pelago

Web design and development company signs up for One Percent for the Planet

(CSRwire) SANTA BARBARA, CA - October 16, 2007 - Pelago, the California-based web design and development firm and creator of Intervals, the popular web-based task and time management system, announced today that it has signed up for One Percent for the Planet, an alliance of businesses committed to leveraging their resources to create a healthier planet. Members donate at least 1 percent of their annual sales to environmental organizations worldwide.

This decision is yet another step in Pelago’s ongoing corporate commitment to social and environmental responsibility. The web application company already helps businesses reduce their use of paper and environmental impact through Intervals, its flagship application, and improve employee work-life balance.

“We were seeking to further integrate what we talk about, what we believe, and how we act,” says Braden Jones, co-founder of Pelago, of the company’s decision to join One Percent for the Planet. “It was a ‘put our money where our mouth is’ type of thing for us, and we believe in who One Percent for the Planet supports.”

Pelago is committing at least 1 percent of its annual sales to the non-profit program, joining the ranks of more than 700 other companies and individuals committed to the initiative, including founding members Patagonia and Blue Ribbon Flies, musician Jack Johnson, Native Energy, Alima Cosmetics, The TYF Group, and North Shore Productions. So far, One Percent for the Planet members have donated a total of more than $21 million to environmental groups such as Carbonfund.org, As You Sow, and Step It Up.

“Now is the time for us to take steps forward and pay attention to the things that matter to us,” says Michael Payne, Chief Architect of Intervals and a co-founder of Pelago, of Intervals’ decision to sign up for the program. “It is very easy to get involved in the rat race and have time fly by-seven years have for us. This is the year we are committing to making a few priority changes.”

“I think a lot of small companies don’t think they can afford to do this,” says Payne. “We hope to show that even small businesses matter and have global impacts, and that focusing your priorities matters. We hope that all businesses that think the environment matters will take positive steps as a company to make a difference.”

About Intervals
Created by Pelago, Intervals was originally designed to solve Pelago’s own struggles with tracking time, billing clients, and knowing where projects stood in real time. Targeted primarily to creative and communications services companies and small businesses, Intervals is a powerful tool for anyone who wishes to ease the daily stress of organizing and managing people, workflows, projects and time. Learn more about Intervals at www.myintervals.com.

About Pelago
Pelago is a Santa Barbara, California-based web design and web development firm founded in 2000. Pelago specializes in developing highly intuitive web sites and reliable web-based applications, and injecting them with solid business sense and functionality. Pelago clients include JD Power and Associates, Nexxus, Xplane, Network Hardware Resale, and TenetCare. Learn more about Pelago at www.pelagodesign.com.

For those of us working to decrease our carbon footprint, Western Digital has created new hard drives that are Energy Star 4.o compliant and savings of up to 40% in hard drive power consumption. Ecogeek has a review.

One of the things I love to do whenever I’m travelling is to sample local brews that I’ve either never had before or that are hard to find around here in Santa Barbara. Last week while travelling up California’s central coast I had the opportunity to try some interesting microbrews from San Luis Obispo to Monterey. One thing I didn’t expect to come across is a beer so seemingly disgusting that I couldn’t believe it was from the country’s biggest brewery.

Introducing the Chelada from Budweiser: A crappy, watered-down pilsner combining the flavorless goodness of Bud Light with tomato juice and just a hint of shellfish. Wow. It reminds me of this great Simpsons clip where Lisa complains that no one listens to her; Homer replies that he’s a male aged 25-50, and everyone listens to him, no matter how dumb his ideas are. He then proceeds to eat from a canister that reads “Nuts and Gum–Together at Last!”

This particular brew has been the topic of much discussion the whole week, particularly in the form of me daring other people to drink it. This afternoon we opened the can and here were the comments.

John: “What would you like to see in Bud Light? ¡Mariscos!”
Michael: “Needs more alcohol”
Jaime: (Refused to drink)
Steve: “The smell alone told me it wasn’t worth drinking. Smells like my neighbor’s cat’s ass.”
Me: “It should be more popular than Safari for Windows.”

It’s like digg, but for green news.

My submission for Tip of the day was published at Green Options. I should be receiving my Renewable Choice Energy Wind Cards any day now.