California’s leadership in all things sustainable just took another big step from ideas into action with last week’s launch of the Green Products Innovation Institute (GPII). In an announcement by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as part of the state’s Green Chemistry Initiative, the GPII will “revolutionize the way we design products and serve as a benchmark for those who aspire to set new standards of environmental and human health and safety for all products sold in California.”

The Institute, a non-profit that will be based in San Francisco, will apply principles outlined in the seminal book Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things on a global level. Specifically, GPII will serve as a resource for economic, environmental and human health in all aspects of manufacturing—kind of a “new industrial revolution.”

The book’s co-author and founder of GPII, architect William McDonough, commented, “Even before Michael (Braungart) and I wrote Cradle to Cradle in 2002, we have wished for and worked for a safer and healthier world for ALL children of ALL species.  That world is not just a wish anymore.”

The GPII will focus on two areas of activity:

• Systems design and consultation: To help companies, government and consumers create safer systems for the design, manufacture and use of chemicals
• Product certification: GPII will work with leaders from academia, the NGO environmental community, government and industry to establish a rating system for evaluating products. Products that meet the criteria will receive the Cradle to Cradle certification mark.

Is it possible? Can companies really manufacture products to Cradle to Cradle principles profitably? Turns out—they already are. To date, more than 300 products and 90 companies have engaged in the Cradle to Cradle certification process.

Two major success stories: Herman Miller reports that 50% of its revenues currently come from products that comply with Cradle to Cradle principles. According to Shaw Industries, the largest carpeting manufacturer in the world, its eco-products (also Cradle to Cradle compliant) are its fastest growing and most profitable segment.

Photo caption: California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (center) is accompanied by  (l-r) Rosario Dawson, actor and activist; Martin Fischer, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University; Wendy Schmidt, Schmidt Family Foundation; Chad Hurley,  founder and CEO, YouTube; William McDonough, co-founder, Green Products Innovation Institute; Michael Volkema, Chairman, of Herman Miller; and Vance Bell, CEO, Shaw, Inc. at the launch of Green Products Innovation Institute in a news conference at Google headquarters in Mountain View.

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The Real Story is talking with Dr. Jasmin Ansar, climate economist with the Union of Concerned Scientists, the leading science-based non-profit working for a healthy environment and a safer world.

Given that the conversation about AB 32, the State’s Global Warming Solutions Act, has turned heated in recent months, and that a measure to suspend the action before it takes effect will be on the November ballot, we were interested in the UCS analysis of the situation.

Jasmin shared with us the background on AB 32, which was passed in 2006 with a implementation start date of 2012—six years in which to get ready to seriously look at the ways that Californians can help reduce their carbon footprint to 1990 levels by 2020. Jasmin talks about the work done by the California Air Resources Board in developing programs to put this implementation in place.  For more information on the scoping plan, go to arb.ca.gov.

New segments to this interview will be available daily at The Real Story, and podcast downloads are also available on iTunes.

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The Real Story had the chance to talk to Harry Mavrogenes, Executive Director of the San Jose Redevelopment Agency, about the potential for moving the Oakland A’s to San Jose. Pending a decision from Major League Baseball about the Giants territorial rights over San Jose—a decision that will be made in the next month or so—San Jose is ready with a plan that includes land next door to a transit station, downtown, with 20,000 parking spaces available. He sees the return of the urban ballpark as a phenomenon that is working throughout the country—in San Francisco, San Diego, Baltimore and Denver to name a few cities that bow host baseball close to the urban core—and he can tell us about the huge economic benefit of having a major league team in San Jose. Not only would the building of the park itself provide much-needed construction jobs, but the ongoing sustainable jobs in and around the ballpark would change the employment statistics for San Jose.

But the Redevelopment Agency is no one-trick pony: while awaiting the decision of MLB, it is also working toward the creation of a permanent daily market area, like Pike’s Place in Seattle, to draw people downtown in search of locally grown food, local retail and goods that would be unique to the San Jose area. Also on its radar is California’s plan for high-speed rail, and how it could best impact the area, and a look at more in-town residential, to keep commutes short and the downtown increasingly diverse and lively.

UPDATE

The KCBS newsroom reported this morning that city planners voted to approve the environmental impact report for the proposed ballpark plan for downtown San Jose. The only remaining hurdle is whether the Giants will waive their territorial rights.

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One of the initiatives that the San Jose Redevelopment Agency has taken on in recent years is called Strong Neighborhoods. The idea behind it was the recognition that as the City grew out toward its suburbs, the neighborhoods in the urban core got shabbier and felt forgotten. The Strong Neighborhoods program has done what its name suggests—through investment of almost $100 million dollars over the last decade, it had brought neighborhoods together as independent groups, each working with the City for the betterment of their own small area—by the opening of a park, the building of a community center, more road and lighting improvements, etc. The strength of the idea lies in the belief that if you empower people in their own neighborhoods, they will provide more support for the City’s good work than one would imagine possible. Harry Mavrogenes, Executive Director of the San Jose Redevelopment Agency, tells The Real Story about one man who said he always thought he would have to leave his neighborhood to live a better life… and instead the city made his whole neighborhood better.

Troubling news from the redevelopment front in today’s podcast: Harry also explains that the state of California is now regularly dipping into local budgets to handle some of its budget woes—and the California Redevelopment Agency sued the state over its $2 billion grab of redevelopment funds. This is not a loan—once the state takes the money, it is gone—and in the case of San Jose, it would take $62 million out of its redevelopment coffers.

One of the truly enriching aspects about living in the Bay Area is its rich cultural scene. And this Saturday, you can show your support for the arts in grand style at San Francisco Symphony’s 2010 Black & White Ball.

OK, it’s not cheap. But then again, with admission starting at $200 a person for a Party Pass, it’s not totally out of reach, considering there will be 10 bands on five stages with live music, dancing, food and drinks. In past years, The Real Story has sipped cosmos, slurped noodle salad and scarfed tarts during the evening. Food is plentiful and frequently replenished—and cocktails are all included in the price of admission.

Also delicious are the musical treats for this year’s event: party headliners Kool & The Gang; hip hop/R&B songstress Faith Evans; two-time Grammy-nominated Afro-Cuban ensemble Tiempo Libre; the illustrious Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra; all-star jam band Moonalice; retro-swingers Royal Crown Review; nine-piece salsa band Candela; California surf band Papa Doo Run Run; Foreverland, a musical tribute to Michael Jackson; and all-female Led Zeppelin tribute band Zepparella.

If you upgrade to the Tony Bennett & k.d. lang Concert + Party Pass ($325/person—limited availability at this point, so call the box office immediately to reserve at 415-864-6000) your B&WB experience will start with two legendary performers—live and in concert—on stage in Davies Symphony Hall. Then you can join the glittering masses in five venues and the surrounding streets for the remainder of the evening.

All proceeds benefit Adventures in Music, bringing music education to every student in grades 1 through 5 in the San Francisco Unified School District.

Here’s a tip:  wear comfy shoes.  Some nice black or white sneakers will work just fine, cause the party goes on until 1 a.m.

Photo courtesy of the San Francisco Symphony.

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San Jose is a great example of a California city getting it right: its downtown boasts walkable streets, connecting interesting and attractive venues. There is a palpable heartbeat to the city, day and night, and a sense of civic pride based, in no small part, to the fact that the city just keeps getting better.

Harry Mavrogenes, Executive Director of the San Jose Redevelopment Agency, talks to The Real Story today about the importance of integrating high quality projects with high design aesthetic into the urban fabric. He says with pride that the Arena looks as good today—twenty years after its opening—as it did when it was envisioned. The next frontier for architecture and design for San Jose? Green building.

It makes sense, says Harry, that the tenants of the Silicon Valley, who are so used to creating cutting edge products, would want to be in buildings that are also cutting edge, in their green design and materials use. Keep an eye out for new buildings—commercial and residential—that will reshape our thinking about all things green, as San Jose keeps staying ahead of the curve.

Photo courtesy of the City of San Jose.