The GSB Interview: William (Bill) Gagnon, Saving Money and Carbon Emissions at Sports Venues Thru XLERATOR® Hand Dryers

I thought that the best way to reduce paper waste was to use recycled paper. But, after talking with William (Bill) Gagnon, VP of Marketing and Sales for Excel Dryer, I realized how wrong I was.

Air hand dryers are far more environmentally friendly than even 100 percent recycled paper and Excel Dryer’s XLERATOR^® is particularly green on several metrics. And big public buildings like stadia, arenas and airports reap significant financial and environmental savings by switching to the XLERATOR.

GreenSportsBlog spoke with Gagnon about the many green aspects of the XLERATOR and the role sports plays in Excel Dryer’s business.

 

GreenSportsBlog: Bill, how did you get into the hand drying business?

Bill Gagnon: My dad had bought Excel Dryer and I started working there in 1997 off and on — I was also trying a bunch of different things like computer science, web design, finance. Then in around 2000, after helping to invent the XLERATOR, selling it really clicked for me and I’ve been there ever since.

 

William (Bill) Gagnon, VP of marketing and sales for Excel Dryer (Photo credit: Excel Dryer)

 

GSB: Talk about the technology behind the XLERATOR, specifically about what makes it such a great green option for stadium and arena restrooms.

BG: Basically, we created the high-speed, energy-efficient hand dryer category. Our patented technology sounds fairly simple but it is, in fact, quite complicated. We use high velocity heated air for a unique, two-phase drying process. In Phase 1, or the “Blow Off,” the air blows off large water droplets off the hands in a couple of seconds. Then, in Phase 2, “Evaporation,” the heat evaporates a residual moisture layer that we feel but don’t really see. This makes the drying process about three times faster than conventional hand dryers.

GSB: That’s the high-speed part…Where does the greening, energy efficiency part come in?

BG: By being three times faster, we see an 80 percent reduction in energy usage…

GSB: Makes sense…

BG: But that’s not the greenest aspect of the XLERATOR…

 

A New England Patriots-branded XLERATOR dryer (Photo credit: Excel Dryer)

 

GSB: Really…What is?

BG: The biggest green element is that the XLERATOR replaces paper towels. We did a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) that resulted in showing up to a 75 percent reduction in carbon footprint even when compared to 100 percent recycled paper towels.

GSB: I never thought about it that way…

BG: There’s a big misconception out there that 100 percent recycled paper towels are the best thing from an environmental perspective in terms of hand drying. They’re not; after use they go right to the landfill.

GSB: Where do the savings come from?

BG: From reductions in material production, transportation emissions, water usage and waste.

GSB: I guess using paper towels that are 100 percent recycled is not at all the green thing to do.

BG: 100 percent right!

GSB: So talk to me about sports venues…

BG: Sports venues — stadiums and arenas — are an important part of our business. We’re a Boston-area company…

GSB: Does that mean you’re a Boston sports fan?

BG: Oh yeah — Red Sox, Pats, Celtics, Bruins…

GSB: Well, as a die hard New York sports fan, we’ll just have to look past that…So is the XLERATOR at Fenway Park?

BG: Yes…In fact Fenway is a great case study…They saw an 82 percent carbon footprint reduction vs. paper towels after switching to XLERATOR. That’s the equivalent of planting 560 trees or reducing 100 cubic meters of landfill. In the process, they saved $57,000 in paper towels and about $26,000 in labor costs.

 

XLERATOR dryers mounted on the bathroom wall at Boston’s Fenway Park (Photo credit: Excel Dryer)

 

GSB: Why the savings in labor costs?

BG: Compared to venues with paper towels, restrooms are cleaner and thus need less maintenance. That is an important consideration. Aramark, the concessionaire at Fenway, tells us that it benefits them: Their staff have to spend much less time preparing and cleaning the restrooms. That leaves them much more time for fan-facing work, which is what they are there to do. Also staff spends much less time resolving bathroom incidents when the XLERATOR is in use vs. paper towels.

GSB: How much time is saved?

BG: On average, they told us their response time to attend to a game day issue, i.e., spills, was about three to five minutes. Now, that time has been shaved to 30 to 90 seconds! With paper towels, their staff was spending so much time constantly servicing the restrooms that it would delay their ability to respond quickly. With XLERATOR dryers installed, that has completely changed.

GSB: That is really significant.

BG: Also significant is that far fewer trash cans are needed: Six in a restroom with paper towels vs. one with an XLERATOR. Here’s a great stat: In the 2013 season at Fenway, one in which the Red Sox won the World Series…

GSB: …Don’t remind me…

BG: …The team saw a reduction of 124 tons of waste, with switching from paper towels being one of the largest contributors.

GSB: Beyond Fenway, what are some of the stadiums and arenas where XLERATORs are deployed?

BG: We’re also at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, home of the Pats…But we’re not only at Boston venues. London’s Wembley Stadium, South Africa’s World Cup soccer stadia, NFL and MLB stadia, college football stadia and basketball arenas. Convention centers, airports and train stations are also sweet spots for us — venues where there are large public assemblies. And for these venues, and many others, it’s all about the bottom line — the XLERATOR saves time and money. In fact, in most cases, ROI is less than a year for XLERATORs that cost between $450-$650.

 

London’s Wembley Stadium, the “home of English football” has XLERATOR dryers in its restrooms (Photo credit: The Independent)

 

GSB: So it sounds like the business is good…

BG: After 16 years of XLERATOR, we’re still #1. Some call us the Kleenex of hand dryers. But we stay hungry and are reinvesting in the business to get to the next innovation.

GSB: What about an XLERATOR for residential use? I mean, if we could get all or most US households to go from paper to heated hand drying, that would have a massive and beneficial effect on the carbon footprint, no?

BG: That is something we’re looking at for down the road.

GSB: This is such a great story but I wonder, like I do with many great Green-Sports initiatives, if fans are aware of the green story behind the XLERATOR. What are you and the venues doing on that score?

BG: Some teams and venues are telling the green story, putting customized covers on the XLERATOR with green messaging. We see a big opportunity for storytelling at college athletics venues, due to the interest in sustainability among students. The University of Tennessee is installing over 1,000 Excel Hand Dryers throughout their campus. They put out a big press release to announce it. We need to help our customers do more of this.

GSB: So what’s next for Excel Dryer in terms of advances in hand drying at big public venues?

BG: We’re moving into the next generation of the hand drying experience with our new XLERATORsync^® Hand Dryer, which is part of what we call an “Integrated Sink System.” In this case, we place the XLERATORsync next to the faucet on the sink so the patron washes, rinses and dries in one spot. It’s quieter, more hygienic, and creates an elevated user experience. In fact, Gillette Stadium has installed sink systems in their new hospitality areas in preparation for the upcoming football season.

 

 

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GSB Eco-Scorecard #5: Catching Up with Green-Sports Leaders on the Field

Since 2013, GreenSportsBlog has told the stories of the great environmental work being done by teams, managers of venues and athletes. But as far as the sports side of the Green-Sports equation was concerned, we really didn’t go there.

Until last September, that is.

It was then that we launched GSB Eco-Scoreboard: Catching Up with Green-Sports Leaders on the Field, an occasional series highlighting recent on-field/court results of the greenest teams and athletes. Why? Because if they do well, their green messages will gain a wider audience.

And if they struggle? Well, those of us engaged in the climate change fight know what struggle is all about. We can relate.

With that in mind, please enjoy our fifth Eco-Scoreboard. 

 

 

JOSH ROSEN, CLIMATE CHANGE-MINDED ROOKIE QB, STARTS HIS NFL JOURNEY IN ARIZONA

“Josh Rosen Impresses Cardinals Brass, Teammates at OTAs”

Some version of this headline blared across media reports about the Arizona Cardinals’ rookie quarterback at his first spring practices, or “Organized Team Activities”.

 

Rookie QB Josh Rosen at Offseason Team Activities (OTAs) for the Arizona Cardinals (Photo credit: Cards Wire/USA Today)

 

Why does GreenSportsBlog care about Rosen, selected out of UCLA with the 10th pick in the first round of April’s NFL Draft?

Because climate change is a big concern of his, that’s why!

From an in-depth, pre-draft interview on espn.com with Sam Alipour, Rosen declared, “One cause I’ll champion is the environment. It touches everything. I mean, the war in Syria started because of the drought and famine that destabilized the country and led the population to revolt against the government. I know global warming is a partisan issue for some stupid reason, but it touches everything.”

So even though my New York Jets, with the third pick in the draft passed on Rosen to take cross-town rival QB Sam Darnold from USC, you can be sure GSB will be following the Cardinals’ new signal caller.

All of the Rosen reviews I read had the same tone as Sean Wagner-McGough’s, writing for CBSSports.com on May 18:

“The positive reviews came pouring in immediately after [Rosen took the field]. It turns out, Rosen looks very much like a quarterback who never should’ve dropped to No. 10 in last month’s draft.”

“He stepped in the huddle and had a lot of pizzazz,” left tackle D.J. Humphries said. “He didn’t seem like he was choked up at all. Voice didn’t crack none. He wasn’t talking low. He was excited. He was asserting himself into the huddle, and I was pretty excited to see that.”

“Josh looked great today,” coach Steve Wilks said. “Some of his timing and his throws with the quarterback and tight ends I thought were right on point.”

The conventional wisdom is that, while Rosen is deemed to be the most NFL-ready of the five QBs drafted in the first round*, the Cardinals will start veteran QB Sam Bradford, at least to begin the season.

But that conventional wisdom may not be so wise.

Per Jess Root of the Cards Wire blog, Coach Wilks “is open to the idea of Rosen winning the job.”

My take is that Bradford will likely be the opening day starter vs. Washington. But with a long injury history and a precocious, climate change aware QB chomping at the bit, I think the odds are good that Rosen will take the reins at some point this season — and sooner rather than later.

 

 

 

 

SUTTON UNITED AND DARTFORD F.C. FALL SHORT OF PROMOTION

GreenSportsBlog has given a lot of oxygen to England’s Forest Green Rovers, the “Greenest Team in Sports.” Promoted from the fifth to the fourth tier (League Two) of English football after last season — their highest level ever — FGR was able (barely) to avoid relegation and will look to make a move upward next season.

Two other mid-tier English clubs with green in their DNA made runs at promotion this season but both fell short (barely).

Sutton United looked to join Forest Green Rovers in League Two via promotion. They hosted a promotion playoff match vs. Boreham Wood on May 6 at Gander Green Lane, the first football stadium to achieve The Planet Mark™ sustainability certification##. Reducing its carbon footprint by 13.6 percent in 2016 and diverting 88 percent of its waste from landfill helped the club earn the designation.

Unfortunately from the Sutton United perspective, their promotion dream died that day as they fell behind 2-0, got a goal back before conceding again in the 88th minute. A stoppage time goal for the home side was not enough as Boreham Wood prevailed 3-2.

On the same afternoon, Dartford F.C. looked to join the league Sutton United hoped to escape by moving up from the sixth to the fifth tier. To do so, they would have to knock off Braintree Town F.C. in a playoff semifinal.

Like Sutton, Dartford hosted the playoff contest. The 4,100-seat Princes Park, which opened in 2006, is top tier, sustainability-wise: It was the UK’s first sustainable, purpose-built, small-sized stadium, featuring on-site solar panels, energy efficient lighting, a state-of-the-art green roof, and an advanced reclaimed rainwater system.

 

 

Princes Park, with its distinctive and state of the art green roof, serves as the home of Dartford F.C. in Kent England (Photo credit: Sustainability in Sport)

 

Like Sutton United, Dartford was unable to close the deal, falling to Braintree Town 1-0 as they let in a second half goal.

So the status will remain quo in the 2018-19 season, league-wise, for Sutton United and Dartford F.C. Both teams have made player moves early in the offseason to prep to make promotion runs when the new campaign starts this summer.

 

ECO-OUTFIELDER STEPHEN PISCOTTY MAKES IMMEDIATE IMPACT UPON RETURN TO BASEBALL POST BEREAVEMENT

GreenSportsBlog first wrote about Stephen Piscotty in January 2017 after learning that the then-Cardinals outfielder had majored in Atmosphere and Energy Engineering at Stanford and is an investor in renewable energy.

Piscotty was coming off of a stellar rookie campaign in 2016 but 2017 proved to be challenging on and off the field.

On the field, Piscotty dealt with two stints on the disabled list with hamstring and groin injuries along with a sophomore slump at the plate. The double whammy led to a brief demotion to the minor leagues.

The off field news was much, much worse as Piscotty’s mother, Gretchen, was diagnosed with ALS^ or Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

Over the winter, Piscotty was traded by the Cardinals to the Oakland A’s, only an hour’s drive from his parents’ home. Both the Cardinals and the A’s acknowledged that Gretchen’s illness was a factor in the trade. Amazing, no?

After winning the A’s starting right fielder job in spring training, the Stanford man got off to a slow start as his mom’s condition worsened. Sadly, Gretchen Piscotty passed away on May 6 at 55, about a year after her diagnosis. Her son took bereavement time before rejoining the A’s as they headed to Boston to play the Red Sox on May 16.

 

Oakland A’s outfielder Stephen Piscotty and his mom Gretchen (Photo credit: People)

 

And, in a kind of “Field of Dreams” moment, Piscotty, in his first at-bat in his first game back, the A’s outfielder slugged a home run over Fenway Park’s famed left field wall, the Green Monster.

 

 

 

 

“It was pure joy,” Piscotty said of his blast in the A’s 5-3 victory over the Red Sox, per sfgate.com. “It’s been an emotional week. I’ve been a little cried out, so I didn’t tear up or anything. It felt real good knowing family was watching and my mom was watching.”

 

 

 * Three QBs were picked ahead of Rosen: Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield, the #1 overall pick by the Cleveland Browns, Darnold to the Jets at 3, and Josh Allen, from Wyoming, went to Buffalo at 7. The Baltimore Ravens, with the 32nd and last pick of the first round, chose Louisville’s Lamar Jackson.

^ ALS = Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

 

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GSB News & Notes: Boston University and Eversource Partner to Save Energy at Hockey Arena; Adidas Sells One Million Shoes Made from Recycled Plastic Ocean Waste; One Man Uses Soccer to Teach Sustainability in Rural South Africa

GSB News & Notes spans the globe to bring you the constant variety of Green-Sports: Boston University’s men’s and women’s hockey teams are powerhouses. Off the ice, thanks to a partnership with utility Eversource, BU hockey is saving power at Agganis Arena. Adidas reaches a major Green-Sports milestone by selling its one millionth pair of shoes made from recycled plastic ocean waste. And a soccer-loving environmentalist in South Africa shows how one man can make a difference. 

 

COLLEGE HOCKEY POWERHOUSE BOSTON UNIVERSITY SAVES POWER IN PARTNERSHIP WITH EVERSOURCE

Boston University is a collegiate sports rarity in that neither football nor basketball are king. That honor goes to hockey as the Terriers, both men and women, are a true powerhouse. The men’s program has won five national championships and appeared in 22 Frozen Fours since 1950. The relatively young women’s program, only in its 10th year of Division I play, is still looking for its first national title but they have advanced to two Frozen Fours. And now, its home rink, the sparkling 7,200-seat Agganis Arena, is becoming a green-sports power by using significantly less of it.

And that makes BU MBA and lifelong Boston sports fan Jeff Pollock very happy.

You see, Pollock leads marketing, product management and development for Eversource, the utility company that serves the Boston area and 50 percent of Massachusetts overall, as well as 50 percent of New Hampshire and more than 70 percent of Connecticut. Developing and implementing innovative energy efficiency programs is a big priority for Eversource; marketing those programs is the responsibility of Pollock and his team.

 

Jeff Pollock of Eversource (Photo credit: Eversource)

 

Colleges and universities are ideal energy efficiency customers for Eversource since they are very big and high-profile energy users. BU, the largest landowner in Boston, has a major impact on local real estate. And men’s and women’s hockey is about as high profile as it gets in the BU universe.

 

Agganis Arena, home of BU men’s and women’s hockey (Photo credit: Boston University)

 

Since 2014, Eversource and BU have had a strategic agreement which takes a holistic approach to deliver the most energy savings to the university and help achieve its Climate Action Plan goals to reach zero carbon emissions by 2040. The project at Agganis Arena is an important part of that effort.

“We see athletics as a huge opportunity for carbon emissions reductions and cost savings, with lighting, heating and cooling being the prime levers,” said Pollock.

At Agganis Arena, a lighting upgrade from fluorescents to longer-lasting, efficient LED’s resulted in a 65 percent reduction in electricity usage. The quality of light improved, exceeding NCAA standards, making it easier for players and fans to see the puck. And the lighting retrofit went beyond just the bulbs. “We outfitted Agganis with a state-of-the-art lighting control system that can be managed remotely,” noted Pollack.

I think these are good first steps — steps that many greening sports venues have taken. And, though BU actively promotes its green efforts through its Sustainability@BU website and social media channels, the university, with Eversource’s support, can do more. A strong next step would be to tell its greening story directly to fans at Agganis Arena — engaging them to take similar environmental actions at home — via scoreboard messaging and other signage.

Beyond BU, Eversource has done energy efficiency work at Fenway Park and has also worked with the University of Connecticut on energy-saving improvements at Gampel Pavilion, the home of women’s and men’s basketball. In addition to an LED lighting system, the upgrade included the installation of variable-frequency drives (VFDs) to regulate air handlers and the replacement of the original chillers and cooling towers with modern equipment for more efficient heating and cooling.

 

ADIDAS REACHES A MAJOR MILESTONE: ONE MILLION SHOES SOLD MADE FROM RECYCLED PLASTIC OCEAN WASTE

In a recent appearance on CNBC, adidas CEO Kasper Rorsted — discussing where the global sportswear company decides to invest its money — when he casually mentioned that “we last year sold one million shoes made out of ocean plastic”.

The astonishing figure was achieved through its partnership with Parley for the Oceans, a nonprofit which works to reduce plastic ocean waste and, in the process, protect ocean wildlife.

It is estimated that each adidas UltraBOOST Parley sneaker reuses 11 plastic bottles. Each shoe’s “upper” (the part that goes over the top of the foot) is made from five percent recycled polyester and 95 percent waste plastic (plastic bottles, containers, etc.) dredged from the ocean around the Maldives, an archipelago that is existentially threatened by climate change off the southern coast of India. Most of the rest of the sneaker — including the heel, lining, and laces — is also made from recycled material. 

 

Adidas UltraBOOST Parley sneakers, made from 95 percent ocean waste. (Photo credit: adidas)

 

The partnership with Parley for the Oceans is a powerful example of adidas’ commitment to sustainability. “That’s where we invest money – companies that have the technology that we need, companies that have materials that are unique,” shared Mr Rorsted during the CNBC interview. “We are investing much more in [partners] that make a step forward in sustainability, or makes the manufacturing process much more sophisticated”.

 

SOCCER INSPIRES ENVIRONMENTALISM IN RURAL SOUTH AFRICA

Is it true that “one person can make a difference” on vast, global issues like conservation and pollution? A lone environmentalist in a remote part of South Africa is working to prove the truth of this adage by using sports to educate young people about sustainable practices.

Raymond Langa, living near St Lucia on the country’s east coast, was so concerned with the environmental problems in his community that he decided to take matters into his own hands.

“I am always frustrated by the environmental degradation activities taking place in areas of significance for conservation,” said Mr. Langa to the Zululand Observer. “My area has many wetlands with an abundance of wildlife, seasonal birds and waterfowl. I have identified one area which is very significant to the entire village, but households living next to it dump all types of filth into it”.

 

Raymond Langa (Photo credit: iSimangaliso.com)

 

So Mr. Langa teamed up with the iSimangaliso Wetland Park to teach local young people about the importance of sustainability and environmental protection. The park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, spanning 1,270 square miles — roughly twice the size of London — along the coast. The park is home to a stunning range of biodiversity, including coral reefs, dunes, forests and rare animals, such as the black rhino, African leopard and dolphins.

Langa’s idea was to teach young people about the importance of their spectacular neighborhood and the wildlife in it by hosting a sports event on the grounds of one of the villages bordering the southern section of the World Heritage Site.

The iSimangaliso and Dukuduku Sports Tournament, organized by Langa, featured soccer and netball — an offshoot of basketball — for school children. At the same time, workshops were hosted on conservation, environmental care and sustainable tourism.

 

Raymond Langa and his student-athletes at the iSimangaliso and Dukuduku tournament in eastern South Africa (Photo credit: Zululand Observer)

 

In a sign that the initiative was paying immediate dividends, one participant told the Zululand Observer, “I have gained more than I was expecting to from today’s game. I learned the importance of iSimangaliso and why the youth should protect the environment”.

 

 

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