Greenstep Solutions
101-346 Lawrence Avenue V1Y Kelowna, BC, Canada

We are beyond thrilled to share this exciting news! Greenstep Solutions Sustainable Tourism 2030 certification criteria have received formal "GSTC-Recognized" s...tatus from the Global Sustainable Tourism Council - GSTC. A special thank you to all who supported this process by providing input to make the criteria robust and relevant at the provincial, national, and international levels: CTA: Culinary Tourism Alliance Destination Think reachAbility Association Whistler Centre for Sustainability Destination Northern Ontario Adventure Central Newfoundland 40 Knots Winery BC Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Bear Claw Lodge Eagle Wing Whale Watching Tours Fairmont Waterfront Myra Canyon Ranch Planet Bee Honey Farm & Honeymoon Meadery The Parkside Hotel & Spa OUR Ecovillage Island Bliss Neddies Harbour Inn & Black Spruce Restaurant Adrena LINE Zipline Adventure Tours Ottawa Walking Tours Quantum Leaps Retreat Also, thank you the National Research Council Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP), for providing funding towards the research and development of the Sustainable Tourism standard. Last, but certainly not least, thank you to our Sustainable Tourism Program Development Manager, Pam Duynstee, and our former Program Development Coordinator Intern, Kulwinder Batra, for your hard work on this project. We couldn't have done it without you! #sustainability #tourism #hospitality #thankyou #travel #sustainable #tourismmatters

Oops! Late to the #FoodWasteFriday party - we were too busy digging around in our own compost piles! Tackling food waste is - in our opinion - pretty simple: buy only what you need (and eat it), become a member of the #CleanPlateClub ;-), and compost the rest! Here in the Okanagan, we're fortunate to have Spa Hills Compost that provides industrial compost services so that precious food scraps can be turned into black gold. For residents in the valley that don't have the abi...lity to compost at home, this is a great way to divert your food waste! In Kelowna, there are multiple compost drop-off locations (Our Footprints Company & Chickpeace Zero Waste Refillery - check with both businesses for details!). And, we have incredible community organizations like Green Okanagan working to make composting more accessible. How do you deal with food waste in your own home, or at your business? #WRW2020

Day 4 of Waste Reduction Week in Canada is...drumroll please...plastics! Everyone has a role to play to reduce plastic waste and to tackle plastic pollution: governments, companies, the recycling industry, and individuals. We're doing our part by helping businesses and multi-family residential properties throughout the Okanagan reduce the amount of plastics heading to landfill. How, you ask? By offering up waste audits, recycling makeovers, and waste infrastructure assessme...nts! Our latest blog post covers all this *plus* some easy tips for reducing your use of plastics in your own life. Our favourite tip? Visit a zero-waste refill shop! For Kelowna-area residents: our former Greenstepper Allisha took the big green step of opening up her own (Chickpeace Zero Waste Refillery) and it is a beautiful addition to Kelowna's zero-waste scene! https://greenstep.ca//working-together-with-municipalitie/ #WasteReductionWeek #plasticpollution #reduceyouruse

Chances are pretty good that you're reading this post from some kind of electronic device () so we think you'll appreciate the theme for Day 3 of Waste Reduction Week in Canada: e-waste! E-waste is (no surprise) on the rise, now that more and more of us have easy access to all kinds of devices. Advancements in technology have made electronics cheaper and more accessible to people across the world, and it seems as though every day there is a new gadget popping up, designed ...to make our lives easier. Frankly, we wouldn't be sharing these posts on social media if it weren't for technology - and we're grateful for these advancements. But with all that gadgetry invariably comes waste, when our devices no longer function as they should. When that day comes, should you just throw old electronics in the garbage? NO! Not only do electronics pollute the environment, they become a real hazard to landfill workers: crushed under the weight of equipment, they can explode and start fires (trust us, we've seen this with our own eyes). When dealing with any device or gadget, we think the best first course of action is of course, to REPAIR it if possible. But, if your device is truly beyond repair, the next best thing is to recycle it and avoid the landfill entirely. Below are some ideas on how to do that - of course, it will all depend upon what is offered within your municipality. Be sure to check!

If you live in or manage a multifamily residential property in the Regional District of Central Okanagan dont forget to complete the survey to provide your experiences and feedback on recycling at the link below. Those who complete the survey can enter the draw to win one of three $100 gift cards for a local business. Two weeks left to submit your feedback! https://www.recyclesurvey.ca/

Just two weeks left to let us know what you think about recycling at your multifamily residential (apartment, condo, strata) home in the Regional District of Central Okanagan Please visit the link below by midnight on September 15th to complete the survey and enter to win one of three $100 gift cards for a local business! ... https://www.recyclesurvey.ca/

Curious about what we're up to this summer and fall? Read our latest blog post where we highlight all of the amazing programs and partnerships we've got going on in the South Okanagan. We're really excited about this work because it means we get to help businesses find ways of cutting operational expenses and increase their revenues: two things that are so important as the world cautiously begins to open back up. If you're a business owner in the South Okanagan and are intere...sted in any of this good stuff, please get in touch and we'll connect you to the right people and services! Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association British Columbia Hotel Association FortisBC BC Hydro Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED - Monday, August 24! GreenStep is seeking at least seven volunteers for two, two-hour shifts this Monday, August 24th for a transit-related event. Shift 1: 7 am to 9 am... Sift 2: 3 pm to 5 pm Location: Various transit stops in Kelowna and West Kelowna. All volunteers will receive a complimentary t-shirt to identify you, plus 10 free transit tickets! Please message us through Facebook or email [email protected] for more information and we will send you a sign up form. Thanks!

We are halfway through the open-comment period of the Regional District of Central Okanagan's multi-family recycling survey! If you are a resident of a multifamily building (apartment, condo, strata) and havent had a chance to share your experiences and opinions on recycling practices at your home, please do so by visiting the link below. After completing the survey, you can enter to win one of three $100 gift cards for a local, Okanagan business.... Thank you! https://www.recyclesurvey.ca/

DYK? BC Hydro is offering incentives for businesses to make energy-efficient upgrades! These incentives shorten the payback period of an upfront investment, but they also make deciding to upgrade, easy!... If you're a business owner in a BC Hydro-serviced area and would like help identifying opportunities aligned with this incentive program, reach out and we'll connect you with a Business Energy Advisor today!

Give feedback and keep our valley trash-free - all from the comfort of your own home! The Regional District of Central Okanagan is seeking feedback from residents of multifamily properties (apartment buildings, condos, strata, etc) about your current recycling practices at your place of residence. Please share what works (and what doesnt!) by completing the survey at the link below.... Participants can enter to win a prize draw for one of three $100 gift cards to a local, Okanagan business. https://www.recyclesurvey.ca/

Do you live in a multifamily residential property in the RDCO? (i.e. apartment, condo, strata) The Regional District of Central Okanagan is seeking your participation in a survey about your experiences and thoughts on recycling practices at your home! Visit the link below to complete the survey and enter into the prize draw for one of three $100 gift cards to a local, Okanagan businesses!... https://www.recyclesurvey.ca/

The Regional District of Central Okanagan wants to hear from YOU! If you live in a multi-family residential community within the region, we would love to hear your thoughts and experiences with recycling at your home. Please visit the link below to take a quick, 10 minute survey. ... Participants will be entered to win one of three $100 gift cards! Thank you for your help making the Okanagan a trash-free place to be! https://www.recyclesurvey.ca/

Survey time! The Regional District of Central Okanagan is calling on residents and property managers of multi-family properties throughout the region to participate in a survey designed to identify and understand real and perceived barriers to participation in recycling programs. Have your voice heard and let us know:... What's working for you? What isn't? Where would you like to see improvement? Share your feedback at the link below for the chance to win one of three $100 gift cards to local Okanagan businesses! https://www.recyclesurvey.ca/

To help support small and medium-sized businesses in BC to recover from the challenges of COVID-19, we are proud to partner with FortisBC to offer free customized energy advice. In a consultation via phone or video conference, you can get tips, technical advice and information about FortisBC's programs that can help you save energy, greenhouse gas emissions and operating costs. To request your free consultation, sign up here: https://www.fortisbc.com//energy-evaluation-for-small-busi

Register your child or class today for Learn2Ride Online - a free, online course by HUB Cycling that teaches youth ages 9-12 years basic cycling safety! . Learn2Ride Online engages students with fun memory games, spot the difference activities and more! .... Register at the link below: https://bikehub.ca/learn2ride-online . #BiketoSchool

Summer's coming! Warmer, dryer days and more sunshine mean more opportunity to get outside and on a bike! HUB Cycling along with TransLink and the BC Ministry of Transportation, has developed an online program called Learn2Ride - a free, cycling safety course designed specifically for youth ages 9-12 years. The course involves interactive games, quizzes, and more, with the ultimate goal of teaching youth cyclers how to:... identify parts of the bicycle, perform an ABC quick check, properly lock a bicycle, fit a helmet and use safety gear, and be aware, practice good behaviour and communicate while riding a bike For more information, and to register, click the link below! https://bikehub.ca/learn2ride-online

Happy World Ocean's Day! In partnership with Oceanic Global, the United Nations is hosting a virtual event to celebrate #WorldOceansDay. Featuring ocean solutions and entrepreneurs; science technology, and deep-sea exploration; the blue economy and ocean finance; and community engagement and youth leadership. There will be something for everyone! The event is being live-streamed at the link below and we encourage you to tune in throughout the day. Sylvia A. Earle, Jean-Mi...chel Cousteau of Jean-Michel Cousteau's Ocean Futures Society, and other notable ocean warriors will be sharing their work on our watery blue planet! No registration required, simply hit play and enjoy! https://unworldoceansday.org/2020

"Sustainability" encompasses business and environment, but it also and most importantly, includes people. This is why we are proud to be part of the B Corporation community, and something we work to achieve with our clients, day in and day out. The recent, racially-injust events unfolding in the United States and across the globe indicate that there is still much work to do. We simply cannot create a sustainable present or future without the inclusion of ALL people of ALL col...ours, races, and ethnicities. The words below from B Corporation summarize this perfectly. The B Lab US & Canada Team proposed the following questions and action items, that are helping us grapple with what we're witnessing in our communities and online. We invite you to join us - there are no easy answers and it is OK to not have all the answers but we want to learn, listen, and find solutions together. ----- How are we educating ourselves and our stakeholders about structural racism? What practices do we have in place to support Black/POC team members? How are we supporting Black business leaders? 4 ways we can take action today: Start educating yourself! Read informational articles and books. Watch Black stories and documentaries. Donate to organizations working to dismantle white supremacy and end police brutality. You can also donate to mutual aids and bail funds in your area. Sign a petition. Every signature makes a difference! Follow accounts that matter. We are learning just like you so we follow organizations that are leaders in this space. These are just a few accounts you can follow: Black Lives Matter, Color Of Change, Grassroots Law Project, and Brittany Packnett.

A fear often expressed by bikers is cycling in an urban environment - navigating traffic lights, cars, pedestrians, it can be a lot to manage from behind a set of handlebars! If you're one of these riders, fear not - HUB Cycling is hosting a free webinar this afternoon to talk all about this and offer easy tips for safely riding through urban centres. Bonus: attend the webinar and you'll be entered to win an umbrella - perfect for keeping dry during the current spring rains! The webinar begins at 12PM PST today (MONDAY, MAY 25) - register at the link below!

This time of the year usually sees our Greenstep team working together with so many community partners to launch and support biking throughout the Kelowna area for Go By Bike BC Society's annual Bike to Work and School Week. This year, of course, things are a bit different! BUT - that doesn't mean we can't keep biking! As businesses start to reopen in the Okanagan, and as you begin to venture out of your dwellings, why not choose to #GoByBike instead? And who doesn't love an excuse to use this hashtag: #flattenthecurvenotthetire

Great info and tips from the team at HUB Cycling about e-bikes, and an opportunity to win a bike hand pump!

Can you bee-lieve it? It's World Bee Day! Decreed by the United Nations, this day honours bees everywhere and is used as a way to raise awareness for the importance of pollinators, the threats they face, and their contributions to sustainable development. This day is also a tribute to Anton Jana, who is responsible for pioneering modern beekeeping techniques in 18th century Slovenia - his birthday was May 20.... Each year, in addition to volunteering in our community, we make a charitable donation to a non-profit that is dedicated to protecting and preserving wildlife and wild spaces. This year weve donated to the WWF-Canada's 'Wildlife Adoption' program, in support of wild bees everywhere. Bees represent community, perseverance, and being part of a larger collective - important philosophies to hold onto during uncertain times! Wherever you are today, give thanks to the bees that make this world go 'round! https://www.un.org/en/events/beeday/

It certainly is a strange time, with physical- and social-distancing rules in place, and many businesses requiring their customers to don face masks when visiting their establishments. But even in pandemic-times, and possibly even more so to avoid further public health outbreaks, it is so important to properly dispose of your waste. Read on for tips on how to minimize one of the new and strange waste streams to come out of this outbreak: the face mask. c/o CBC

Hello to our dear friends, colleagues, and followers! Its been a little quiet here on the Facebook homefront, but we wanted to let you all know were still here and still saving the world - we feel that now (more than ever!) it is so important to be focusing on building our community UP and supporting any effort, large or small, to progress sustainability. Our planet and our people need it. So what have we been up to recently?... Were continuing to work with our local utility companies BC Hydro and FortisBC to deliver their small business engagement program, helping businesses across Interior BC achieve energy-savings through retrofits, upgrades, and simple, no-cost switches. In the Okanagan, were working closely with the Regional District of Central Okanagan to monitor commercial waste diversion at our local, Glenmore Landfill (yes, we are the Garbage Police). In the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen, were cooking up something exciting for businesses and multi-family residential buildings to meet and achieve their waste diversion goals. We also welcomed several new team members, while also bidding some farewell. Stay tuned for updates on our website to learn about our rockstar Greensteppers. At our core, we have always believed in a better world and work hard to make that a reality for our families, friends, and clients. While this pandemic is creating a lot of uncertainty, it is also providing us with an opportunity to see things differently and carve out a new path for a more sustainable, equitable, and just future. One day at a time, folks!

We love these tips from Ocean Ambassadors Canada - great reminders for this upcoming Mother's Day!

Here is some refreshing news: the newly completed, Arrow Park III ferry (servicing Upper and Lower Arrow Lakes in the Kootenays) - has gone electric! This major step was taken as part of the province's CleanBC program, whose mandate is to help its citizens use more clean and renewable energy in how we get around, heat our homes, and fuel our industries. Arrow Lakes News

To show how roomy our BigSteelBox is, we put together a quick little stop-motion creation of our awesome teammate Andrea Mackintosh loading up HUB Cycling program bicycles!

We are so lucky to have such incredible community partners involved in our projects - through thick and thin! COVID-19 threw a few wrenches into some of our upcoming plans and weve unfortunately had to postpone our project with HUB Cycling. Fortunately, BigSteelBox came through with support for housing all of these bikes, keeping them safe for our students when the time is right. Thank you so much, Big Steel Box!! Thanks also to Modo for having vehicles available when we nee...d them, to get our supplies from A to B. The moral of the story: we may all be physically-distant but that has not stopped our community from coming together.

This year's Earth Hour comes at a time when the globe is grappling with an unprecedented, public health crisis. It comes at a time when we are having to learn new ways of living, working, and playing with "social distancing" becoming a strange, new normal. But it also comes at a time when humanity is rediscovering itself: we are connecting in new ways and we are finding ways to be resilient in the face of adversity. In the wake of so much drastic change to our lives, the idea... of turning off the lights and going "low tech" for an hour tonight seems...refreshing, and simple! Join us in switching off the lights at 8:30PM YOUR LOCAL TIME. A bit more about Earth Hour: "With nature loss continuing unabated, Earth Hour 2020 draws attention to the immediate need for halting nature and biodiversity loss for our health and well-being. The global moment comes ahead of world leaders scheduled to take critical decisions on nature, climate change and development."

Tips from B Corporation on how to control what we can during a time when so much feels out of our control. It's a beautiful list! #BTheChange

As a Certified B Corporation, we believe good jobs can change lives: we've seen it over and over again in our own business! We're proud to use business as a force for good by intentionally creating a positive, supportive work environment for our team. Learn more about what the B Corp community is collectively doing to change labour equality at the link below! #VoteEveryDay #bthechange #employment #BCorpMonth

Hello to our friends, colleagues, and clients, From our team at GreenStep to you, we would first like to say: we hope wherever you are reading this from, that youre safe, that youre fully stocked up, and that you are WELL. Here at GreenStep, sustainability of people and planet is at our core. We feel lucky, every day, to be able to work in this field and have impact with individuals and businesses across a wide range of sectors. The news of the COVID-19 outbreak and ensuin...g social distancing and quarantine measures have made it all the more clear that in these troubled times, what matters most is connection and communication. Were counting our blessings that the work we do will continue on, with little to no disruption in our day-to-day activities. Much of our work can be done online and remotely, ensuring the safety of both our team and clients. Were happy to report that we will be able to keep the lights on and the work flowing. Effective immediately, our staff will be conducting all energy assessments for FortisBC , BC Hydro, and the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association Eco Efficiency program *virtually* via web conference and phone. For clients still seeking an in-person assessment, we are tentatively booking into April and May. Please know that our staff are taking all necessary precautions regarding social distancing and proper hand washing. It has been truly heartwarming to see local, regional, and global news of communities coming together to boost small businesses and help each other out. This is an integral tenant of the very concept of sustainability and we are thankful to be a member of this community. Stay safe and stay healthy - this too, shall pass!

We #choosetoB a Certified B Corporation because we believe business can be a force for good, and we believe in putting people and planet before profit. Here at Greenstep, we live our values! We volunteer for local organizations (see our last post for details on that!), we support small businesses, we ride our bikes and take public transit to work, and we reduce our dependence on wasteful single-use plastics (some of us even have our own backyard chickens to boost ours and our teammates food security!). But we want to know...how do you live your values? How do you #choosetoB, every day?

As a Certified B Corporation, giving back to and being part of our community is part of our core - it's who we are and why we exist. That's why we organize and participate in community and Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup and Adopt-a-Stream efforts in our city; volunteer at the Central Okanagan Community Food Bank ; participate in the Organic Okanagan Festival; and support various conferences and events around town. Collectively, we've dedicated over 500 hours of volunteer ti...me to our community (since we started keeping track in 2012!) and we have no plans of stopping anytime soon. What organizations do you like to volunteer with?