We are currently working with a group of students from San Francisco State University to obtain Green Business certification from Alameda county. The program covers solid waste, energy, water use, pollution prevention, waste-water and other general conservation efforts. As we work through the extensive check lists it is gratifying to see that we are mostly doing things right already. (We get extra credit for the flooring made from recycled tires that we installed in our order pulling area). Even so, we are adding new measures and formalizing our green practices.
A few new policies include two double sided printers and bins set next to all printers for those extra papers that get spit out. Now we can reuse them every time for printing or scratch paper. We set up a Green Team to make sure our office supplies are made from recycled materials whenever possible, to monitor bills for sudden spikes in energy or water use and to keep an eye on our daily practices like turning lights off in empty rooms and keeping trash out of the paper waste bins.
I will keep you posted on our certification progress. Right now, I need to research refillable pens and a place we can donate our old electronics to be refurbished instead of recycled…..
How do you save energy and resources?
Please keep an eye on your energy use.
Please print on both sides of papers
What great ideas! We strive at our store to recycle, and cut down on energy use, especially in new energy-efficient light bulbs, and recycling cardboard and packing materials. We also recycle all cans, glass and plastic, and we have a spring water cooler, so we don’t contribute to plastic overflow of bottles. We use scratch paper from bits of printed waste, but I had not thought of printing on the other side. We also try never to use chemical cleaners… Thanks for promoting greener business practices!!!!
Sincerely,
Ruth
Comment by Ruth — May 19, 2010 @ 7:15 pm
Wonderful!! Thank you!
Comment by Jennifer Raney — May 20, 2010 @ 11:37 am