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The Greening of King Drive

The Greening of King Drive:
The BID and Area Businesses Making Impact on the Environment through Better and Efficient Use of Resources

Take action to help the environment. Change a lightbulb, change the world. Accelerate change with eco-friendly vehicles. Use tools for green living. Develop community food programs to help people grow, process, market and distribute food in a sustainable manner. Consider retail therapy that's good for you and good for the earth. Connect with others who are passionate about the planet. Find a green job.

These and other mandates can be found on sites across the internet dedicated to improving the environment and promoting awareness about the daily choices we make that can positively or negatively impact where we live and work, such as whether we contribute to or reduce waste, recycle, or engage in other actions taken for granted. The central message of the green movement is to take action, similar to the proverb that says, "Talking doesn't cook rice."

Indeed, even if many feel powerless when it comes to affecting the earth and climate change, there are a lot of little changes in everyday life that can make a big impact on the environment, which both individuals and institutions can do to make a difference.

To give recognition to local companies that are stepping up and ahead in the "going green" game -- through recycling, promoting a more paperless environment and other proactive approaches - Historic King Drive Business Improvement District (BID) is sponsoring a June 4 breakfast program from 8 to 10 a.m. at the Manpower headquarters, 100 Manpower Place along MLK Drive, near Downtown Milwaukee.

Supporting Green within the BID

Mahatma Gandhi (aka Mohandas Gandhi, 1869--1948, Indian political and spiritual leader) is famously quoted for saying, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

The Spring newsletter you're holding is the last scheduled hard copy as the BID moves closer to going from paperless to electronic. The BID also plans to reduce mailings of flyers and invitations by sending more emails and posting other electronic notices on our website in the future.

The BID's Design Committee and Main Street volunteers have been developing new streetscape, parking and public safety plans to improve the overall business and neighborhood climate since Fall 2006, focused on more greenery, trees, plants and landscapes, boulevards and other efficient use of spaces, and promoting recycling. The BID also supports other local businesses, such as Growing Power, Inc. of Milwaukee, which distributes market baskets along King Drive.

Increasingly, more area businesses like Manpower and CH Coakley & Company are going green with gusto -- implementing plans, processes and procedures for more efficient use of resources.

Manpower's energy-efficient building headquarters, the employment and economic development services it provides and its policies focused on corporate and community collaboration are having a positive impact locally and globally.

Bethany Perkins, Public Relations spokeswoman, said Manpower's world headquarters in Milwaukee achieved gold status under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, a rating system that serves as the benchmark in green building design, construction, operation and maintenance, which is administered by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Manpower's building includes efficient plumbing fixtures that result in using 40% less water than in conventional buildings; energy savings of 22% through a combination of enhancements to the building's exterior, lighting and mechanical systems; and recycled content that makes up more than 10% of Manpower's building materials???, according to Perkins.

Manpower's environmental support extends to the local community in numerous ways. Pamila Brown, Community Investment Specialist in the Corporate Affairs division, said Manpower staff often walk to local small businesses to have lunch and makes purchases. Employee teams go to schools and community organizations to volunteer, as part of Manpower's efforts to promote corporate social responsibility. Information about Manpower's green building concepts is shared with other businesses and educational institutions, and Manpower engages in ongoing outreach to diverse students, residents, public officials and other groups to promote economic development and networking opportunities.

Given the emergence of vast technologies in the last decade, small and large businesses are increasingly challenged to make more efficient choices, and CH Coakley & Company at 2151 N. King Dr. has responded with new systems to accommodate the physical, document and informational storage needs of their clients.

Michael T. Coakley, Managing Partner of CH Coakley & Company, said the Coakley family has been involved in the Milwaukee-area business community since the late 1800s and takes pride in evolving its operations based on changing times and needs. The Coakley company has implemented numerous efficiency operations and innovative ways of managing resources through seven business divisions. These include a professional records retention management firm; electronic imaging and full-service scanning company; data services security with confidential storage and destruction of documents; warehouse and distribution network; a transportation and logistics company, and a full-service printing and design company called Amerigraphics.

Supporting Green Around Us

In 2009 as the BID gets more into green as part of our role in the economic development, improvement and promotion of Historic King Drive, efforts extend outside the BID area to support local organizations like Growing Power Inc.

Growing Power is a national non-profit organization and land trust supporting people from diverse backgrounds and the environments in which they live. Its mission is to help to provide equal access to healthy, high-quality, safe and affordable food for people in all communities.

Will Allen, Founder and CEO of Growing Power since 1995, recently won a prestigious MacArthur Foundation Genius Award for his commitment as an urban farmer who is transforming the cultivation, production, and delivery of healthy foods to underserved, urban populations. Allen has taught workshops to aspiring urban farmers across the United States and abroad.

The BID participates in Growing Power's Farm-to-City Market Basket Program, which consists of weekly deliveries of healthy and affordable produce to neighborhoods throughout Milwaukee, Madison, and Chicago. Individual and business customers make advance orders based on their needs.

The majority of produce in Market Baskets during the spring, summer and fall comes from Growing Power's farms in Milwaukee, Merton, and Will Allen's farm in Oak Creek. The Rainbow Farmer's Cooperative, a collective of small, family-owned wholesalers, makes fresh fruits and vegetables available and affordable year-round, and provides local jobs in the community. The cooperative also relies on non-locally produced products such as apples, head lettuce, and peppers, and collaborates with farmers in the South to bring storage crops such as onions, potatoes, and sweet potatoes to Milwaukee.