Greening Your Office Presented by: Bonita Areman Consultant to the Green Industry Smart Energy Group.

Greening Your Office

Presented by:Bonita AremanConsultant to the Green IndustrySmart Energy Group

Our World is Changing

What is a Green BusinessTriple 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.orgwww.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• 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

• Pens• 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

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• 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

• 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!