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From GreenGarageWiki

The Green Garage is actually three things: a building located in the Midtown area of Detroit, a business enterprise, and a community of people dedicated to Detroit's sustainable future. The building dates back to 1920, when it was a showroom for Model T-based automobiles, and is on the National Registry of Historic Places (see building history). It was purchased in 2008 by Tom and Peggy Brennan, who, with a wonderful community of over 200 individuals, have completed a green, historic renovation. Our principal business focus is helping triple bottom line businesses grow naturally. We opened in the fall of 2011. Businesses have begun to locate in the building and a wonderful sustainable community is growing. If you feel inspired by this work and want to connect further please feel free to contact us or visit us on facebook.

calendar - week of may 20th

THIS WEEK:

Monday: 10:00 Planning Meeting - El Moore; 11:00 Scenario Planning - El Moore

Tuesday: 9:00 Rooftop Farm Meeting; 11:30 The Social Club

Wednesday: 12:00 Sustainable Pet Retail; 2:15 National Trust Bus Tour

Thursday: 12:00 Sustainable Business Design Meeting

Friday: 9:30 Brioche Elmwood Cemetery Tour; 12:00 Community Lunch; 2:00 Labs Meeting

Community brown-bag lunch every Friday at noon. Bring a lunch and join us for a review of the week.

green business incubator

Business design meeting

Our Green Business Incubator helps triple bottom-line (3D) businesses grow naturally. We believe businesses are living organisms...not machines. We help grow businesses three ways: (1) using a community-based natural design process to help triple bottom-line businesses design their "Seed" (i.e. the core identity of the business from which all growth originates); (2) using a community-based continuous improvement process to improve triple bottom-line outcomes in profitability, waste, energy, water, community wellness, etc; and (3) using 1-to-1 sessions with entrepreneurs to help them evolve their businesses and their relationships.

Current sessions include:

SEED sessions

De-tread (Tuesdays at 4)
Pill Pouch (Mondays at noon)
Sustainable Pet Retail Store (Wednesdays at noon)

Research

3D Business Reporting Conducted by students from University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and the Environment.

sustainability labs

The Labs group are the Green Garage geeks. We monitor the building's performance and measure various systems within the building, such as water, waste and energy. We meet every Friday from 2-3:30.

Current Labs Summary (current work)
Labs As-Builts (past work)
Building Control System (view our systems in real time)
Sustainability Labs Blog
Waste stream Blog

photos - week of may 20th

Building out a third room in the annex. It will be occupied by Curt Malouin and Erik Iberson of Red Panda Lab (makers of electric guitar pedals).

More Photos of the Week

businesses-in-residence

The Green Garage houses a Coworking Community of around 30 small growing and established businesses. The people who work here are a group of like-minded social entrepreneurs who have found a supportive environment in which to learn and grow as triple bottom line businesses together.

The Green Garage offers several different workspace options, depending on the size and needs of each business, from shared table space to rent-a-desk to customizable office and workshop space.

If you'd like to start a conversation about whether or not the Green Garage is right for you, contact Jason Peet at jasonpeet03@aol.com.

To see our complete list of businesses, see our businesses-in-residence page.

urban sustainability library

Helping individuals and businesses seeking more sustainable ways to live and work by connecting them to resources make it easier for them to take that next step.