Eco-friendly Backyard Barbeque on Fox5 Atlanta

In the midst of all this oppressive heat, it’s a good time to remember that you can have tons of fun while not creating tons of waste. If you’re a believer (ya know, the whole global warming thing), you know that the waste quotient only adds to the issue. With an average person generating over 1.6 pounds of waste during a typical, four hour event, the trash can really pile up if you’re not being a conscious consumer.

So…here are a few tips to green your summer BBQ:

Décor:

• Like linen: first off, using a washable linen of any fabric is a more sustainable option than something that is not (ie plastic). A new option on the rental market is one made from recycled plastic bottles that can be found at BBJ Linen (www.bbjlinen.com).
•  A fun craft project that my pal & famed Atlanta Caterer Dennis Dean (www.dennisdeancatering.com) came up with is turning a piece of burlap into a BBQ banner of sorts that can be displayed at your entrance or on your table as a runner then reused for the Fall holidays. Use a paper stencil or even a wooden letter to paint on your initials, the theme or a special guest’s name. You can find paper stencils at Sam Flax or wooden letters at Hobby Lobby. Any craft paint will work – opt for a natural hair brush.
• Potted & portable: accent your table with potted sunflowers or other potted flowering plants. At the end of your party, turn your potted flower arrangement into a portable, take home gift for your guests to enjoy on their table or in their garden.

Food & Beverage

• From skin to servingware: use everything inside your orange and out to make a delicious citrus fruit salad (add grapefruit & watermelon to add a multi-color dimension that is also delicious). Cut your oranges in half, scoop out all insides, dry skin halves over night at room temperature. Before your party, simply scoop your fruit salad mix into each half and display.
• Turn your cabbage into the container for your bleu cheese cole slaw. Follow standard directions for cole slaw, add organic blue cheese crumbles. I like the 365 organic bleu cheese @ Whole Foods (www.wholefoods.com).  Use the outer layers of the cabbage (red cabbage tends to offer a bit more color) as your cole slaw container.
• Sauce it up: my favorite part of a BBQ is, of course, the sauce. Offer guests a sampling of various barbeque sauces…either as a competition amongst those coming to enjoy the summer festivity or your own favorite finds. In lieu of making your own, explore local options. Whole Foods is great at pointing out who to check out in your local market. I really like the honey, chipotle and classic sauces the Williamson Bros (http://www.williamsonbros.com) from Atlanta churn out. Since guys love a good BBQ – offer take home samples in reusable, glass jars that ensure your sauce is good to the very last drop.
• Buy in bulk – from chips to Coca-Cola, avoid single-serve containers and ensure your generating less packaging waste overall.
• An apple a day: a great summer drink for kids is a simple glass of apple juice served with an apple slice in a Preserve cup (made from recycled plastic). It’s fun and house-friendly (ie not breakable). Available at Whole Foods.
• Local brew: the best way to cut down on your carbon footprint is to buy and support local. Check out your local beverage options from non-alcoholic (Whynatte) to beer (Sweetwater, Terrapin) or spirits (Horné Rum).
• Box it up: turn an empty box into your go-to recycling container and encourage guests to reduce their waste by recycling all of their glass, plastic and aluminum from your summer BBQ.

To view my segment on Fox5 Atlanta, click video below:

I just have to give a shout out to a new blog I found about while in LA and at the Global Green Pre-Oscar event at Avalon. Our new fave friend Heidi @VIE decked Lauren and I out in garb and gems to add a little glitz to our party wear for the big event. I guess it worked because our picture was snapped at the soiree allowing us to give a well-deserved plug to my new favorite eco-accessory line…Blank Verse. So, check out the cool cuff below and definitely log onto feelgoodstyle.com to read more about the event & the fashions.

April (me), Mike Flynn from Opportunity Green and Lauren Phillips.

I have to admit, I’m a pretty fortunate individual to have the opportunity to have many goose bump moments in my life because I have the chance to work with people, all over the country, on events that aim to educate, strive to achieve new heights in sustainability and mobilize the masses into action. Well, treehugger.com honors those individuals, ambassadors and events that embody all of these actions and epitomize the Best of Green each year. Our pals (and, yes, clients) at the US Green Building Council are nominated for Best (Green) Event for their annual Greenbuild Conference. We were in Phoenix this year with USGBC, for our fourth year in a row, to work on their Welcome Event at Chase Field - so, yes, we do hope that we had a little something to do with their exciting nod. So, please help Greenbuild win for Best Event on Treehugger by voting…just click on the Treehugger logo below and click the button to vote for GREENBUILD!

Being in Los Angeles for the creme de la creme of the Hollywood Awards season is quite the scene but my favorite set so far was at Akasha Restaurant to shoot a few segments on ecoOscar party tips for KTLA’s Morning News. Reporter Allie MacKay broadcasted live on Friday’s show to give viewers at home my eye into how to whip up a star powered and sustainable soiree this Oscar Sunday. Special thanks to Akasha and Alan who not only allowed me to set up camp for the segments (while also pitching in to actually help me set it up) but Akasha whipped up delicious nominee-inspired ecoOscar fare that should be nominated for an award as well.

Click on KTLA logo to view video on ecoOscar food

Click on KTLA logo to view video on ecoOscar decor

Special thanks to Classic Party Rentals for the linens & chargers and Alandale’s for letting me borrow the adorable vintage suitcases for the Up in the Air cupcake display.

Well, if you read  one of my recent blog entries, you may think I’m still on the sausage bent….not exactly. We, at eventologie, strive to keep the cycle “alive” even after our events are done and one of my favorite aspects from our recent event at Chase Field in Phoenix for our client, US Green Building Council, does relate back to a pig.

Our friend Chris Garcia, with Global Green Integrators, introduced us to Greg, Brandy and their family at Hoppin Hogs Farm who were the eager recipients of the over 1700 lbs of food scraps from the Welcome event. Knowing that their pigs and other animals at their friendly farm in Payson, Arizona were happily fed with pure food and not processed or antibiotic-filled products made us very happy as well. I think the picture of Red says it all though we did hear that even pigs are picky eaters too – all was eaten except for the onions. I guess he wanted to be “fresh” for his close up.

It’s amazing how much trash a person can generate when attending an event – it’s part of what contributes to the event industry’s rating of second most wasteful industry in the world. One person can leave behind up to 1.6 lbs of waste – pretty shocking. So, to properly and consciously take care of (dispose can be such a nasty word) of our trash from our recent event in Phoenix for USGBC including the food scraps, biodegradables and compostables, we had the tremendous pleasure to work with a great guy named Chris Garcia whose passion for trash is pretty infectious. Chris and his partner, Lisa Perez, co-founded Global Green Integrators (GGI). They  work with local Arizona groups to compost organic material; recycle plastic, aluminum, cardboard, paper, and glass; and to send food waste to a local rescue pig farm called Hoppin Hogs (more about them tomorrow).

Interesting stats: from pre-event set up through the event itself and breakdown, over 1469 lbs of biodegradables & compostables and more than 5243 lbs of food scraps were collected which totals to an astounding 6712 lbs combined. GGI sent the biodegradable and compostable materials to a local commercial composter and the food scraps were picked up by Hoppin Hogs Farm. Untouched, prepared food was donated to a local food bank.

If we all took the appropriate measures to properly take care of the waste we generate instead of just simply leaving it behind what a different world we’d all live in.

Thanks again Chris – our champion, our cheerleader, our friend.

Funny you ask…I actually had the chance to find out today on a visit to a local sausage factory in Phoenix. I definitely went on an adventure today that I truly never thought I’d experience. The nice folks at Shreiner’s Fine Sausage in Phoenix allowed me to come and check out their small, family run factory where they make around 80 different types of sausage…from traditional from Bratwurst, Italian and Polish offerings to Cajun French Andouille & Tasso, Portuguese Luinguisa, English Bangers and Spanish & Mexican Chorizo. For those a little pig-shy, they also sell low-fat turkey and chicken options. I actually got my hands dirty making some sweet italian sausage with my friends Spicy Man and Jason (pictured below). Nancy Schiller, the owner, is at the helm carrying on the tradition that was started by Hugo Schreiner in 1955. Nancy’s husband, Gary, started working for Mr. Schreiner at the age of 13 and bought the business from him at age 20. Nancy started working at Schreiner’s 30 years ago and runs the factory today in the ridiculously adorable red and white shop on 7th Street in Phoenix. If you’re ever in the area, their road side shop is a definite must and just ask Nancy to help you pick out the right sausage to tantalize your tastebuds. I apparently did alright with the sausage making because Nancy kindly offered me a job should I come back ’round these parts. I don’t even have to fill out an application. Thanks Nancy, Spicy Man and Jason – hope to see you all soon!

We wrapped at the OG 09 conference in LA last night and had a very inspiring time working with the various vendors helping to make the whole weekend come together. One of our particular faves, has been the guys who helped us plate it up, so to speak, for all of our breakfasts, breaks, lunches and parties. The generous folks at Verterra donated oodles and oodles of their super cool, eco-minded dinnerware. Their products are made from fallen palm leaves, steam, pressure and heat making it an all natural product, free of chemicals, lacquers and bonding agents. Their production is completely sustainable meaning no trees or plants are harmed in the making of these fabulous products and they are 100% biodegradable and BPI-certified compostable. Beyond the sustainable stats is just the pure style seen in their array of sizes, shapes and servingware options. Check them out at www.verterra.com and bug our pal Michael for even further info. He’s the best!

People’s 100 Most Beautiful, Mr. Blackwell’s Best-Dressed, The Top 10 best places to live – all enviable lists to be jotted down on. Not so fun – Mr. Blackwell’s Worst Dressed, The World’s Rudest Cities, and apparently Forbes’ Most Toxic City which my home base, Atlanta, was just crowned.  Most I often talk about how the EPA rates the Event Industry as the second most wasteful in the world….not a list or a ranking you want to be on…and it’s the reason that we, at eventologie, focus on ecotaining – entertaining with a green foundation. Our goal to green the world, one party at a time, is because of horrifying, nauseating, terrifying statistics, lists and, of course, examples that we would like to help change. So, need a little nudge in the non-toxic direction? Check out the AJC article…

Forbes rates Atlanta ‘most toxic city’ in U.S.

So, we’re about to travel to two conferences and, when in the conference setting, so many times food options can be beyond unhealthy…more like heart attacks waiting to happen. At both Opportunity Green and Greenbuild, attendees are treated to food options that are locally sourced, farm raised and certified organic where possible. Yes, you can demand that your conference centers go beyond their comfort (food) zone and get more creative and in tune with local cuisine.

In Los Angeles, we’ve connected with an inspiring company called Organics to Go who will be providing lunch to attendees offering a delicious (compostable) boxed lunch option of assorted salads, wraps and veggies. Their innovative catering company & cafes can now be found in LA, Seattle, San Diego and Washington, D.C. and they strive to walk the talk of sustainability from the farms they use to the floors their guests walk on to their way to their counters. For more on what I mean, check their committment at http://www.organictogo.com/AboutSustainability.html.

In Phoenix, we’re excited to be working with the Chefs and tireless staff at Levy Restaurants for the Opening event for Greenbuild at Chase Field. Everyone’s come together to produce a locally-focused & sourced, baseball-themed menu. We’ll be blogging more next week about this awesome event as we have so many folks to tout from the local producers to the pig farm we’re composting to…stay tuned.