BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Local companies such as Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. know it’s good business to be involved in the community, especially around Earth Day.

Last week, BGE employees volunteered to join the Friends of the Trails, the Anne Arundel Parks and Recreation Department and the Greater Odenton Improvement Association to plant trees and shrubs and mulch plant beds along the WB&A Trail in Anne Arundel. The event served two purposes: improving the environment and educating the public about safely planting trees near power lines.

“We take our business very seriously, but we also want to make time to beautify the outdoors and work with our customers,” said Linda Foy, spokeswoman for BGE. “Our employees really enjoy these community events.”

More and more Baltimore companies are taking part in community environmental projects, said Kelly Hodge-Williams, executive director of Business Volunteers Unlimited Maryland, which connects businesses with nonprofits to organize community service events.

“The general message we hear is, ‘We’re concerned about the community in which we do business, and we have a responsibility to make it better and stronger,’ ” Hodge-Williams said.

BVU has worked with some of the Baltimore area’s largest companies. Legg Mason plans on participating in Green Thumb Day with Medfield Heights Elementary School on Wednesday and has promoted Friends of the Baltimore Parks Day on May 3 to its employees. Constellation Energy employees went into low-income communities and replaced lightbulbs with energy-efficient bulbs. Marketing firm Euro RSCG plans to hold a volunteer event this summer at Cylburn Arboretum and is starting an initiative to be green in the office.

“The younger generation of employees has had a big influence,” Hodge-Williams said. “They’re saying, ‘I want to be involved and I expect you as my employer to facilitate that.’ ”

Younger employees are also expecting to work in green office environments, said Joe Wilke, senior construction manager for Forest City, which developed the 278,000-square-foot John G. Rangos Sr. Building in the Science + Technology Park at Johns Hopkins in East Baltimore.

The building, which opened April 11, was built with heat-recovery flywheels to filter warm and cool air from the building, a white roofing system and high-efficiency lighting. The developer also paid to have recycling picked up from the building.

“The next generation of employees has been brought up to care more about the environment,” Wilke said. “It’s important, not only for this generation, but for future generations.”

acannarsa@baltimoreexaminer.com

Comments from Examiner Readers

1:00 PM MST on Mon., Apr. 28, 2008 re: "O�Malley stays green, signs new measures"

Examiner Reader said:
How about charging these people that live on the water some more money called taxes? I cant get near the water everyday like they do and catch those crabs free because no one is watching there piers. Yea. how about charging them boat owners some more money with them polluting the water with there gas mowers. I lucky I can find a nice spot to fish and I have to pay for my licence. Charge them for the filty/dirty bay.

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12:41 PM MST on Fri., Apr. 25, 2008 re: "O�Malley stays green, signs new measures"

Examiner Reader said:
Whip Allan Kittleman says it will cost the rate payers more. So it might, buig deal, i'd rather pay a little more than pay huge expenses down the road to clean all the crap up thats left behing from power plants. Stuff like coal tar is nasty and i'm sure there are worse by products. Lets just ticket those littering? and if it's your responsibility to clear snow from your sidewalk in the einter, than so be it trash during the rest of the year.

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8:15 AM MST on Fri., Apr. 25, 2008 re: "O�Malley stays green, signs new measures"

Examiner Reader said:
A bottle bill will do nothing to fix the ignorant masses that have absolutely no qualms about littering whatsoever. One of the things that flabbergasted me when I moved here from out west in 1991 was how cavalier people are with garbage and cigarette butts. I was speaking to a lady from Ethiopia not long ago who told me that she gets embarrassed when her family visits her from there and comments about how dirty this city is. That says volumes to me. I am not always a Sheila fan, but I do respect that she is trying to address this problem.

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6:32 PM MST on Wed., Apr. 23, 2008 re: "Can the Chesapeake Bay survive the garbage choking Maryland's rivers?"

Examiner Reader said:
Maybe we can pass the Bottle Bill next year so that there is a greater incentive for people to pick up litter and then the streams wouldn't look so bad...

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7:29 PM MST on Tue., Apr. 22, 2008 re: "Can the Chesapeake Bay survive the garbage choking Maryland's rivers?"

Examiner Reader said:
Thanks for raising public awareness of the problems of our streams and Patapsco River, as well as the rest of the Chesapeake Bay watershed! And thanks for getting the facts correct! Betsy McMillion, Stream Watch Director Friends of Patapsco Valley & Heritage Greenway

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2:23 PM MST on Tue., Apr. 22, 2008 re: "Can the Chesapeake Bay survive the garbage choking Maryland's rivers?"

A giraffe dies said:
To a large extent a part of the problem is the residents' attitude towards littering and illegal dumping. I believe there is a state law against littering with fines attached, however I do not think the police is enforcing it in Baltimore City. Not a day goes by where I don't see at least one car window roll down and a bag of fast food trash is dumped on the street or see alleys with bags of trash piled. If the city really wants to increase revenues, a law should be passed making littering a crime with a $500 penalty for each occurence. Then, instead of setting up traffic traps all over town, the police can just issue littering tickets. If the problem doesn't stop, at least Baltimore's finances will be in the positive without taxing everyone exorbitantly.

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11:10 AM MST on Tue., Apr. 22, 2008 re: "Can the Chesapeake Bay survive the garbage choking Maryland's rivers?"

Reader said:
What ever you say 10:55, You are the man!

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10:55 AM MST on Tue., Apr. 22, 2008 re: "Can the Chesapeake Bay survive the garbage choking Maryland's rivers?"

Tammy Newcomer said:
Thanks for such a comprehensive piece on the complex issues surrounding water quality in the Bay region. The statistics at the end are particularly enlightening; Our population size has not increased as dramatically as the opulence of our lifestyles. The American Dream of a big house in the suburbs (with easy access to roads and strip malls) is having a detrimental affect on water quality and general quality of life. More and more former forests and farmlands are being paved over and as a result the waterways are being eroded and citizens are wasting more time sitting in traffic. I hope this article will serve as food for thought on changing the way we grow. We need to curtail sprawl fueled by roads like the planned ICC and instead, focus on improving pre-existing urban areas so they are safer, more attractive places to live. Urban redevelopment is an important strategy for protecting the headwater forests that protect the water quality of everyone living within our watersheds.

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