CET is August 2007 Chamber Member of the Month

(l-r)Associate Director Nancy Nylen, and co-directors Laura Dubester and Alan Silverstein pose in front of the CET sign at our Elm Street office.

At a business breakfast honoring the Center for Ecological Technology’s (CET) 30th anniversary, our host introduced CET as "an organization that has solutions that you can really do". We think that’s a good way to sum up our practical approach to reducing the impacts of our everyday activities on the environment.

With 37 employees and offices in Pittsfield, Northampton and Springfield, we strive to make ecological technologies, techniques and practices mainstream and affordable.

Businesses
CET is a resource to help “green” local businesses. Launched in 1996 with the Chamber’s support, CET Recycling Services now collects and recycles more than 40 tons of office paper each month from 200 Berkshire businesses. We help businesses reduce waste and recycle fluorescent lamps and electronics. Businesses can recycle ink jet cartridges and purchase recycled-content copy paper from CET. CET provides energy audits for Berkshire Gas commercial and industrial customers and on a fee-basis to other businesses.

Communities and Individuals
CET provides communities and their residents with tools and information to become more sustainable. Through our solar energy workshops and wind farm tours, composting workshops, hazardous waste collections and clothing and textile drives, we offer easy, affordable solutions that make sense. CET provides home energy assessments, financial incentives from utility companies, contractor selection assistance and quality control inspections. New England GreenStartsm provides a way for people to support renewable energy and help their towns with renewable energy projects, like installing solar panels on schools. Berkshire cities and towns have earned more than $108,750 for local renewable energy projects. Five Berkshire towns have greater than 3% participation. Our ReStore Home Improvement Center saves money for those making home improvements, provides jobs and job training and keeps usable materials out of landfills. Our Bio-Heat Co-op is a home heating oil option that is more consumer and eco-friendly.

Schools
CET brings math and science to life for K-12 students through hands-on activities in solar energy, recycling and composting, engaging them to think about how individual actions can make a difference in protecting our environment. This year, with a grant from Berkshire Bank Foundation, we will work with teachers, administrators and students to transform schools into learning laboratories where students will gain a more relevant understanding of topics like global warming, waste management, energy efficiency and school habitat. CET has helped several schools in the Berkshires install solar energy systems, and continues to work with teachers to integrate the teaching of renewable energy into their curriculum.

Global climate change is the defining issue of our time. CET’s work to reduce pollution and use resources wisely is critical to climate protection. Our experiences, accomplishments and lessons learned over the past 30 years will guide us as we continue to provide innovative and achievable solutions to urgent climate issues. We invite you to call on CET - your local resource for our collective efforts.