National Clothesline
Hesperian receives second award for environmental work
Hesperian Cleaners was among several California businesses recognized by CoolCalifornia.org for
excellence in taking steps to reduce its impact on the climate and
communicating the information to employees and customers.
Since converting from perchloroethylene to wetcleaning, Hesperian has been a
leader among northern California wetcleaners by hosting workshops and open
houses and consulting with other cleaners and government agencies.
Hesperian Cleaners has stores in San Lorenzo, Castro Valley, and Danville, CA.
Hesperian owner Sung Han Lee said that since switching from perc to a
Miele/Veit/Kreussler system he has reduced electricity consumption by 50
percent, water consumption by more than 30 percent and hazardous waste
generation by 100 percent, reducing his carbon footprint by tons.
He also formed a user group of wetcleaners in the Bay Area, the Professional
Green Cleaner Alliance.
“This award is not just for me, it is for all the wetcleaners in California,” Lee said.
CoolCalifornia.org was formed by the California Air Resources Board and partners
to offer of information to Californians looking to reduce their climate impact.
The CoolCalifornia Small Business Award program is administered by the
California Air Resources Board. The 2009 award winners were recognized at a
ceremony on December 2 in Sacramento with Mary Nichols, chair of the Air
Resources Board, and Betty Jo Toccoli, president of the California Small
Business Association, making the presentations.
The award certificate said in part, “Your efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions were deemed exceptionally
commendable and can serve as a model for other small businesses.”
This was the second environmental award for Hesperian Cleaners. The company
received the Susanne Wilson Award for Pollution Prevention/Resource
Conservation from the non-profit group ACTERRA in 2008.
CCA planning trade show, 2010 seminars
Planning is underway for the California Cleaners Association biennial trade
show, Fabricare, which will be held Aug. 21-22 at the Long Beach Convention
Center in Long Beach, CA.
CCA expects more than 100 companies will exhibit and, with new state air quality
regulations kicking in, thousands of cleaners will be looking for new machines.
Information for exhibitors is available on the show’s website, www.fabricareshow.com, or by calling CCA, (916) 239-4070.
The association is planning other programs in the meantime. A program on machine
maintenance will be held Jan. 10 and a spotting/wetcleaning seminar is planned
for Feb. 13. Both will be held at locations to be announced in southern
California.
