GreenSpot Household eNewsletter for May

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Greenspot

GreenSpot eNewsletter  -  May 2018

“If you were a fish, you wouldn’t want somebody dumping garbage into your home. Every fish is fancy in one way or another. There is something fancy about every creature in the world. Each person, each fish, each animal, each bird, each living creature.” –Mr. Rogers

Topics in this edition:

  • GreenSpotLight Awards
  • Get Grassy!
  • GreenSpot Community Backyards
  • 4-Day Art & Play Coming to a Neighborhood Near You!
  • Support Renewable Energy with ECO-Advantage 
  • Columbia Gas Energy Efficient Programs
  • GreenSpot to GreenSpot-Olentangy Paddle 
  • Ride and Drive—Electric Vehicles
  • Did you know they are a GreenSpot? JadeTrack
Council member Remy handing a certificate of recognition to representatives from German Village

GreenSpotLight Awards Celebration

If you missed the GreenSpotLight Awards you missed a great time! Congratulations to the GreenSpotLight Award winners: American Municipal Power, Woolpert, Inc, and ProSource Flooring, Kitchen and Bath. Councilmember Emmanuel V. Remy also recognized the recent graduates of the GreenSpot Sustainability Initiative class:

AC Lens

Cardinal Health

Columbus Zoo and Aquarium

L Brands

Prime AE Group

German Village was recognized as the third GreenSpot Neighborhood and St. Mary as the first GreenSpot School designation. 

Mayor Andrew J. Ginther announced the city’s new sustainability logo “Sustainable Columbus” which will replace the Get Green logo on the city’s website, green city vehicles, and yearly sustainability progress reports. You can read more about the event and see the video here


Get Grassy logo

Get Grassy!

Where did lawn come from? It is good or bad? Are there alternatives to lawn? Should I water it? Am I a bad person if I don’t have a good lawn? (Hint: nah, you’re okay, and find answers on the FAQ). Franklin Soil and Water is asking residents to keep their lawns cared for by taking the Get Grassy! Pledge. Pledgers are automatically enrolled in a prize drawing (Oakland Nurseries or Strader’s Garden Centers gift card) and will receive a rain gauge, super cute magnets (!), and lawn care tips. They've reached about 700 of you and your neighbors through our partners and lawn care companies, and they invite you to help them do even better!


rain barrel, compost bin, and native plants

GreenSpot Community Backyards

Last year, the partnership between Franklin Soil and Water, the City of Columbus, Franklin County and participating communities provided over 1,000 rebates to participating residents that brought home rain barrels, compost bins, or native plants and trees through the GreenSpot Community Backyards Rebate Program. GreenSpot Community Backyards is offering, once again, $50 reimbursements to residents after participation in the program and purchase of an approved backyard conservation item. Participation  in a workshop or online quiz is necessary to receive a rebate, and participants must live in an eligible tax district. 

For more information on GreenSpot Community Backyards, a full list of participating districts, and information on how to participate and eligibility, visit: www.GreenSpotBackyards.org


clip art of earth and two people hugging it

4-Day Art and Play Coming to a Neighborhood Near You!

4-Day Art & Play will transform your neighborhood park for four fantastically fun days with art and physical sport activities for children ages six and older. Create individual and group art projects, possibly run a watery obstacle course or win the "Mystery Contest" of the day. Make music and invent new games or scale the climbing wall. 4-Day Art & Play promises a different event/adventure every day. All you need to do is bring your imagination, enthusiasm and a smile. It's all FREE courtesy of the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department. This is for individuals and families; not suitable for day cares or camps. Program will be held in the parks' open shelters. For a list of dates and locations check out page 11 of the Recreation and Parks Guide to Summer Fun.


AEP Energy

Support Renewable Energy with ECO-Advantage 

One simple yet meaningful way to make green living a part of your everyday lifestyle is to select a renewable plan for your home. When you select a green plan for your home, you are making a beneficial impact towards a cleaner environment and helping to build a more sustainable future.

AEP Energy makes it easy to go green! You can select ECO-Advantage, AEP Energy’s environmentally-friendly alternative to traditional electricity plans, for your home’s electricity supply. Their plan matches 100% of your electricity usage with national Green-e® Energy1 Certified Wind Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs).From May 28 - June 23, 2018, come visit their representatives at the following Giant Eagle locations to learn more about ECO-Advantage:New Albany, Grandview, Westerville, and Groveport from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm, Monday – Saturday

Join your neighbors and enroll in our ECO-Advantage plan today!

AEP Energy is a competitive retail electric service provider and an affiliate of Ohio Power Company (AEP Ohio). AEP Energy is not soliciting on behalf of and is not an agent of AEP Ohio. 1Green-e Energy certifies that ECO-Advantage meets the minimum environmental and consumer protection standards established by the non-profit Center for Resource Solutions. For more information about Green-e Energy, write Green-e Energy, 1012 Torney Avenue, 2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94129, or log onto www.green-e.org. For more information, call toll free 1-888-261-1058; write to AEP Energy, PO Box 3489, Chicago, IL 60654; or visit AEPenergy.com.


Columbia Gas of Ohio logo

Columbia Gas Energy Efficient Programs

GreenSpot member Columbia Gas of Ohio offers a variety of energy efficiency programs that not only keep your family warm in the winter and cool in the summer, but also make sure you have a little extra in your wallet. Programs include instant rebates on smart thermostats, in-home energy audits, rebates on high efficiency furnaces and water heaters, and no cost weatherization for income qualified customers. Visit ColumbiaGasOhio.com/SavingMatters to learn more. 


Olentangy Paddle logo

GreenSpot to GreenSpot-Olentangy Paddle 

GreenSpot member Olentangy Paddle is offering a 5% discount to all GreenSpot members.  Olentangy Paddle offers canoe, kayak and bike rentals along the waterways of central Ohio.  Use the promo code GRNSPT18 to get the discount. Enjoy paddling!


Smart Columbus Logo

Ride and Drive—Electric Vehicles

The Smart Columbus Ride & Drive Roadshow is your chance to get behind the wheel of one of the latest electric vehicles and learn about alternative ways to get around central Ohio. Register for a drive time to take an EV test drive, or come learn from our mobility partners how you can help transport our city to the future.

The Ohio State University, Center for Automotive Research

June 7, 9:00-4:00

930 Kinnear Rd, Columbus, OH 43212

(Registration page not yet live, check https://www.facebook.com/SmartCbus/)


Jade Track logo

Did you know they are a GreenSpot member? JadeTrack


For the team at JadeTrack, sustainability isn’t simply something they talk about, it resides at the core of everything they do. As a developer and provider of leading-edge sustainability program management software for businesses across Ohio and the United States – and for GreenSpot’s growing membership base – JadeTrack helps their partners reduce their environmental impact by integrating energy efficiency into their business practices.

By giving clients accurate, actionable about their electricity usage, water consumption, carbon emissions and waste disposal efficiency, JadeTrack helps these organizations balance sustainability, profitability and corporate social responsibility. One example of how JadeTrack makes a difference: Since 2011, our software has helped multiple Columbus-area school districts save millions of dollars annually on their energy, water and waste electricity bills, while creating experiential learning opportunities for students and teachers to enhance each district’s STEM curriculum.

JadeTrack stands especially proud to partner with GreenSpot, providing the initiative’s more than 17,000 members a platform to capture the impact of their efforts to conserve electricity and water and more effectively recycle waste. Equally vital? Our role facilitating the Better Buildings Challenge for Wendy’s; our work expanding the energy benchmarking programs of AEP Ohio and Columbia Gas of Ohio’s commercial and industrial customers; and a 2017 partnership that allowed a regional healthcare leader to cut power bills by 25 percent in a corporate office. 

At JadeTrack, enhancing sustainability represents the bedrock of our business. That includes the time members of their team spend at work, where they do their best to “walk the walk.” JadeTrack’s employees commit to carpooling whenever possible, reducing to a bare minimum paper usage on memos, invoicing and client communications, and to minimizing the environmental impacts of their joint office space in Columbus.

As the JadeTrack software evolves and their client base grows, we see virtually unlimited potential for their work to impact their partners’ use of resources and their corporate mindset. Through careful analysis, timely insights and simple behavioral shifts and infrastructure modifications, JadeTrack’s work makes sustainability more achievable more easily. They believe “living green” is not only worth doing, it’s worth doing as effectively as possible every single day.


GreenSpot is a program of the City of Columbus Department of Public Utilities. Stay connected through our website.

 www.ColumbusGreenSpot.org