Ecotrope asks if freight bikes can replace trucks.  We certainly think they can.  In fact, they’ve replaced more than 15,000 truck deliveries to date!

Our thanks to Ecotrope for their time and effort putting the story together.  Be sure to check it out!

OFFICE DEPOT NAMED AMERICA’S GREENEST RETAILER BY NEWSWEEK MAGAZINE FOR THE SECOND YEAR

Company is the Only Retailer in the Top 10
Boca Raton, Fla., October 24, 2011 – Office Depot (NYSE: ODP), celebrating 25 years as a leading global provider of office supplies and services, today announced that it has been recognized in Newsweek magazine’s annual Green Rankings, as the greenest large retailer in America for the second year in a row.

Office Depot not only achieved the highest aggregate green score in the U.S. retail industry, but also led in Environmental Management, and disclosure of performance data.  Across all industry sectors, Office Depot was ranked as America’s 8th greenest large company, a move up of 10 spots from last year, and was the only retailer in the U.S. top 10 list.

“We’re immensely proud to be named the top U.S. retailer in Newsweek’s Green Rankings for the second consecutive year,” said Kevin Peters, President, North America for Office Depot.  “We know there is a large and growing set of customers who choose Office Depot in part because of our unique ability to support their environmental goals – and Newsweek’s recognition provides further evidence that Office Depot is the supplier-of-choice for organizations seeking a greener way to get their office products.”

Two specific environmental programs Newsweek highlighted in its profile of the company included:

• The recently launched GreenerOffice Delivery Service which is on track to save over 3,000 tons of wood and approximately $1.5 million a year by delivering goods in paper bags rather than cardboard boxes.
• The series of reporting tools Office Depot provides its largest customers, including cities, states, and large corporations, which help explain their greener purchasing and the “environmental and financial tradeoffs” of their greener purchasing decisions.

“Since 2006, Office Depot has had an environmental strategy to buy greener, be greener and sell greener,” said Yalmaz Siddiqui, Senior Director, Environmental Strategy for Office Depot. “While we’re incredibly excited that Newsweek ranked us in the top 10 greenest large companies in America, we’re even more thrilled that they recognized our unique ability to serve our customer’s environmental goals. Many leading sustainability programs focus on the supply chain, but we’ve elevated the most important stakeholder by putting the customer at the center of our environmental strategy.”

In addition, as detailed in its PwC-reviewed Environmental Dashboard, the Company has aggressively reduced its environmental footprint in most key areas of environmental impact – often driving cost reductions in the process:

• Reducing its North American waste footprint from 24,000 tons in 2008 to 16,900 in 2010; reducing costs of waste by nearly $1 million dollars a year.
• Reducing its North American electricity footprint from 628,000MWh in 2008 to 499,000MWh in 2010, reducing electricity costs by about $15 million dollars a year.
• Reducing its North American Carbon Footprint from 401,000 metric tons CO2e in 2008 to 319,000 metric tons CO2e, while driving reduction in carbon intensity as well.
• Increasing its LEED-certified buildings footprint from 21,000 square feet in 2008 to 656,000 square feet in 2010, and targeting 1.1 million square feet in upcoming years.

From the article:

We discuss the difference between a courier service and established route delivery, their delivery radius, Dave’s Killer Bread, working for David Evans & Associates, B-Line’s beginnings and the Boston-based company (MetroPed) that helped inspire it, contracting with the city’s office suppliers, the re-opening of the Morrison Bridge, Cycles Maximus Trikes and the Stites Design Truck Trike, bridge problems, B Corporations as a new business movement, working with nonprofits likeSisters of the Road, etc.

Recently named Roaster of the Year in roast Magazine, Portland Roasting has provided pleasant coffees to grocers, hotels, restaurants and independent coffee shops since 1996.

It’s not just another cup of coffee, it’s coffee to feel good about. Grown with care for the land and surrounding communities at origin, we ensure living wages to coffee farms and are committed to life-enhancing projects all over the globe.

More than ten projects have been completed including tree planting to combat deforestation in Costa Rica, water well installations in Kenya and Tanzania and building a school in Papua New Guinea. By purchasing Portland Roasting Coffee, you join our mission to improve the world’s coffee growing regions- it is coffee to feel good about.”

Whether it’s a commitment to a business partnership with a small, organic coffee farmer or a decision to purchase eco-friendly materials for our office, our company has never veered from its pledge to doing the right thing for the environment and the community – near and far.

Partnering with B-Line is just one of the eco-efforts we maintain as part of this commitment. B-line delivers to over twenty of our accounts in the urban core.

B-line Sustainable Urban Delivery is a local company that makes deliveries by bike mostly in inner Southeast (Portland) and downtown. They deliver food to Whole Foods (in the Pearl District) every day and, at the same time, pick up produce that Whole Foods has pulled off the shelves, which they’d otherwise compost, and deliver it to us seven blocks away. So we get cases of asparagus, avocados, pomegranates, potatoes — a lot of seasonal, organic food in perfect condition for including in our daily menu. Bob’s Red Mill donates flour, rice, cornmeal and beans, most of our dry goods. Stumptown (Coffee Roasters), Pastaworks and Dave’s (Killer Bread) have all been longtime donors of their products. New Seasons is also one of our strongest community partners. We also have relationships with ranches, which have donated a lot of the meat along the way.

Read the whole story @ OregonLive.com

photo: Juanita Swartwood

We all know the feeling, the endless day to day grind of working, and the slow decent from the “new job” high to the less exciting realization that work can’t always be the magical dream you had hoped for after college. This feeling affects us all, no matter how wonderful the work we are doing. Recently I have found that in order to find fulfillment in our work we must seek out the meaning of what we do beyond the day-to-day experiences we face. This blog post is about how in just one week I was able to redefine my purpose at B-Line and how taking opportunities to share who we are can change the attitude we have towards our jobs and our world.

I was given the amazing opportunity of attending the Go Green Conference, where political leaders, business owners, and people just like you and me converged to have the discussion around sustainability. It was quite inspiring to have an entire auditorium of people who shared this unified vision, a vision for a better future. The energy seemed to be contagious, yet still contained in a way that made this future seem possible. These people had the skills and the power to make great things happen, and they were obviously doing so. There were panel discussions with a cross section of the industries leading in sustainability, from solar energy to clothing companies like Nike and Columbia sportswear. We were addressing the questions facing this movement, the legitimacy of its financial sustainability to its impact on our communities and government. I think that the most important key to this conference was the network we were developing; it was fascinating to see the emergence of a wanted change in all arenas of society.

Sattie Clark of VOIS said in the beginning of the conference, “Businesses that care about the future are the best vehicles for social change”. This statement had always been a tricky one for me, the question of whether this current business “system” was capable of creating the genuine change we seek, but as I sat there amongst some of the most passionate and influential people in my community I realized that if we stood together with the goal and shared vision of making our world a better place, this was no longer a dream, it was possible. This realization took me out of my own world, from the day-to-day grind of riding the trike around town, to connecting my work with others’ and how together we actually are changing the world. It’s not often that you feel this sort of transcendence from your individual actions, to a larger understanding of how your community is acting together in unison.

This light bulb moment helped me to see the true potential that businesses have to offer social and environmental movements, but I felt the lingering questions of how transformative we can actually be without the push coming from the greater part of society, the people. The question of “grass-roots or top-down” change.

I was able to grapple with these thoughts for a few days before something extraordinary took place. On October 6, 2011 our little-big city of Portland, Oregon was changed. For the first time in my life, I experienced a glimpse of true people power. B-Line had made plans to distribute Guayaki Mate on the Portland State University campus, but with news of the massive Occupy WallStreet protest expected to happen we quickly changed focus to attend and show support for this movement. On a seemingly unexpected Thursday afternoon, we saw something spectacular take place at Portland’s waterfront park, a union of 10,000+ people came together to take a united stand against the misleading and destructive practices of our worlds economic and businesses models. This movement was led by the 99%; the people who make up the fabric of our society but yet suffer the most when we are faced with trouble. B-Line and Guayaki made the deliberate decision to be a part of something that we felt was not only inspiring, but also essential to fulfilling our mission as two companies that exist for social and environmental change. We were at this protest to share a new story of how business can work in our world.

As I stood in the center of this magnetic and beautiful explosion of hope and unity, I began to realize that the same energy I felt in the Go Green Conference was present here. It was apparent that our world had a unified vision for equality, sustainability, and respect. I began to see that the 99% are not just the loudest voices at these protests but that they are a combination of the people and businesses fed up with the status quo. I was at this protest not only sharing my voice, but also sharing the voice of B-Line. Businesses like these allow for us to create solutions that are just and beneficial to all of society, and invite innovative growth and endless potential for the masses. This fight has to be a collaborative effort against the powers that say neither people nor untraditional business methods can win. The shift we desire is possible, we just need to find the space to share our visions because I have a feeling they will fit closer than we had though.

So here I am, rejuvenated and ready to make my voice heard: to create a new story where businesses do care about people and are supported by people who care about better businesses. We can do this.

We are committed to operating our business in ways that are increasingly sustainable, thus supporting environmental health and the well being of people involved in all aspects of our business and communities. Not only does Organically Grown support the sustainable efforts of local growers, but we work constantly to practice sustainability in our company as well.

What do we mean by sustainability? Doing business in a way that meets the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Our goal is to be a model of sustainable business practices. We are getting closer to this goal everyday by continuing to run our business without compromising resources for future generations. Take a look around our website www.organicgrown.com to learn more about our company, the LADYBUG brand and why more food retailers and other resellers are choosing to buy their produce from Organically Grown.

Want to learn about what we’re up to? Join us at our upcoming Organicology conference taking place in Portland, OR February 10th – 12th, 2011. Visit www.organicology.org for more information.

Here at RSF, we are always thrilled to hear about for-profit and non-profit enterprises taking innovative actions to catalyze social and environmental change.  During this year’s Seed Fund grantee selection process, B-Line Sustainable Urban Delivery quickly caught the attention of the RSF staff selection committee.  Take a look at why we are so thrilled to support this organization.

Read the rest of the story on RSF Social Finance…

In recent months Grand Central Bakery decided to partner with B-line to deliver their late bake afternoon route.  This is their third bread bake of the day, which means the restaurants and their customers get the freshest artisan bread possible. Another plus is it takes one of their delivers vans off the road. So not only is the rustic bread uber-fresh but it’s delivered with out using a drop of gasoline.

Okay I have a confession…I love doing this route. For the most part it stays consistent throughout the week in terms of the load. Since I’m pedaling hard for GCB, they are kind enough to give me some free perks like coffee, bread and pastries. I’ll often wait to have my morning coffee until the beginning of my route, at 1:30pm!  Since time is of the essence I tend to drink a small 8 oz. cup in a matter of minutes. I’m sure my first few stops are amazed at how alert and full of energy their bread delivery person is everyday. There are eleven stops on this route and each stop is unique in it’s own way, which makes for an interesting work day filled with conversations about both B-line and Grand Central Bakery.

After loading up at the bakery at NW York, I pedal toward 21st and Kearney toward Caffe Mingo and Bar Mingo. This area can be tricky for parking the trike because at times people will, I can can only assume, miss the loading zone sign in front of the two restaurants making me pull up on the narrow sidewalk to park – possible but not ideal. This being my first stop has the most powerful smell of fresh baked bread. So as I open the back door of the trike it never fails that people in the near vicinity will get a whiff and turn their heads. At times they even want to purchase a loaf straight from the trike. *Disclaimer–All bread in the trike is for delivery only. It may be possible in the future, but for now I recommend going to your closest Grand Central Bakery to purchase. These two spots are easy bread-wise: Ciabatta loaves at Caffe Mingo and Yukon Gold Potato, Ciabatta, Baguettes and Como at Bar Mingo.

There a few daily checks that I have to do in order to have a happy, smooth delivery. 1) Do I have enough paper bags for bread?(I hope so!) 2) Is my battery fully charged (I should have checked this much early than now!) 3) Did I grab a pumpkin muffin for the road (Check.)

The next stop is Papa Hadyn’s off 23rd and Irving. Being a heavy foot traffic area, I am guaranteed to get a few comments from afar and even some folks who will ask about the trike and such as I’m packing up baguettes. Having to go through the kitchen can be a little rough since they’re usually very busy. Somehow I make it through by yelling “behind you, behind you!” Just missing a hot plate here and a knife there. Now it’s on to Blue Hour by way of Johnson St. to 13th, which for those of you who don’t know, Johnson is a bike route downhill. Any street downhill is a nice break from pedaling. Blue Hour seems to have a thing for Como rolls because everyday they order about 150 to 200. Also, they are the only restaurant that gets three Shaq-size loaves of Ciabatta. I mean these things are huge! Little Bird Bistro is the next stop at 6th and Oak. This part of downtown is great for the fact that there are super wide sidewalks leaving room for pedestrians and trikes. No bikes though on the sidewalk. I believe that’s the rule. Baguettes only at Little Bird. Really nice crew in the kitchen here. They always open the door for me and help put the bread away, which is nice because my caffeine from earlier is starts to wear off.

Now on to the hotels for my next two stops. First, the Benson, where a few weeks ago Hollywood took over to shoot scenes for a TV show or movie. Not sure which. I tried to get in the action so B-line and GCB could get some more publicity, but apparently I have a face for radio. Come on now, they could have at least said that after I left. I bet if Portlandia was shooting there they would have made a trike skit on the fly. Now the fun part of my route, maneuvering up Broadway toward the Heathman Hotel, where taxi cabs decide to park in half the bike lane. Oh well, it’s great advertising since its a busy area and I pass-by Pioneer Square. The Heathman usually gets the biggest order of Baguettes out of all the stops. They are super friendly here and love that their bread order is delivered via trike.

Higgins Restaurant is that light at the end of the tunnel. Meaning my route is wrapping up. I’ve made it to the top of the hill at SW Jefferson St. and Broadway. An only once did I have to pedal that steep hill on a dead battery. That was definitely a workout I hope to not have to repeat. Higgins tends to get an assortment of Grand Central’s best: Corn Levain, Baguettes, Peasant Levain, Sour Rye, Ciabatta and so forth. After that climb up SW Broadway there is a reward of a long downhill stretch of SW Columbia. The city was nice enough to time the lights so they turn green as you approach them. The tricky part here is staying safe and not building up speed to fast.

Columbia dead ends at the SW Waterfront where Thirst Wine Bar and Bistro sits. This is another great area for advertisements because of all the foot traffic. I’ll often take the hill down to Thirst nice and slow for two reason. One there are a lot of out-of-towners here who have never seen a trike and I’d hate to scare them and two so they get a good look at the ads. Two more stops on the east of side of the Willamette River and then my route is complete. Clarklewis on Water Ave and Beaker and Flask of SE Washington and Sandy Blvd. Both pretty straightforward drops in terms of bread. Conveniently the B-line warehouse is right around the corner.

A couple facts about this route. It’s about ten miles from start to finish. On the busiest day it takes less than two and half hours. If you see me on the road, don’t hesitate to give a holler.

-Kevin

Grand Central Bakery is excited to partner with B-Line to offer select wholesale customers fresh afternoon bread deliveries!
Grand Central is a locally owned artisan bakery. Visit our neighborhood bakeries and cafes to experience firsthand our fresh-baked artisan bread, buttery pastries, tasty handmade soups and delicious sandwiches.

Select Northwest grocers and restaurants serve fresh Grand Central bread every day to enthusiastic customers and you can also find us at your favorite Farmer’s Market. Our commitment to sustainable, local ingredients and meaningful employment shines through in every one of our artisan products. We hope to see you soon!