Green Guide

GREENREDUCE. REUSE. RECYCLE.

Ashoka goes

YOURGREEN GUIDE

Brought to you Ashoka’s Summer Associates of 2009

Ashoka goes GREEN

SAVE JUICE

At the end of the day, turn off your computer, monitor and power strip to save money, energy and unnecessary

wear and tear. Check out tips: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=power_mgt.pr_power_mgt_low_carbon

Calculate your computer's carbon footprint.

Calculate future savings, cars off the road and trees planted here:

http://pmdb.cadmusdev.com/powermanagement/quickCalc.html#calculatorTop

If you have a Mac, use Apple's Energy Usage Calculater here:

http://www.apple.com/environment/resources/calculator.html

OR use this formula to calculate the total cost per computer per day:

250W x hours used x cents/kWh = Total Cost per computer per day (250W - a typical desktop)

1000

Source: Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-826, "Monthly Electric Sales and Revenue Report with State Distributions

Report." http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/table5_6_a.html

Commercial Residential

Washington, DC 14.3 cents/kWh 12.73 cents/kWh

Virginia 8.28 cents/kWh (Ashoka Office) 10.73 cents/kWh

Maryland 11.79 cents/kWh 14.82 cents/kWh

Save money.

If all ~100 Ashoka computers are left turned on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, it costs approximately

$18,133.20/in utilities. If all DC Ashoka employees turned off their computers at the end of the day, it would save

$13,827.20/yr—a 76% cost savings!

Save your computer.

The less time a PC is on, the longer it will "last" and the less it will heat up. Most PCs reach the end of their

"useful" life due to advances in technology long before the effects of being switched on and off multiple times have

a negative impact on their service life. Turn off your monitor if you're gone for more than 20 minutes. Today’s

computers are designed to handle over 40,000 on/off cycles—far more than are used up in a typical computer

lifetime.

Save energy.

While turning a computer on or off does cause a brief surge in energy demand, it is far less than leaving it running

for long periods of time. A computer left continuously running will emit 2161 pounds of CO2 in a year a major

cause of global warming. Turn off your power strip to avoid ―phantom power‖ (wasted energy when electronic

devices draw power when turned off but still plugged in) when your computer is off. Set the power settings on

your computer to automatically go to sleep after 15 minutes of inactivity—sleep mode typically uses 15 watts or

less. Screensavers with animations or images on the screen do not save energy.

Save money.

As Chernobyl rained radioactive waste on playgrounds across Europe, Ursula lay stuck in bed with a broken leg, unable to physically restrain her children and keep them indoors. She and the rest of her town spent days worrying about problems as simple as the safety of their food supplies as they waited for government action. None came.

At a time when ‘green’ was still a color and not a creed, Ursula filled the void with a campaign called Parents for a Nuclear-Free Future. Parents for a Nuclear-Free Future fought nuclear power by using energy-saving competitions to reduce the town’s need for such power in the first place. Next, Ursula began to move the power sources closer to the town to reduce energy inefficiency. She and her organization restored decaying hydro-electric plants and even retrofitted swimming pools to produce thermal power. But when all her efforts could not convince the utility monopolies to include environmental incentives in their contracts, Ursula set out to convince the town to ditch the power company. Her organization published a 400-page long study on the benefits of localizing energy production, got pro-bono support from fifteen of the country’s best advertising firms, and eventually raised the financial capital and popular support to buy back the grid.

The company she founded to localize electricity production revolutionized the meaning of public ownership. Citizens of her town now produce their own electricity at home and sell what they save to the energy grid. Because of the short distance between the plant and the bulb, this electricity loses little potency as it travels the power lines and is three times more efficient than centralized production. With this model, ninety five percent of the power from Ursula’s company is renewable – None is nuclear. As more cities from Germany and abroad replicate her model, she has gotten that much closer to a world where her children will radiate only out of joy and not out of nuclear contamination.

Ursula Sladek GERMANY

Ashoka goes GREEN

SAVE PAPER

Did you know the average American uses 650 pounds of paper a year, consuming 5.5 trees, over 2,000 gallons of

water, 150 gallons of oil, and over 1,300 kilowatts of energy?

Each Ashoka office is now equipped with an individual recycling bin for paper, thanks to the great Summer

Associates Class of 2009. Remember to empty them into the big recycling bin the main printers when full!

Save money, energy AND trees!

Do not print unless it's necessary!

If you must, print low quality on front and back ('duplex' in printer settings), print multiple

pages on one sheet, and minimize font and margin size to decrease the page count.

Use ―ecofont‖ when printing drafts, free here: www.ecofont.eu

Avoid printing on colored paper when possible.

Edit documents on-screen as much as possible to avoid printing multiple drafts.

Share electronic copies of documents for editing and review (ie. Google Docs, Central

Desktop, etc.)

Use projections of agendas/announcements at meetings and gatherings rather than printing

hard copy versions.

Recycle scrap paper for note-taking or and put into new office recycling bins.

Ashoka now uses 100% recycled paper!

Eliminate use of fax cover sheets; write on the fax itself or attach a fax post-it.

Use the smallest size envelope required.

Cancel junk mail and mailings you receive two copies of, check out:

www.catalogchoice.org/signup

Paper Recycling Bins Accept:

Computer and office paper

Mixed Paper - Magazines, catalogues, telephone

books, paperback books

Newspaper

Direct Mail Pieces

Paper Board - Shoe Boxes, Cereal Boxes, Books

Corrugated cardboard

Print

Edit

Recycle

Minimize

Did you know? The average American uses seven trees a year in paper, wood, and other products made from trees.

This amounts to about 2,000,000,000 trees per year! Approximately 1 billion trees worth of paper are

thrown away every year in the U.S.

The pulp and paper industry is the fourth largest emitter of greenhouse gases among manufacturing

industries in the US (U.S. Energy Information Administration 2002; Martin et al. 2000 and Ashoka Fellow

Nicole Rycroft).

Each ton (2000 pounds) of recycled paper can save 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, three cubic yards of

landfill space, 4000 kilowatts of energy, and 7000 gallons of water. This represents a 64% energy savings,

a 58% water savings, and 60 pounds less of air pollution! These 17 trees can absorb 250 pounds of

carbon dioxide from the air each year. Burning that same ton of paper would create 1500 pounds of

carbon dioxide. www.recycling-revolution.com

Nicole Rycroft went from being a human barrier between a logger’s saw and the bark of a tree to using market incentives to make the last edition of the Harry Potter series the greenest book in publishing history. Nicole began as a tree hugger of the literal sort, stopping loggers from cutting ancient trees by standing between them and the forests. During one particular iteration of her routine, she realized that physical intervention was only a tactic – It would require a comprehensive strategy to protect the forest from fragmentation and charm loggers, printers, publishers, and writers into changing their ways.

With that, Markets Initiative germinated, sprouted, and has grown as strong as some of the moss-bedazzled boreal beauties that Nicole works to preserve. After significant progress in nudging printers to stock Ancient Forest Friendly paper, Nicole’s hard work achieved a breakthrough nothing short of wizardry. She collaborated with J. K. Rowling and publishers to use recycled paper in the 5th and 6th editions of Harry Potter, and then made the final edition the greenest book in publishing history. This saved hundreds of thousands of trees and millions of gallons of water.

Wasting not a moment on celebration, Nicole worked with Canada Geographic and got their June 2008 copy printed on paper made with agricultural waste from wheat production. With this victory, she proved that magazine paper – the highest quality form of commercial paper stock – could come from waste materials. She is now working to change the machinery on North American paper mills so that the “wheat sheet” and other alternatives to traditional paper can further substitute for ecologically unsustainable printing stocks.

Slowly, the world is creeping towards Nicole’s dream – That our children will be in awe when they hear that paper was once made from forests.

Nicole Rycroft CANADA

Ashoka goes GREEN

BOTTLES & CANS

Ashoka now recycles bottles, cans, plastic (1, 2, 6) and paper, thanks to the help of your

colleagues who voluntarily drop off your bottles and cans at the local recycling center.

Thank the stewards of Ashoka’s expanded recycling efforts!

Better yet—join them!

Did you know?

The energy saved from recycling one glass bottle can run a 100-watt light bulb for four hours.

It also causes 20% less air pollution and 50% less water pollution than when a new bottle is

made from raw materials.

The US population discards enough aluminum annually to rebuild the US commercial air fleet

four times over?

Americans use 2,500,000 plastic bottles every hour! Most of them are thrown away!

An aluminum can thrown away will still be a can 500 years from now, and a modern glass

bottle would take 4000 years or more to decompose—even longer in the landfill.

Many coffee places offer a discount if you bring in your own to-go cup? Think of all the cups

you could save! www.recycling-revolution.com

Empty, rinse and place your bottles & cans in the blue recycling bins in the kitchens.

Ashoka goes GREEN

GREEN YOUR GRUB

Did you know Ashoka now uses non-toxic, biodegradable soap?

Use Ashoka's dishes and Tupperware instead of disposables—especially for celebrations!

Keep the kitchen and fridge clean so everyone can enjoy it.

Bring lunches in reusable rather than disposable containers and

use your own reusable coffee mugs and water bottle. Bring

your own bags when shopping.

Eat out as opposed to carrying-out food. Bring your own

container/s and cutlery for leftovers and don’t accept Styrofoam

containers.

Purchase fair-trade, organic coffee and avoid individually packaged

sugar and cream.

Limit or eliminate ―fast food‖ chain restaurants from eating

options.

Check out these local or organic options:

Elevation Burger – 2447 N Harrison St., Arlington, $ |

www.elevationburger.com

Founding Farmers – 1924 Pennsylvania Ave NW, $$ |

www.wearefoundingfarmers.com

Chix – 2019 11th St NW, $ | www.chixdc.com

Wellness Café – 325 Pennsylvania Ave SE, $$ | www.wellnesscafedc.com

Proof Restaurant – 775 G St NW, $$$ | www.proofdc.com

Restaurant Nora – 2132 Florida Ave NW, $$$ | www.noras.com

Bossa Organic Bistro – 2463 18th St NW, $$ | www.bossaproject.com

Mr. Chen’s Organic Chinese Cuisine – 2604 Connecticut Ave, $ |

www.mrchens.com

Coppi’s Organic Restaurant – 1414 U St NW, $$ | www.coppisorganic.com

Rock Creek Mazza – 5300 Wisconsin Ave NW, $$$ |

www.rockcreekrestaurant.com

North Sea Restaurant – 2479 18th St NW, $ |

www.northsearestaurantdc.com

Mahogany Restaurant – 2001 11th St NW, $$$ | www.mahoganydc.com

Agaria Farmers & Fishers – 3000 K St NW, $$$ | farmersandfishers.com

Blue Duck Tavern – 1201 24th St NW, $$$ | www.blueducktavern.com

Myth: There is nowhere to buy local,

organic produce in the city.

Fact: Visit the Rosslyn Business

Improvement District’s (BID) Farmers

Market from 11:00 am – 3:00 pm at

Wilson Boulevard and North Oak Street,

every Thursday until October. It offers

organic, locally-grown food as well as live

music. www.rosslynva.org/play/markets

Ashoka goes GREEN

WHAT ELSE?

Move down the transportation chain.

Drive? Try taking public transportation to work once a week.

Sign up for Ashoka’s recycling rotation of drivers.

Save on supplies.

Share used or communal office supplies in our new

shared supply space in the 20th floor closet.

Ashoka now orders 100% recycled paper and non-toxic

& biodegradable soap—green your orders too when

ordering supplies!

Order in bulk, when possible to cut down on packaging.

Did you know that out of every $10 spent buying things,

$1 (10%) goes for packaging that is thrown away.

Packaging represents about 65% of household trash.

Moving or getting rid of furniture? Email staff, try

freecycle or craigslist instead of kickin’ it to the curb.

Meet and green.

Use videoconferencing and conference calls instead of travel

when possible.

Support environmentally responsible hotels and meeting

spaces which recycle.

Ensure that meetings and trainings are held at locations

served by public transportation. Include train or bus

directions on the invite.

Use projections of agendas/announcements at meetings and

gatherings rather than printing hard copy versions.

Use washable plates instead of disposables.

Buy locally grown organic food (and label foods at events if

they are local and organic), and support caterers who do

too. Check out our list above.

Recycle your plastic name tags.

Ashoka goes GREEN

GROW CLEAN AIR

Did you know that indoor office plants can clean air, improve health, and reduce fatigue?

A 1997 study found that among participants, the presence of indoor office plants reduced coughing by 37%, fatigue

by 30%, and sore throat symptoms by 23%. Check out these plants that remove airborne toxins and are shade-

tolerant*.

Bamboo Palm Chinese Evergreen* English Ivy Gerbera Daisy

Dracaena Deremensis* Dracaena Marginata* Dracaena Massangeana* Snake Plant*

Pot Mum Peace Lily Dracaena Warneckii*

Dr. Bill Wolverton, a former NASA scientist who conducted 25 years of research on indoor plants and their

ability to purify air in enclosed environments, wrote the book How to Grow Fresh Air (Penguin, 1997) which

describes 50 plants that clean office air. [Source: Sandvik, L, Levy, F, Fjeld, T, Riise, G, Veiersted, B.

(Sep/Oct1997 )―The effect of indoor foliage plants on health and discomfort symptoms among office

workers‖ Indoor & Built Environment. 6(5):204.]

GREENREDUCE. REUSE. RECYCLE.

Ashoka goes

Brought to you Ashoka’s Summer Associates of 2009

SAVE JUICE. Turn off your computer, monitor, and power strip to save money, energy, and unnecessary

wear and tear every day—remember the conference rooms and your faithful light switches! Did you know

that if all DC staff turned off their computers when not in use every day, it would save ~$13,827 per

year—a 76% cost savings?

PRINT LESS. Don’t print unless necessary—try editing documents on-screen. Print front & back and

minimize font & margins. Did you know the average American uses 650 pounds of paper a year, consuming

5.5 trees, over 2,000 gallons of water, 150 gallons of oil, and over 1,300 kilowatts of energy?

GREEN YOUR GRUB. Use Ashoka’s dishes instead of disposables—especially for celebrations. Try

our new non-toxic soap and keep the kitchen & fridge clean for all! Enjoy eating out instead of carrying out

and check out the list of organic & local eating options in your Green Guide on Ashoka Connect.

SAVIN’ ON SUPPLIES. Share used office supplies in our new shared supply space on the 20th floor.

Ashoka now orders 100% recycled paper and non-toxic & biodegradable soap—green your orders too

when ordering supplies.

RECYCLE. Recycle paper in your new personal paper recycling bins and remember to empty them into

the larger bins by the printers when full. Pitch plastic (1’s, 2’s & 6’s), glass and aluminium into the recycling

bins in the kitchens.

GROW CLEAN AIR. Sick and tired? One study found that indoor office plants reduced coughing by

37%, fatigue by 30%, and sore throat symptoms by 23%. Check out the resource guide for a list of plants

that remove airborne toxins and are shade-tolerant.