Please enjoy our interview with Lauren Lawson, Media Relations Manager with Goodwill Industries International by Willi Paul

First! Enjoy the GreenCatcherUnion.com sponsored Goodwill Ad:
Glass Ware for 300,000 - A Donated Ad from GreenCatcherUnion eMagazine

How do you define localization?

Perhaps you can clarify but I hope I can answer your question by explaining what Goodwill is. goodwill.org generates opportunities for people to achieve economic stability and build strong families and vibrant communities by offering job training, employment placement services and other community-based programs for people who have a disability, lack education or job experience, or face employment challenges. Goodwill is comprised of 166 independent, community-based Goodwill agencies in North America and 14 international affiliates. Collectively, we provided employment training and job placement services to 1.5 million people in North America in 2008.

What are the underlying principles for your sustainability programs?

Goodwill has an initiative called Goodwill Going Green that has been underway for two years. The simple premise underlying the program is "Use Less, Serve More." What it means is simply that by using fewer resources, in addition to being good for planet and people, this will also reduce our waste and expenses, allowing more funds available to support the Goodwill mission of being an entrepreneurial leader, environmental pioneer and social innovator of the "reduce, reuse, recycle" practice.

Can patrons barter at goodwill.org?

Goodwill does not barter. Our agencies are innovative and sustainable social enterprises that fund job training, employment placement services and other community programs by selling donated clothes and household items at Goodwill retail stores and online, and through contract services, private and public grants, and individual giving. We operate more than 2,300 retail stores across the country and operate the first and only Internet nonprofit auction site, shopgoodwill.com, which recently celebrated its 10th year anniversary. During those 10 years, it has generated more than $75 million for our career programs and support services.

Donated goods are the primary way that Goodwill has been funding our mission for more than 107 years. Federal law permits Goodwill donors to claim tax deductions for many financial contributions and for donated clothing and household goods in good, used condition or better. People can receive a receipt at the time of their donation. Goodwill channels 84 percent of our revenues into job training programs that benefit hundreds of thousands of people each year.

Many are talking about a major collapse in the world economy and a catastrophic period of anger and hunger. Do you see this near-term scenario? In not, what is your perception of the next 2-5 years on the planet?

Every 42 seconds of every business day, Goodwill places someone in a good job. Goodwill trains people for careers in fields such as financial services, computer programming, manufacturing, and emerging industries, including technology and health care. Goodwill also provides support services - including financial skills strengthening and services for youth and families - that enable people from all backgrounds and walks of life to obtain and maintain economic independence and an increased quality of life.

These employment programs promote independence and dignity for people who need support to provide for themselves and their families.

Our mission is give people a hand up, not a hand out and help them succeed, regardless of the current economic situation. Goodwill has been around since 1902 and has done so in good times and in bad. With the current economic downturn, we are seeing more people shopping at our stores and more people coming to us for help in finding a job.

Do you see a major paradigm shift in (green) values for the USA? If so, please describe this shift.

Yes, about 35 million Americans regularly buy green products, according to research group Mintel. The target demographic for green marketing represents 66 percent of all US adults and more than 80 percent of consumers believe it's important to buy from green companies. Goodwill supports green business by selling re-usable items and re-use means jobs.

How do you personally live the green life?

From a Goodwill perspective, we have an entrepreneurial business model of collecting and selling donated goods. We help communities recycle usable items in environmentally sound ways, and prevent items from piling up in local landfills.

Through socially innovative partnerships with Dell, county and city governments, as well as other organizations, local Goodwill agencies divert used computers and computer equipment from landfills, and provide consumer education on the importance of environmentally-responsible computer disposal. These programs create job training opportunities as well as entry level and skilled green-collar jobs for people in need of work.

The Dell ReConnect Program is a partnership between Goodwill Industries International and Dell Inc. ReConnect. It provides free computer recovery and recycling opportunities for residents of designated areas. The project aims to divert e-waste from landfill (last year it diverted 2.4 million lbs. in San Francisco, San Mateo, and Marin Counties alone) and raised awareness of the importance of responsibly recycling used electronics.

As part of the program, Goodwill refurbishes and distributes computers to residents currently lacking computer access at home, thus helping to close the digital divide. We are also providing sustainable job skill development for our staff and program participants who are working and learning in the program. When computers are not functional enough to be refurbished, we recycle them using a certified recycler that has passed a rigorous Dell environmental and social downstream audit.

How are you measuring and responding to your operational eco-footprint?

Through our Goodwill Going Green initiative, one of the programs we are promoting to our members is the EPA Energy Star Portfolio Manager program, which is an extensive free software program available through the EPA for tracking and managing energy and water usage in our buildings. We also have a strong focus on waste reduction and have done a number of webinars and other training sessions to promote recycling. As part of this we designed a spreadsheet tool that helps Goodwill agencies track their recycling and waste volumes, so that they can measure progress as they make changes in procedures and behavior to minimize waste.

Are you teaching green choices to your patrons?

Yes, one such example is the "Goodwill Not Landfill - Donate and Shop Today!" campaign that was conducted by Goodwill Industries of San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin Counties. The campaign ran from November to January, including radio ads, newspaper ads, and signs on buses and bus shelters. These ads were designed to remind the public that the earth benefits when they give their computers and other electronics to Goodwill for responsible recycling.

They also teamed up with two radio stations this past spring to increase public awareness of e-waste and to encourage donations to the ReConnect program.

Thanks to their partnership with KNBR (680 AM) radio, they gave every e-waste donor the chance to win Giants tickets and other prizes. And thanks to their partnership with KNGY (Energy 92.7FM) radio, two Goodwill e-waste donors won plasma TVs in a raffle. Over the course of two months, both these radio stations made several announcements about the benefits of recycling electronics.

Thanks to all this publicity, more than 18 million pounds of material goods were diverted from the landfill.

What is a zero waste strategy at GW?

We currently do not have a zero waste strategy as part of our Going Green initiative, but this is something we are likely to consider and study going forward.

Tell us about your use of green building principles in remodeling?

In terms of Goodwill and green building principles, the best examples to highlight are several Goodwill members that are in the process of pursuing LEED certification for their new stores. Goodwill Industries of Northwest North Carolina (GNWNC)(Winston-Salem), the Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ABVI)-Goodwill(r) of Greater Rochester (NY), Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin (Milwaukee, WI), Goodwill Industries of Greater Grand Rapids (Grand Rapids, MI) and the Tacoma Goodwill (Tacoma, WA) are going green this September by opening facilities built to the standards of the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System.

LEED encourages and accelerates global adoption of green building and development practices and promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. ABVI is also doing a headquarters remodel/addition that will also be LEED certified.

"Our computer recycling and electronics recycling businesses creating jobs and helping to protect the environment!" Please explain the challenges and successes here?

By selling donated goods in our retail stores and online, Goodwill creates thousands of jobs and millions in revenues that fund job training programs across North America, contributing sound investments in the economic health of local communities.