“Brewing success” Eugene, Oregon

Scholars of ancient civilizations, as well as beer geeks, know that the Sumerians worshiped a goddess of brewing named Ninkasi, daughter of Enki, the lord Nudimmud, and Ninti, the queen of the Abzu.

But for a growing legion of fans of the Eugene brewery of the same name, Ninkasi just means award-winning beer.

In the three years since it brewed its first barrel, Ninkasi Brewing Co. has steadily grown into a major force in Oregon’s highly competitive, and world-renowned, craft brewing industry. Founders Jamie Floyd and Nikos Ridge have built a steady buzz around their brand and succeeded in getting their brews into bars, stores and gullets around the Northwest.

Production has grown from 3,000 barrels in 2007, its first full year in business, to 7,800 barrels in 2008 to 17,000 barrels in 2009. (A barrel is 31 gallons of beer). The company expanded distribution to Idaho and Alaska in late 2009, joining Oregon and Washington.

Ninkasi plans to boost production yet again this year, to 30,000 barrels, and to try to crack the Northern California market.

The company’s signature brew — Total Domination, a hoppy India Pale Ale — is living up to its name. Last April, 22-ounce bottles of Total Domination were the No. 1 single-serve beer in Oregon, according to Information Resources, a market survey firm. In August, it was ranked as the 10th most popular single-serve beer in the country — even though it was sold in only two states.

via Business: Home | “Brewing success” | The Register-Guard | Eugene, Oregon.

Consumers’ green-leaning attitudes for 2010: More than three-quarters looking to buy from socially responsible businesses – SmartPlanet

There’s a new survey out covering American adults attitudes about going greener in the New Year.

More than half of the people responding to a poll by New York-based marketing consultant Tiller (53 percent) said they have at least one green resolution in mind, up a few percentage points from the last time Tiller conducted research on this topic two years ago. Specifically, more than 85 percent expressed their intention to reduce household energy consumption in 2010, followed by plans to recycle (84 percent) and buy from environmentally responsible companies (76 percent).

The research covered 1,000 adults between Nov. 2, 2009, and Dec. 2, 2009, and it was conducted by Mathew Greenwald & Associates.

The last finding in particular should be of interest to the people reading this blog, especially since about half of those surveyed said that they already have declined to buy a certain product because the were concerned about the impact that it (or its packaging) might have on the environment. Isn’t that pretty compelling reason to get with the program?

Women are more likely than men to have “green guilt” over not living a green lifestyle. For example, about half of them are carrying their own bag to the supermarket compared with 30 percent of men. Here’s an observation by Tiller principal, James Marren:

“Women are clearly more focused than men on incorporating environmental responsibility into daily household activities. That’s encouraging, given that women continue to carry most of the burden of household management. To the extent that women can bring other family members along, perhaps environmentally responsible behaviors will take root even more strongly – with some genuine, enduring benefits to the environment.”

via Consumers’ green-leaning attitudes for 2010: More than three-quarters looking to buy from socially responsible businesses – SmartPlanet.

Discounting sets ‘grim tone’ for holiday retail

American retail chains panicked last holiday season as they stared at overstocked shelves and wondered, “How will we sell all this stuff?” Their response to the collapse of the economy—namely, to markdown everything in sight and cross their fingers—was a last-minute act of desperation. Because they spent the past year ruminating about worst-case scenarios, however, many retailers now face a new problem as the holidays actually approach, says Stevan Buxbaum, executive vice president of Agoura Hills, Calif.-based Buxbaum Group, the consulting and turnaround investment firm.

“Retailers were so nervous they over-constricted their inventories,” explains Buxbaum, who looks for comparable store sales to be in the flat to negative 1 percent range for the season. “They are now scrambling to stock up. The problem is that we have a worldwide supply chain. Much of the inventory comes from Asia and can sit on a boat for up to six weeks before it gets here. Beefing up inventories in time for the holiday season will be virtually impossible.”

via Marketing | Report: Discounting sets ‘grim tone’ for holiday retail | Retail Customer Experience.

Local is good, but fresh is better

The buzzwords are flying as marketers look for new ways to appeal to still-stingy consumers. A recent report by Hartman Group found that “the picture is no longer black or white; it is a colorful mosaic where organic and/or natural intersects and overlaps with attributes such as local, fresh, sustainable, safe, green, quality, lack of additives and many more.”Personally, I’m a big fan of “local” — it communicates a human dimension that I find refreshing in an increasingly homogenous shopping world. When it comes to food, though, local is good, but our research with consumers in August shows that “fresh” is better. Consumers told us: “Local foods are fresher and you are helping out your economy locally” “When local there is less chance that they have been processed or preserved with mystery chemicals” “Locally grown means that it takes less than 3 hours to get to me. Means the food is fresher and travels less fuel, energy to get to me.”

via Marketing | Local is good, but fresh is better | Retail Customer Experience.

Going Green with your Business

It’s been far too long since we’ve shared with you here on YGG, and as we were pondering a way to break the awkward silence we stumbled upon Blog Action Day… Just like everyone needs to do a little spring cleaning, and we needed to clean up the site, we ALL need to take action in cleaning up the environment. With growing concerns with pollution, consumption and destruction of natural resources, we are at a cross road of destruction or salvation. With that said, here are some ways you can make a difference with your business, which may be a small inconvenience but will have a BIG impact on the environment.

Going Paperless

With technology being as fast, easy, and affordable as it is, there’s almost no excuse for using paper for the everyday tasks anymore. From reading books to filing taxes, you can do it all online, and many times it’s much faster and easier. Here are some common tasks that you may be able to switch to doing digital:

* Buying and Reading Books (buy online and read ebooks)

* Contracts and Legal Docs (send and sign digitally)

* Taxes and Government (file everything online)

Save Gas

We’re all looking for ways to save money anyways, so why not kill two birds with one stone? If you don’t have to drive, then don’t. Again, user modern technology to communicate and save our precious fossil fuels and ozone. Here’s ways you can save money and the environment:

* Meet from miles away (use Skype video, or conference calling)

* Turn the heat down (at the office or home, turn the heat down at night)

* Carpool into work or for meetings

Recycle

It’s really easy to be lazy and throw everything in the garbage and forget about it, but then again, that’s how we got into this mess to begin with. Why not take the extra minute or two and help the environment? Here’s what you can do in the office:

* Recycle Paper (keep a box next to the trash and save it all)

* E-Waste (if you’re not using it, lose it.. to a proper place of course)

* Re-use (find new uses for old junk)

via Going Green with your Business | Young Go Getter.

Apple Quits U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Apple has become the latest company to resign from the United States Chamber of Commerce over climate policy.

Three large electric utilities resigned from the chamber in recent weeks for the same reason.

The chamber has been critical of efforts by the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate the greenhouse gases responsible for global warming.

“We strongly object to the chamber’s recent comments opposing the E.P.A.’s effort to limit greenhouse gases,” wrote Catherine A. Novelli, the vice president of worldwide government affairs at Apple, in a letter to the chamber on Monday.

The resignation was effective immediately.

via Apple Quits U.S. Chamber of Commerce – NYTimes.com.

Going green at the winery

A winery goes green. Sounds easy right? Doesn’t organic do the trick? That’s what I thought until I saw this BNET special report on Green Business Tactics hosted by Sumi Das. Sumi visits with Frog’s Leap winery’s Jonah Beer who introduces us to dry farming and a future where his winery will be using 95% fewer inputs into the wine-making process at full efficiency. You’ll get to see Frog’s Leap’s solar set-up and LEED certified green building.

via Going green at the winery – SmartPlanet.

From Starbucks, Coffee From the Future

Starbucks is introducing two new applications for the iPhone that will make it easier for java junkies to get their fix—and make it possible to pay right from the phone, which has broad implications for mobile commerce.

via From Starbucks, Coffee From the Future – Gadgetwise Blog – NYTimes.com.

In Hard Times, Repair Options for Electronic Devices

FOR months, I had been trying to ignore it. Like an ailing relative, my desktop computer was becoming increasingly frail. With each passing day, it took longer and longer to boot up. It sent endless “connecting” messages as I tried to get on the Internet. It froze in confusion if I clicked away too quickly.

via Shortcuts – In Hard Times, Repair Options for Electronic Devices – NYTimes.com.

Study Finds Successful Retailers Are Embracing Green Practices

A survey of retailers’ green behaviors finds that companies showing better-than-average growth in annual sales are addressing sustainability concerns across all corners of their business, rather than just a branding or cost-saving exercise.

via Study Finds Successful Retailers Are Embracing Green Practices | Green Business | Reuters.