Poland RPCV Tracy Montarti keep businesses In the Loop regarding environment
Read and comment on this story from the Pittsburgh Business Times on Poland RPCV Tracy Montarti who is educating businesses about the environment, saving them money and doing a little economic development, too. Ms. Montarti is president and founder of In the Loop Inc., a membership organization for businesses and nonprofits that are interested in saving money by operating in an environmentally sustainable manner. Read the story at:
* This link was active on the date it was posted. PCOL is not responsible for broken links which may have changed.
Startup aims to keeps businesses In the Loop regarding environment Membership organization hosts events, helps firms save money Maria Guzzo
DORMONT -- Tracy Montarti is educating businesses about the environment, saving them money and doing a little economic development, too.
Ms. Montarti is president and founder of In the Loop Inc., a membership organization for businesses and nonprofits that are interested in saving money by operating in an environmentally sustainable manner.
The group's benefits include offering information about reducing energy costs, networking to learn about other businesses 'green' successes and harnessing group purchasing power to buy green products and services.
One of its first networking events concerned socially responsible investing, especially as it relates to employer 401(k) and 403(b) plans.
Its next event, at noon, June 25, at Bruschetta's on the South Side, concerns how energy efficiency can save money. Examples include everything from a home-based business saving $35 a year by using the computer's "hibernate" feature instead of a screensaver, to the Pittsburgh Public School District saving $100,000 per month with energy retrofits. For changes that require capital investment, special financing programs allow the project to be paid for with the savings so the organization doesn't have to come up with money up front, Ms. Montarti said.
The ability to acquire that kind of knowledge has led 15 businesses to join since March.
In the Loop membership fees are based on the number of employees, from $100 to $2,500 a year. The amounts are based on how much a typical organization spends on office supplies annually.
"So, even with one contract through us, they're saving money," she said. "That's not a guarantee, but in all the estimates that's the way I envisioned it; to have so many benefits that they'll come out saving money and enhance revenue by making connections, too."
She said making connections is part of the membership benefits and her favorite part of the job.
"There are opportunities sprouting up like mushrooms everywhere," she said.
For example, she knew Josh Knauer, who ran GreenMarketplace.com Inc. before selling it to environmental health product giant Colorado-based Gaiam Inc. in 2002, was seeking involvement in another green business, not full time, but as a minority partner.
She also knows Ed Heal from Omni Associates, which does printing and publicity campaigns, who had told her he'd always wanted to have a business that was integral in the green business movement.
"So, when Josh and I were talking, Ed came to mind," she said. So she introduced the men and they formed Togetherworks, which distributes nontoxic cleaning products.
Her personal interest in the environment led her to start In the Loop.
Originally from California, she joined the Peace Corps in 1995 and worked on community development in Poland for two years.
In 1997, she came to Pittsburgh to attend graduate school at Duquesne and Carnegie Mellon universities. She's working toward master's degrees in social and public policy and public administration, respectively. As part of a fellowship, she worked at the Green Building Alliance, a South Side-based nonprofit that promotes environmentally friendly construction, and with CMU professor Richard Florida during his studies about what makes cities sustainable and how people chose where to live and work.
She then got a job with the South Side-based Pennsylvania Resource Council as its Buy Recycled coordinator. PRC is a nonprofit organization that links industry, government and organizations to solve environmental issues.
"When I was at PRC, I was focusing on environmental purchasing, helping county governments and school districts with being an adviser researching specifications to green their purchasing," Ms. Montarti said.
"I realized this was specialized knowledge and thought that knowledge would be of value to other organizations."
MS. GUZZO may be contacted at mguzzo@bizjournals.com.
Some postings on Peace Corps Online are provided to the individual members of this group without permission of the copyright owner for the non-profit purposes of criticism, comment, education, scholarship, and research under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Government copyright laws and they may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner. Peace Corps Online does not vouch for the accuracy of the content of the postings, which is the sole responsibility of the copyright holder.
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Poland; Environment
