Playing Eco-Connector

Think GREEN

One of the events on the USGBC Events Calendar is the third annual thinkGREEN event presented by Marvin's Organic Gardens. Set for noon to 6 p.m....

Playing Eco-Connector
This local entrepreneur unearthed a budding niche with the local green industry. Discover how she uses her networking capabilities to drive sustainability in Cincinnati.

When local entrepreneur Amy Ostigny started her own business in the Amy Ostigny Company more than 10 years ago, she kept the bar high in her client choice. In being selective about with whom she works, Ostigny looks to people and businesses who are honest and do the right thing. "I just feel like 'green' is doing the right thing," she says.

Now, Ostigny provides association management services for the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Cincinnati Regional Chapter. This organization promotes sustainable building and design of individual edifices as well as entire communities. Included in Ostigny's services for the organization are basic responsibilities needed to keep an association going, so "it includes everything from A to Z," Ostigny says. "It's kind of like running a business."

In addition to the USGBC Cincinnati chapter, Ostigny provides marketing and consulting work for many environmentally conscious businesses, including Green Source, which serves as a resource hub for sustainable design and building. One of the most important factors in achieving sustainability is knowing how to do it, so Green Source provides that knowledge and know-how.

Beyond just working for each individual organization with which she works, Ostigny serves as a self-named "connector" to cross-promote and live out the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Last month the Business Courier and the USGBC Cincinnati chapter partnered to put on the 2010 Green Business Awards. And Ostigny was behind it all. "I had an idea: Let's team up with the Business Courier and do the first-ever Green Business Awards event," she says, and that alliance brought in more than 66 nominations and more than 400 people attending the event.

Another way Ostigny uses her connections to maximize benefits for all of her clients is in connecting her "green" clients with regular businesses so that they can educate each other on their practices. "We help each other by doing more collaborative joint events. … Collaborating is really key," she says. As Ostigny also works with the International Facility Management Association Cincinnati Chapter, she brought that group together with the USGBC Cincinnati chapter.

Through the course of her time with the Amy Ostigny Company, Ostigny has held more than 100,000 events, she says, but these events are more than just connecting businesses with other businesses. She also works to educate the community. For example, check out the events calendar for the USGBC Cincinnati chapter, and you will see Ostigny's work in action. Ostigny manages the events calendar, and any "green" event goes on that events calendar.

So as a community member, you can take advantage of this resource for sustainable activities, including everything from Marvin's Organic Gardens Third Annual thinkGREEN Earth Day event on April 24 to the Model Green Lease Workshop on May 11.

PHOTO CREDITS

Photo courtesy of Amy Ostigny

Linda Palacios -
	Linda Palacios is the editor of Cincy Chic. Send her an e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .Read More >>

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