Pedestrian Shops Continues Earth Day Shoe Recycling Tradition – Solar Energy now part of the long-time green shoe retailer’s story
April 9th, 2008 by Alternative Energy FoundationPedestrian is known for its selection of the world’s most comfortable brands of shoes and its commitment to defining its success (Green business practices) in social and environmental as well as economic terms.
Boulder, CO (PRWEB) April 9, 2008 — The Pedestrian Shops is celebrating its B’ Earth day again this year with a shoe drive to benefit people in need. Pedestrian, Boulder’s comfortable shoe stores were selling shoes 38 years ago, on the original Earth Day in the spring of 1970.
New or slightly used footwear is being collected at the Pedestrian Shops locations, at 1425 Pearl on Boulder’s Downtown Mall and south of McGuckin Hardware in The Village, from Friday, April 18, through Monday, May 5. Customers who bring in a pair of shoes qualify for a 10 percent discount on any purchase, including footwear already sale priced.
“A purchase isn’t necessary. We’re just really happy to get good used shoes from people who want to help someone in need,” said Lauren Polk, general manager of the Pedestrian Shops.
This is the Pedestrian Shops’ (comfortableshoes.com) 40th shoe drive. It has been conducting annual Thanksgiving and Earth Day shoe drives for 20 years. More than 30,000 pairs of reusable shoes have been collected by the Pedestrian for distribution by the First Presbyterian Church Deacon’s Closet and other community partners.
Pedestrian is known for its selection of the world’s most comfortable brands of shoes and its commitment to defining success in social and environmental as well as economic terms. Green business practices are especially important to Pedestrian. Apart from shoe sales, Pedestrian considers its greatest success to be the recent activation of its 10.32-kilowatt solar power plant, which produces carbon-free energy equal to nearly 50 percent of the energy necessary to power its headquarters location on Boulder’s downtown mall. The plant will prevent 28,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions from entering the Earth’s atmosphere each year. More examples of the Pedestrian Shops’ social and environmental programs can be found and commented on at comfortableshoes.com/blog .
“We believe we’re the world’s first solar-powered shoe store and we know we sell the world’s most comfortable brands of shoes,” said Richard Polk, president of Pedestrian Corporation. “I’m really excited by the notion that we now can sell shoes without leaving a carbon footprint.”
The Pedestrian Shops encourages its customers to enjoy life and take a walk.
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April 9th, 2008 at 10:47 pm
PEDESTRIAN SHOPS HARNESSING THE ENERGY OF THE SUN
Boulder’s Pedestrian Shops Builds a Solar Power Plant at 1155 Canyon
Boulder, Colorado, March 26, 2008 – Pedestrian Shops, a locally owned and operated retailer, may have become the world’s first solar-powered shoe store this week, when its 10.32-kilowatt photovoltaic array went into service. Namaste Solar Electric installed the solar panels and supporting equipment on the flat roof of the new 1155 Canyon Building. The system is owned and operated by the Pedestrian Shops as Pedestrian Energy, and will provide clean electricity preventing 28,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions a year from entering the Earth’s atmosphere.
Pedestrian Shops, lacking adequate roof space on its own historic building for a solar PV array, located its system a few blocks away on a building with excellent solar exposure. Under a Solar Power Purchase Agreement or PPA, Pedestrian Shops will sell more than 14,000 kWh of solar electricity each year for use in the 1155 Canyon Building, with any momentary excess going to the local power grid. For the next 20 years the electricity will cost 15 percent less than Xcel Energy’s prevailing rates. Owners of 1155 Canyon have leased the sunny roof space to Pedestrian Shops for those same 20 years.
Typically a significant amount of upfront capital is required to finance installation of a solar electric system. The Solar Power Purchase Agreement removes the capital requirement for building owners who have sunny roof space and can act as a “host” for the solar PV array, as 1155 Canyon is doing. The arrangement is also attractive to Pedestrian Shops, which will benefit from significant rebates, renewable energy credit payments, and investment tax credits.
Solar PPA relationships are relatively new in Colorado. Xcel Energy has created specific rules for PPAs developed in its service territory. Namaste Solar’s expertise is being used in multiple Colorado projects that employ a PPA financing structure.
Like many other downtown Boulder businesses, Pedestrian Shops has been offsetting its energy usage with Renewable Energy Credits for several years, which made it one of the first virtually wind-powered shoe stores in the United States. The company also employs other green energy strategies, including energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs and recycling.
This first Pedestrian Energy project will generate energy equal to nearly 50 percent of the power necessary to operate the Pedestrian Shops store at 1425 Pearl St. on Boulder’s downtown mall.
“We must take positive steps in response to climate change,” said Richard Polk, president of Pedestrian Corp., which owns Pedestrian Shops. “Our goal with Pedestrian Energy is to demonstrate that business can go even further than, as in our case, selling shoes without leaving a carbon footprint.”
Stephen Irvin, co-owner of Namaste Solar Electric, said, “Pedestrian and 1155 Canyon have taken a large step forward in the name of environmental leadership – their relationship should be seen as a model for businesses in our community. It has been a pleasure to develop this project whereby Pedestrian can take advantage of state and federal investment tax benefits while 1155 Canyon buys clean electricity at a cheaper price from Pedestrian Energy, the Pedestrian Shops’ solar power company.”
1155 Canyon
1155 Canyon is Boulder’s first mixed-use building with shell and core certified as LEED Silver. LEED, an acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is the nationally accepted benchmark for design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings. Housing both commercial and residential units, 1155 Canyon also hosts its own solar PV and solar thermal arrays to generate energy and heat. The majority of 1155 Canyon’s roof is used for solar energy collection by Pedestrian and the building’s own arrays.
Namaste Solar Electric
Namaste Solar Electric is an employee-owned solar electric company dedicated to the betterment of the planet by bringing clean, reliable and affordable renewable energy technologies to homes, businesses, and nonprofits throughout the Denver/Boulder area. Integrating both holistic and traditional business methods, Namaste Solar is the leading solar electric company in Colorado with more than 350 solar electric systems installed since 2005. With a values-based business model and reputation for philanthropy, Namaste Solar is a likely partner for local businesses that want to make a positive impact on the community by purchasing a solar electric system. Namaste Solar is committed to maintaining the highest standards of environmental stewardship, customer satisfaction, employee morale, community involvement, and professional integrity. http://www.namastesolar.com
Pedestrian Shops
The Pedestrian Shops, a 39-year-old family-owned company, operates two Boulder stores, one on the Pearl Street Mall and the other in The Village shopping center, as well as the web site, http://www.comfortableshoes.com. Pedestrian Shops sells the world’s most comfortable brands of footwear and encourages its customers to enjoy life and take a walk.
Richard Polk
Richard’s interest in Solar Energy began long before he became concerned about energy shortages and climate change. In 1963 he won a first-place award for his junior high school science project on solar energy, and 40 years later he is still promoting solar energy. On Dec. 14, 2006, an innovative solar sales tax rebate ordinance he proposed while a Boulder city council member became law. The ordinance provides for rebating a portion of the sales tax paid on the purchase of photovoltaic or solar thermal systems. Thirty-five percent of the rebate is returned to the person or business that paid the sales tax and the remaining 65 percent is used to install renewable energy systems on affordable housing and site-based non-profit organizations, adding a unique social equity component to the solar ordinance. In the ordinance’s first 12 months, the amount of solar installed in Boulder more than doubled; in year two an increase of more than 1,000 percent in watts installed is expected. Richard continues to promote solar energy by serving on the customer advisory board of Xcel Energy’s Renewable Energy Trust, as well as through other projects including Pedestrian Energy.
Contacts: Richard Polk at Pedestrian, 303-641-8639, Richard@pedestrianshops.com
Stephen Irvin at Namaste, 303-261-2898, Ski@namastesolar.com
June 17th, 2008 at 8:10 am
I think it’s great that Richard is taking a step to set the example for green retailers! Hopefully other Boulder merchants will follow!