Transcript Greening Your Office Presented by: Bonita Areman Consultant to the Green Industry

Greening Your Office
Presented by:
Bonita Areman
Consultant to the Green Industry
Smart Energy Group
Our World is Changing
• What is the Ecological footprint
• Impact of Climate Change
– Rise in Temperatures
– Increase in cardio and pulmonary
disease
– Unacceptable levels of airborne
particulate matter
By making small changes in the way we operate, encouraging and
inspiring others to do the same – we can have an impact!
What is a Green Business
Triple Bottom Line – Business must pick up the three
Pronged fork of sustainability to help society achieve the
interlinked goals of economic prosperity, environmental protection
and social responsibility.
Green Businesses strive to have:
- a positive impact on the environment and community
- Develops and practices business strategies that go beyond
regulations
- Demonstrates commitment to healthy and sustainable
future
- Defined principles, policies, and practices that improve the
quality of life for its customers and employees
Does your Company Support Carbon
Offsetting or Carbon Crediting?
• Day-to-day activities by humans since the beginning of the
industrial era have resulted in the increased emission of
carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses to the
atmosphere, causing a trend of warming at a distressing
pace.
• The term carbon offset means that you attempt to mitigate
or reduce the effects of your emission of greenhouse gases
by trying to do other activities which may have an equivalent
value
•Offsets are normally measured in tons, and are bought and
sold through brokers and traders.
www.carbonfund.org
www.earthlab.com
Businesses need to take responsibility for their
actions. Furthermore, by implementing a program you
may be able to trade carbon offset credits as a commodity.
What You Can Do
• Common Misconception……
– Green products are more expensive
– “Green products are not as effective
– Green products are complicated
• In Reality…….
– Green products are competitively priced/cost neutral
– Green products can be more effective and have a
higher ROI
– A good green procurement program is easy to
monitor, train, and maintain
• Office Supplies
– Who is your office supply company?
TheGreenOffice.com (of CA), Green Earth Office
Supply (of CA), GreenLine
Paper Company (of PA), Dolphin Blue (of TX) and
TreeCycle (of OR).
What You Can Do - Paper & Waste
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Paper
– Use less of it
– Purchases paper products with a minimum of 30% of post-consumer
waste (PCW)
– Use printers with double-sided printing capacity
– Designate a draft tray and fill it with paper that is blank on one side
– Print only what you need
– Reduce margins
– Reduce fax waste – eliminate cover pages, E-Fax
– Communicate by email, read messages on screen
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Pens
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• Refillable
• Made from sustainable materials
• Non toxic
• No animal by-products
Solar Calculators, rubber bands, adhesives, correction fluids,
clipboards, desk pad calendars, desk caddies, Chalk boards,
Recycle paper, glass, metal, plastic
Safely dispose of or recycle hazardous materials, including ink cartridges and
batteries, Compact fluorescent bulbs
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What You Can Do - Paper & Waste
• In the Kitchen and bathrooms
– Drinking water - Replace delivered water jugs with a
water cooling filtration system that employs energy saving
measures when idle.
– Coffee – Forest Shade Grown coffee
– Avoid plastic bottles and other disposables
– Purchase recycled, chlorine-free napkins with high PCW
– Keep washable mugs and plates
– Install faucet aerators and low-flow toilets or toilet dams
– Stock bathrooms with PCW tissue products
– Janitorial Services – hire a company that uses plant based
chemicals
– Use 100% biodegradable and compostable trash bags.
• Recycle Packaging
– by recycling packaging you are saving energy, saving trees,
and reducing waste at landfills.
What You Can Do - Electricity
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Energy Audit – Contact your utility company, An engineer will
examine your operations and provide you with a detailed report about
how your firm can save on energy costs, from rebates to improved
maintenance.
Lighting
– Switch to energy-saving fluorescent lighting- CFL’s
– Turn off lights when leaving office; create an informal “lights out”
policy – Install Motion sensors
– Install Solar Tubes
Electronics
– Purchase Energy Star office equipment
– Turn on power-saves modes /Use power strips
– Instead of using a screen saver, set your computer to “sleep” or
“hibernate”; use “standby-mode” if idle for more than 20 minutes
– Turn off your monitor over night – can save up to 50%
– Recycle
Air-Conditioning
– Use fans and open windows instead of A/C
Create Green Business Travel Policies
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Use Teleconferencing
Travel by Train or bus both long and
short trips
Fly airlines with eco –friendly policies
Choose a green hotel
Drive a green rental car
Hire an eco-friendly car service
Save energy at home – remember to
unplug
Other Ideas
– If feasible - go into the power business. Make your business
as energy independent as possible by installing solar, wind,
etc…Many utilities will actually pay you back for excess energy
fed into their grid. There are numerous NJ State and federal
incentives.
– Watch your thermostat’s - Adopting a common sense
energy use policy for office temperature will save a great deal of
money and the environment a great deal of unnecessary
abuse. Locking the thermostat helps ensure that personal
employee preferences don't override sound policy.
– Office Plants - 1 plant for every 100 sq. feet of floor space.
– Refurb existing office furniture
– Do Your Doors Close Automatically?
– Marketing Material - Take stock of the materials you have now
before ordering more. Ask if your sales people have any
marketing materials hoarded in their cars.
– How old are your exit signs? Many exit signs contain a
radioactive material known at Tritium which is harmful to the
environment.
How to Start the “Green”
Journey
• You can do it! To effect change, it takes
strong leadership and committed effort
• Do a green audit
• Develop and plan and a program
• Identify realistic actions you can take
• Establish recommended best practices
Going “Green” is more than just switching a couple of
chemicals. It’s a comprehensive program of integrated
resources
Conclusion - Going Green has
proven there are many benefits
• The environment - Improved health &
safety of the office occupants and building
visitors
• Positive effect on overall long-term cost
• Productivity
• Attract quality candidates
• Creates community stewardship
Do not overestimate what you have – and
underestimate the value of what you may gain-by
giving up the old!