Mayor Heartwell’s Triple Bottom Line

For Mayor George Heartwell of Grand Rapids, host of the recently concluded CHHSM annual meeting, good things seem to come in threes.

He is a successful politician in the midst of his second term as mayor of Grand Rapids, an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, and the chief executive officer of Pilgrim Manor retirement community.

Heartwell is also a proponent of a three-part approach to sustainability that has put his city and his retirement community at the forefront of the fast-growing movement to create cost-efficient, yet environmentally friendly ways of doing business.

“If we are going to be sustainable as a government, a long term care facility and as a church, we are going to have to pay attention to three elements,” Heartwell said during an interview at the annual meeting, held March 4-7 at the J. W. Marriott Hotel. “Is what we are doing sustainable economically? Is it sustainable environmentally, and does it promote social equity?”

Hartwell’s “triple bottom line” approach nicely echoed the theme of the annual meeting, “Sustaining Stewardship: People, Money and God”s Creation,” and CHHSM members had ample opportunity to learn how both Grand Rapids and Pilgrim Manor practiced what might be called sustainable sustainability.

Since becoming mayor six years ago, Heartwell has pushed the city to investigate alternative sources of energy, especially wind power. Grand Rapids has already reached the ambitious goal of deriving 20 percent of its power from renewable resources. The city has also switched from gasoline to alternative fuels in city vehicles and implemented widespread conservation measures. It continues to monitor the water quality of the Grand River, and Heartwell serves as president of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, a coalition of more than 55 U.S. and Canadian cities that work together to advance the protection and restoration of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River.

Perhaps it is not surprising, then, that in 2007, the United Nations named Grand Rapids a “Center of Expertise” in sustainability.

Pilgrim Manor has also garnered praise, being named a Clean Corporate Citizen by the State of Michigan. In 2007, Pilgrim Manor conducted a “Light Bulb Sunday” fundraiser that enabled the facility to installed 750 compact fluorescent light bulbs and reduce its carbon footprint by 649,305pounds of carbon dioxide. More recently it planted a rain garden to reduce storm water run-off and partnered with the City of Grand Rapids WasteNot to develop a facility-wide recycling program.

“You have to overcome the objection that these initiatives are expensive,” said Heartwell, when asked about the biggest obstacles in implementing a sustainability plan. “In our case, they have saved us money.” The light bulb initiative shaved $12,000/year from Pilgrim Manor’s energy costs, and the recycling program reduced the facility’s trash hauling contract by about 30 percent.

As critics learn that sustainability make economic sense, another frequently-heard objection recedes. “I call it the “tree hugger syndrome, the idea that somehow this is not a manly thing to do,”said Heartwell, an avid backpacker, kayaker and fly fisherman. “But people are coming to appreciate environmental sustainability in a whole new way, and I don’t hear about tree hugging anymore.”