in support of its global initiative

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New website features information and utilities for overseas job seekers

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Executive director of homeless shelter for women emphasizes wellness, education and entrepreneurism

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Family-owned printer bucks industry trend, expands operations

DC area printer finds growth in spite of the economy

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County looks for balance in new general plan

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Sveconway’s Bobby Firestein must find new revenue streams to keep his printing business alive

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Horizon Foundation Elects Five Trustees

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Sustainability saves money

Being environmentally resourceful isn't a frill these days, its essential for business and governments to function

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