Founder's Statement
Dear Friends,
In December 1997, when the international community agreed to the Kyoto Protocol’s greenhouse emission targets, the Senate was already on record 95-0 against the accord, business leaders warned compliance would hurt economic growth, and the American people and media were largely indifferent and apathetic. Compare that to today. Now, Congress is poised to increase fuel economy standards to an average of 35 miles per gallon by 2020, titans of corporate America are calling for laws mandating greenhouse gas cuts and are touting the profitable advantages of operating green, and the cultural landscape is flooded with cover articles detailing melting Artic Ice, class 4 and 5 hurricanes, and Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth and Noble Prize. The debate on global warming has shifted in the United States. The American public has never been more engaged with the immediate threat and consequences of inaction, and never has there been more collective resolve for solutions
We at GreenWerks have been incredibly encouraged by the City of Chicago’s dedication to tackling climate change. With cities responsible for approximately 75 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions and total energy use in the world, large cities are a critical partner to winning this fight. Currently, the City of Chicago has programs in place to make their municipal buildings and multi-tenant housing more energy efficient, and provides incentives for private owners to retrofit their buildings with energy saving technologies. We applaud Chicago’s leadership in making measurable differences to combat global warming.
As Chicago residents, we have also had the great opportunity to witness firsthand the motivation and enterprise of individuals in our community. We have watched homeowners demand contractors use only biodiesel equipment. We have discovered local cafes offering compost bins. We have tracked the rising sales of compact fluorescent bulbs. We have heard account-after-account of folks taking personal action to end climate change. We are amazed.
Our mission at GreenWerks is to support Chicagoans in their efforts to live a greener life. Time and again, we encounter committed individuals who have taken steps to eliminate waste from their daily activities, but feel limited in their capacity to reduce carbon footprints in their condominiums, houses, or workplace. We offer answers. GreenWerks is Chicago’s Green Contractor dedicated to the use of eco-friendly solutions that dramatically lower greenhouse gas emissions. Our aim is devoted to providing practical alternatives in the fight against global warming.
We are incredibly thankful to the Chicago green community and the larger green network across the United States; they have been steadfast in promoting energy efficiency, conservation, and combating climate change. We are honored to share our successes with the extraordinary people and organizations that have forced this national conversation, and who have won-over converts for immediate individual action.
Currently, 94 percent of Americans endorse taking steps to reduce the impact of human activities that cause global warming. With you as a partner, we look forward to making this mandate for change a reality.
Chris Campbell
Founder and CEO