And because we can’t do it without you, we are thrilled today to announce the launch of Refer Rivanna, a program that enables you to help us, us to thank you, and all of us to help people create better lives for themselves and their families.  Refer Rivanna works in partnership with Kiva, a non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. Leveraging the internet and a worldwide network of microfinance institutions, Kiva lets individuals lend as little as $25 to help create opportunity around the world.

Here’s how it works:

1)     You help us by referring a colleague, friend, or family member to Rivanna.

2)     When that colleague or friend makes his or her first purchase of $75 from us, we email you a $25 Kiva card.

3)     You lend the $25 to the entrepreneur of your choice in Kiva’s network.

4)     The entrepreneur pays you back.

5)     You lend the $25 to another entrepreneur in Kiva’s network.

6)     The second entrepreneur pays you back.

7)     You keep on lending that same $25, or more (if you refer more friends and colleagues to Rivanna), for as long as you like, or $25 is automatically donated to Kiva after one year.

When you make your loan, we invite you to join our Rivanna Lending Team so that we can track our lending progress.  If you prefer, you can use your Kiva card to start your own lending team and throw us a challenge!  Gretchen Wirth, our VP of Sales, is our Team Captain, so we’re poised for some friendly competition.  If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us.

Please check out Kiva to learn more about their lending system and the inspiring work of the hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs who have received, and paid back, Kiva loans.   Then, for additional inspiration, watch this astounding video:

We hope that you will participate in Refer Rivanna.  You’ll be helping us, and we’ll be able to thank you in a way that reflects our values and yours.  Together, we’ll be helping entrepreneurs all over the globe.  You can get started in a few simple steps.  We appreciate your assistance, thank you once again for your past support, and look forward to your referrals!

What is CHPS?

CHPS provides resources to create the most natural and healthy learning environments, where teaching and learning can meet their highest potentials. “High performance” applies to the school building as much as to the student body.

CHPS began in 1999 as a meeting of minds among California’s utility operators and the California Energy Commission to address energy efficiency in California’s schools. The collaboration soon spread to include all facets of school design, construction and operation. Now CHPS has design resources for over a dozen states, and boasts a membership and governance that includes organizations from the government, non-profit and private sectors.

Design Criteria

CHPS has published green school design criteria for thirteen states, which set benchmarks for environmentally and socially optimized structural and functional designs. The Criteria manuals are just one part of a six-volume Best Practices Manual that covers planning, design, maintenance/operations, commissioning and a special chapter on modular classrooms. The Criteria balance environmental measures, aesthetics and the practicalities necessary for a fully functional school.

For example, the indoor environmental quality section of Virginia’s manual sets out not only standards for the ubiquitous HVAC system, but also less common “view windows.” These “provide a connection between indoor spaces and the outdoor environment through the introduction of sunlight and views into the occupied areas of the building,” a far cry from the windowless, fluorescent-lit classrooms of previous generations.

These are just some of the innovations that can be seen on CHPS’s video case study of California’s first CHPS Verified School, High Tech High Chula Vista. Verification is the highest achievement for a high performance school, since both the design and construction components go in for close scrutiny by an independent assessor additional to CHPS’s own review. For those top echelon schools, Rivanna has designed and created a custom plaque from FSC-certified materials.  Our plaque is featured in the video, but the school building itself and the energized students are the true highlights.

Benefits

In a 2002 article for the National Clearinghouse for Education Facilities, Mark Schneider conducted a review of available research on the affect school facilities have on academic outcomes and concludes that “what is needed… [is] clean air, good light, and a quiet, comfortable, and safe learning environment… It simply requires adequate funding and competent design, construction, and maintenance.” In reference to lighting in particular, he notes “that daylight fosters higher student achievement.” CHPS puts all these principles into practice.

Low costs are also built-in. CHPS asserts, “High performance schools are specifically designed using life cycle cost methods to minimize the long-term costs of ownership.”

It’s Academic

Aside from the point that carefully designed school buildings promote higher academic achievement, incorporating eco design principles into the learning experiences of our children give them an excellent opportunity to see environmental and health decision-making in action. With such far-reaching potential, we are honored to play our small part. We salute CHPS and their important work on behalf of our nation’s schools!

Dear Rivanna Stakeholders:

President Obama’s Executive Order (EO) Promoting Efficient Spending dated November 9, 2011 mandates a 20% reduction in certain federal expenditures by FY2013.  Of particular interest to Rivanna Stakeholders is Section 7: “Extraneous Promotional Items.  Agencies should limit the purchase of promotional items (e.g., plaques, clothing, and commemorative items), in particular where they are not cost-effective.”

While we do not make clothing or general promotional items, Rivanna has been making plaques and awards for the federal government since 2002.  We currently hold Federal Supply Schedule Contract GS-07F-9259S (Schedule 078).  This EO affects our business.  What does this mean for our stakeholders?

For the local and global environment, this could be good news.  As anyone who has ever attended a trade show with agency exhibitors can attest, there is an alarming amount of promotional material or “swag” distributed by the federal government.  Many promotional products are made offshore, so government purchasers have little insight, if any, into who makes these products, how they are made, and at what social and environmental costs.  Furthermore, many of these products, including a good portion of down-cycled, so-called “eco” products, cannot be recycled.  If this 20% reduction in expenses means that the government actually buys less, it could amount to a sizeable reduction of non-recyclable solid waste in our landfills.

Of course, if federal agencies instead opt to purchase even lower-cost swag (if that is possible) and put more pressure on suppliers to look offshore for the cheapest possible goods, we could have a greater environmental problem.  As they say, “cheap is not green.”  Let’s hope that clear thinking prevails here and that current efforts to green the federal supply chain are strengthened, and not undermined, by this EO.

With respect to our work at Rivanna and our own environmental impacts, we will make every effort to respond to the needs of our federal clients.  At the same time, we will not succumb to price pressure that forces us to source materials of dubious origin or otherwise compromise our commitment to the environment.  This has been our standard operating procedure for over a decade, and this EO will not change that.

To our federal government clients: you have supported our business for many years and we hope to continue our work with you.  When you need products that we can supply, we’ll do our best to help you meet your reduced budgets without sacrificing our shared commitment to quality, environment, and community.   Like most other contractors who make products in the U.S. and pay a living wage, we cannot absorb 20% price reductions and keep our lights on.  I’d rather you buy less of what we make, at a fair price, so that we can afford to do business with you. If the intent of this EO is to ensure that your agencies become more thoughtful stewards of taxpayers’ dollars, then hopefully we’ll be able to find some common ground.

To our non-federal clients, bankers, creditors, suppliers, neighbors, friends, families, and fans: we anticipated tighter federal budgets and have been diversifying our client base over the past few years. We appreciate your support and, as always, welcome your referrals!

To our Rivanna Team: I understand if you’re a little taken aback by seeing the plaques we design and manufacture with love and care lumped in with “extraneous promotional items” or worse yet, “swag.”  My first response when I read the EO was, “Ouch, Mr. President!” After all, our plaques are made from FSC-certified and recycled materials.  We design and make them in Virginia. Our mission is to create jobs for recently-arrived refugees and others who need them most.  We’re a Virginia Benefit Corporation and a Certified B Corp.  We’re committed (and, by choice, now legally bound) to transparency.  For ten years, we have been working diligently to make beautiful products and provide great service to the federal government and all of our clients.  Haven’t we earned the right, to get worked up about this?

Maybe.  But here’s the thing:  we don’t get it both ways.  If we want this economy to thrive again and we want the government to cut spending, improve efficiency, and be a more thoughtful steward of our tax dollars, we don’t get to object when federal budget cuts jeopardize one of our own sources of revenue.   If we want a cleaner planet, we need to support initiatives that put us on that path, even when those initiatives do not serve our immediate economic interest.

So, let’s breathe deep and maybe take a few hours to watch Annie Leonard’s The Story of Stuff or David Redmon’s Mardi-Gras: Made in China. Then let’s get back to work.  Let’s keep designing and making products in this country, and let’s make them better.  Let’s provide better service.  Let’s innovate to keep our products attractive and affordable.  Let’s be better environmental stewards and community partners.  Let’s continue to compete for federal contracts and provide better overall value for taxpayers’ dollars.  We’re a B Corp.  B is for better.

Have you heard about the exciting new classification for corporations? Benefit Corporations and Certified B Corps introduce the consideration of all stakeholders, not just shareholders, as a legitimate basis for business decisions. With social and environmental responsibility at the core of our mission at Rivanna Natural Designs, we are proud to join the community of Benefit Corporations and Certified B Corps as of July 2011!

What is the difference between a Benefit Corporation and a Certified B Corp?

According to the experts at B Lab, “a Benefit Corporation is a new class of corporation that 1) has a corporate purpose to create a material positive impact on society and the environment; 2) redefines fiduciary duty to require consideration of non-financial interests when making decision; and 3) reports on its overall social and environmental performance using recognized third party standards.”  Benefit Corp legislation is now in effect in 5 states, and is presently making its way through 6 additional state legislatures.

A Certified B Corporation is a company that has elected to participate in a formal, rigorous review of its business goals, processes, and metrics by an independent third party, such as B Lab.  Since many states have not yet enacted benefit corporation legislation, the majority of Certified B Corps are not benefit corporations by statute. The Certified B Corp community is nonetheless growing by leaps and bounds and includes companies such as Dansko, New Leaf Paper, Method, Impact Makers, and Better World Books.

When did Rivanna become a Benefit Corporation?

Legislation introducing Benefit Corporations to the Virginia Stock Corporation Act became effective July 1st, 2011. Rivanna amended and resubmitted its Articles of Incorporation to the state and officially became a Virginia Benefit Corporation that same day.

How did Rivanna become a Certified B Corp?

Virginia law requires that an independent third party certifier review each Benefit Corporation to determine the firm’s commitment to making an impact. At Rivanna, we chose the nonprofit organization B Lab as our certifier. B Lab scrutinizes companies applying for Certified B Corp status against their rigorous definition of what makes a responsible business. Companies must demonstrate a concern for the impact of their decisions on their employees, suppliers, community, consumers, and environment. Rivanna completed the B Lab Impact Assessment in July 2011 and was approved for certification that same month after formal review by B Lab.

According to the Impact Assessment, the rubric that measures the degree to which companies meet B Corp criteria, Rivanna exceeds B Corp standards with a Composite B Score of 130 out of a possible 200 points. According to the Impact Assessment, which will soon be posted on the B Lab site, we score highest in the areas of community and employees benefits, as well as accountability. There is plenty of room for improvement, of course, and we see the Impact Assessment as a tremendous resource for learning how we can do better. For example, Rivanna already takes care to employ members of our community in most need of work, but B Lab encourages investigating supplier and employee demographics to determine how much a B Corp tries to access underutilized human capital and disadvantaged businesses. The more we measure, the more we can manage!

Rivanna has represented B Corp values from its founding in 2001, well before corporate social responsibility and sustainability became the hot topics they are today. Starting with a clear goal – to create green jobs in Charlottesville for the people who need them most – we built a company creating eco-friendly plaques and awards long before widespread recognition developed for concepts such as CSR or greening supply chains.

We have long believed in the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. As an official Virginia Benefit Corporation and a Certified B Corp, we look forward to the opportunity to lead by example, adding our voice to a community that seeks not just to do good, but to do better.

www.bcorporation.net

In the three years since her fall, Ashley has put her life back together with remarkable courage and composure.   At 22, she moved to San Diego on her own to continue her rehabilitation with Awakenings Health Institute, an extraordinary community-based organization that specializes in holistic healing for people with neurological disorders and disabilities.  A year later, she was chosen to participate in the Breakthrough to Independence sponsored by the Stem Cell Health Alliance.  She also has danced with Oakland’s AXIS Dance Company and has been featured on San Diego television as part of Head North’s Day in a Chair program.

Physical rehabilitation at Awakenings Health Institute

Ashley performs with AXIS Dance. Photo: Bud Branch (budbranch.wordpress.com)

If you take time to check out the above links, you’ll learn what we at Rivanna already know:  Ashley is a star!  She’s a star who needs to work for a living, of course, and that’s where Rivanna comes in.  To support herself and maintain her rigorous rehabilitation schedule, Ashley needed a job that offered fair wages, flex time, and a supportive, accessible work environment. She also wanted to work in an organization that would appreciate her many strengths and enable her to do good work for a good cause.  We didn’t develop our progressive, accessible workplace specifically with Ashley in mind, but I am certainly glad that all of that was in place when it came time for us to offer her a job. Employers out there take note:  when you foster an inclusive work environment, you can attract and retain real talent. We definitely have!

Photo: Andrew Shurtleff, Courtesy of the Tayloe Murphy Center

The annual Tayloe Murphy Resilience Awards, presented by the Tayloe Murphy Center at UVA’s Darden School of Business, recognize Virginia businesses that have overcome significant obstacles to thrive in economically disadvantaged areas. Through strength and ingenuity, the finalists selected this year have all created jobs and supported their communities, even in a down economy, and truly exemplify spirit and resilience.

To determine the level of economic challenges facing a given community, the Tayloe Murphy Center applies three metrics: high poverty, high unemployment, and low entrepreneurial activity. Any business operating in an area that ranks below average in at least two of these three indicators is eligible to apply for Resilience Award recognition.

As a small business working hard to grow and create jobs in Charlottesville, Rivanna is pleased to support the Resilience Awards for the second year in a row by providing the awards and plaques honoring the finalists and winners during the award ceremony held in the Dome Room of UVA’s Rotunda on September 7.

“The Resilience Awards celebrate small businesses that have flourished despite enormous obstacles,” explains Rivanna President Crystal Mario. “We are honored to participate in this celebration and support the important work of the Tayloe Murphy Center.”

Photo: Andrew Shurtleff, Courtesy of the Tayloe Murphy Center

Rivanna Natural Designs commends the finalists and winners of the 2011 Resilience Awards for their inspiring ability to grow and innovate in uncertain economic conditions and facing tough competition and other challenges. You have proved it possible to build wealth and create jobs in overlooked corners of Virginia, and we deeply respect your courage and commitment to your communities.

Congratulations!

A Bowl of Good Cafe, Inc., Harrisonburg

Astyra Corporation, Richmond

Blue Crab Bay Co./Bay Beyond Inc., Melfa

Blue Talon Bistro, Williamsburg

Chateau Morrisette, Inc., Floyd

GearClean, Inc., Winchester

Highground Services, Inc., Franklin

L & R Precision Tooling Inc., Lynchburg

Lindstrand USA, Inc., South Boston

MountainRose Vineyards, Inc., Wise

Office Plus Business Centre (Haynesworth, Inc.), Danville

Southwest Virginia Veterinary Services, Lebanon

Thomas A. Johnson Furniture Company, Lynchburg

Todos Supermarket, Woodbridge

Dr. Maathai made the prescient connection that for Kenya’s poor, sustainable development could not occur without a commensurate commitment to environmental protection. She established the Green Belt Movement in 1977 to put this idea into practice, training women to raise tree seedlings and then purchasing the mature seedlings for reforestation projects throughout Kenya. In addition to 47 million trees planted since then, the Green Belt Movement has also exponentially increased environmental awareness in Kenya and around the world, conducting civic and environmental education programs, empowering women and communities, and faithfully promoting sustainable development despite grave obstacles.

In Kenya, Dr. Maathai fought the widespread perception that forests lack economic value by emphasizing the social worth and ecosystem services of intact forests. According to the USDA Forest Service, responsibly managed forests sustain biodiversity, serve as carbon storage, and provide watershed services such as preventing and reversing erosion. People struggling to feed their families, however, cannot honor these long-term benefits when surviving even the next few days may require cutting down their very last tree. The Green Belt Movement therefore reversed the connection between poverty and environmental degradation by encouraging environmental stewardship among impoverished communities.

In a statement from the United Nations Environment Programme, a long-time partner of Dr. Maathai, UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner remarked “UNEP has lost a real friend and an icon of the environmental movement. But her work and her vision will live on in the millions upon millions of people – young and old – who heard Wangari’s voice, resonated with her aims and ideals and like her rolled up their sleeves to design and define a better future for all.”

In order to achieve that better future, let’s honor Wangari Maathai by taking responsibility for our environmental impacts today.

The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International is an elite body to which owners of many of the world’s iconic and architecturally dramatic commercial buildings belong. Such buildings include the Time Warner Center in New York, which looms magnificently over Central Park’s south-west corner and neighbors the likes of Trump Tower and the Museum of Arts & Design. The Time Warner Center is also New York’s first BOMA 360 Performance building.

BOMA 360 is a “groundbreaking new program to recognize the industry’s best practices in building management and operations” according to BOMA.org, and in today’s cut-throat property climate, standard building management won’t do anymore. Savvy building managers know that to attract the best clients, they must meet the highest possible standards, which, among other things, means seriously reducing the building’s environmental footprint. This not only makes their clients look good, it also saves the building managers and their clients enormous amounts of money.

Launched in April 2009, BOMA 360 is an assessment tool that evaluates a building on six key criteria:

• building operations and management
• life safety/security/risk management
• training and education
• energy
• environmental sustainability
• tenant relations/community involvement.

Taking a holistic approach to building design, function, space, consumption, and use, BOMA 360 performance evaluations incorporate multiple industry standards into one evaluation tool, creating essentially the mother of all industry standards for building management.

While voluntary, the process is no picnic. BOMA uses a points system to evaluate a building’s eligibility, with 67 points out of 100 qualifying a building for the “Performance” rating. That may sound low, but in order to meet the maximum 100 points, you would have to submit at least 70 separate documents indicating compliance with either an industry standard or a best practice guideline. We at Rivanna are particularly pleased to see that nearly half of all documents (29) and half of all points (46) relate to environmental compliance, from Energy Star® benchmarking to traffic reduction policies.

It’s just another reason we’re so proud to be the suppliers of BOMA 360’s award plaques for the buildings that make the grade. The Time Warner Center was such a success it was written up as a case study for emulation by aspiring building operators. It also won BOMA’s Pinnacle award in 2007 and the international The Office Building of the Year (TOBY) award in 2008. And, as James Kleeman, General Manager for the building, notes, recognition for environmental responsibility has an added silver lining; it’s a way to win more business:

“Everything [the BOMA 360 program] consists of:  fire and life safety, security, operations, tenant relations, sustainability, energy management—those are all great things that you can’t find together in any other program. The plaque and all the marketing materials that come along with the designation are very helpful, particularly in these tough times.”

Likewise, BOMA.org reports, “BOMA’s market research shows that building owners and managers are looking for ways to make their buildings stand out from the crowd and be more attractive to tenants. That’s even more important as the commercial real estate sector faces today’s tough economy.”

Clearly, recognition for excellence in your industry as a pioneer of environmental performance is one of the best ways to demonstrate leadership, differentiate your business, and add value to your properties.

We commend BOMA’s bold new program to challenge its members to become industry leaders in environmental building management, and proudly supply its awards. We hope you’ll look for a space for the BOMA 360 plaque on the wall of your office building, too, and make every effort to fill it.

What is FSC?

The Forest Stewardship Council is just one of a number of forest certification programs across the globe, but is arguably the most well-known; you’ve probably seen the logo on your cereal box.

We choose to be certified by FSC because we strongly support their principles.  FSC requires forest managers “to meet the social, economic, ecological, cultural and spiritual needs of present and future generations.”  Operational in over 100 countries, FSC is the leading supplier of forestry chain-of-custody certifications. (See our Responsible Forestry page for more details.)

What is Chain of Custody?

We don’t (yet) keep a forest in our back garden from which to source our own wood, so we are not primary sources of the responsibly harvested wood we use. We are one or more steps removed from the harvest, but no less important players in the lifecycle of the wood.

As long as we use FSC-certified wood and related products, we will remain custodians of those products at this particular step along their lifecycle. As official custodians, our processes and business principles are highly scrutinized by one of FSC’s 12 independent, accredited certifying institutions across the globe.  Our certifier is Scientific Certification Systems, Inc. (SCS) of Emeryville, California.

Every year, an auditor from SCS visits our facility, reviews our written procedures, and inspects our accounting, shipping, receiving, manufacturing, and product labelling processes to ensure that we fully comply with each element of the FSC standard for which we seek certification. The current Chain-of-Custody certification standard is FSC-STD-40-004 v2-0 and our license number is FSC-C019049.

The auditor’s report is thorough. This year’s report ran to 32 pages. In order to achieve and maintain FSC Chain of Custody certification, we must resolve any non-compliances by their stated deadlines. Historically, we have had very few non-compliances, and those few we have had have all been resolved well before deadline. Additionally, before we introduce new products or promotional materials, we must seek and receive prior approval from our auditor to ensure that we meet the applicable standard.

What the Label Says

As FSC has grown, so have the scope and variety of products it certifies.  Since “on product” labelling is a crucial component in differentiating wood products, FSC recently revised its “on product” look to provide consumers with more precise information upon which to make responsible purchasing decisions.

The new FSC “label” – because it’s more than just a logo – informs you that your product is certified by one of the leading authorities in forest management in the world.  It also provides information about the specific certified materials used and the percentage of the product that is certified.

What’s Changed

The “checkmark and tree” symbol hasn’t changed but the wording around it has. The most important aspects to take account of, as a consumer, are the “PURE,” “MIX,” and “RECYCLED” elements.

The PURE label indicates that the product you take home is made entirely of wood from an FSC-certified forest, and the label will probably also contain the wording “From well-managed forests” just to be clear.

The MIX label indicates the product could be made up from a variety of sources; the label may contain a Mobius loop to indicate what percentage is recycled, while the remainder is from virgin wood of well-managed origins. This label will likely also include the words, “From responsible sources.”

The RECYCLED label indicates that the product includes either post-industrial or post-consumer recycled materials. This may also contain a Mobius loop to show how much of the product is FSC-certified as recycled and will probably contain the wording “Made from recycled material” underneath.

What Rivanna Uses

For wood products, our policy is to use FSC PURE wood whenever possible.  Sometimes we use wood from mixed sources (MIX) when PURE is not available, such as for maple and cherry, as these hardwoods are in high demand for green building projects. The only imported wood species we routinely use is Honduran Mahogany and, for the past decade, we have always been able to source FSC PURE mahogany from a local certified supplier.

For certified recycled products, we use FSC RECYCLED or FSC MIX substrates, such as Richlite™ or PaperStone™. Our policy is always to use the material with the highest possible post-consumer recycled content (preferably 100%).

At every step of the process, from ordering the wood to receiving, sorting, machining, finishing, packaging, and labelling, you can rest assured that we, and our FSC auditor, make every effort to meet or exceed the requirements of our Chain-of-Custody standard.  Our FSC certification and, ultimately, our integrity as a business, demand nothing less.

• New cherry awards. We’ve introduced a collection of competitively priced freestanding awards from FSC-certified domestic cherry. These six awards celebrate state forests that have been awarded FSC certification. Each award has a distinctive shape and features beautifully carved wood, offset by a satin gold engraving plate. We hope this collection will provide cost-effective options when you are looking for beautiful hardwood awards that fit in your budget.
• PaperStone™ additions. We have expanded our FSC-certified PaperStone award collection to include nine new designs at several price points, made from black, green, and blue PaperStone. Crafted from recycled paper but with a weight and texture closer to actual stone, these awards feature one-of-a-kind shapes, elegantly carved lines, and satin silver engraving plates.
• Long-term or team recognition. Back in March, we provided a sneak peek into our new collection of perpetual plaques – now they’re here! 12 brand new perpetual plaques, in a variety of materials and with a range of year plates available to suit any long-term recognition need.
• Plaques made from Richlite^®. Our Renewal Plaques have gotten a makeover this year and are now made from Richlite^®FSC™ Black Diamond. Richlite Black Diamond is a green building material made from paper from FSC-certified sources. A dense, elegant material with a matte finish, Richlite adds sophistication and a contemporary feel to our Renewal Plaques, as well as our new Purpose Plaques. The Purpose Plaque line now includes three Richlite plaques with satin gold engraving plates. The corners of these plaques are carved with intricate and unique details that reflect the theme of each individual plaque. Be sure to check out the photos of the corner details!  Even better news:  a portion of the proceeds from your Purpose Plaque purchase go to funding community projects in Karatu District, Tanzania. Learn more.

We’ve got more excitement in store for you this year!  We’re looking forward to implementing a new online collaboration tool for sharing artwork files to make working with us easier than ever. Plus, we have more plans for new product designs in the works. We’re hard at work to ensure we continue to offer the highest quality eco-friendly products with the highest possible standard of customer service. If you have suggestions for us, please get in touch!  We always welcome your feedback and look forward to working with you in 2011.