Webacom Press: Harbour City Star

Webacom Press: Harbour City Star

“I’m addicted to the environment,” says Jay Somerville, president and CEO of Webacom Media Corp. in Nanaimo.

As a passionate promoter of green initiatives, Jay has been convincing his clients to think green. Webacom offers wind-powered websites and one of the company’s graphic designers has been creating eco characters and songs to engage children in environmental issues.

One of Webacom’s clients, Sproat Lake Resort and Marina, is now Klehkoot Marina Vistas, due to Webacom’s research into the history of the area. Nearby petroglyphs and respect for the First Nations who “have always been environmental stewards,” inspired the return to the original name of Klehkoot. You can see the almost-completed website on the Webacom development server at klehkoot.com.

Klehkoot Marina Vistas is maintaining the fish habitat and thanks to Webacom’s shared knowledge, the luxury waterfront development is “Built Green.”

With substantial environmental responsibility, Webacom and their client, have created upwards of 100 new jobs including sub-trades, on Vancouver Island.

Webacom has been nominated for a Sterling Award in the environmental category. Jay Somerville is pleased about the nomination. He says though, “It’s about what we can do for others rather than awards for us. It’s all about converting people to think green.”

Jay thanks his wife for getting him to think green when he started recycling some years ago. After attending a large green show at B.C. Place in Vancouver, he enrolled in a Built Green course through the Home Builders Association (CHBACVI). Jay is proud of his Built Green Level 1 certification.

Jay bought Webacom in 1999 and along with his staff has been offering web design, development, domain and hosting, along with marketing strategies to businesses around the world. When looking for an eco-friendly location for their hosting servers, Webacom found a wind turbine farm in Texas. Did you know that the average server produces the same emissions as a 15 mpg SUV?

Imagine the carbon emissions by hosting thousands of websites! Green Hosting Servers are now 130% wind-powered and Webacom is one of them.

The passing on of green knowledge to both new and existing Webacom customers led two realtors to become “green realtors,” several home builders getting certified Built Green, and an international scuba diving community called Scuble to promote the protection of coral reefs.

Webacom continues to educate people on environmental sustainability and, their enthusiasm is contagious.

© Harbour City Star 2009

View article on Harbour City Star website.