Greening Your Office

Operations

Sustainable Industries
April 16, 2009
Marlowe Kulley
Sustainability Advisor
 Portland’s Story
Learning from our successes
The CITIZENS of Portland
have made it one of the
greenest cities in the US
Back in 1993 …
 Per capita, Portland residents have
reduced their emissions by 17%!
 How did we do it?

•  Biking at 8 times the national average

•  Transit has doubled since 1990
•  Recycling rate has tripled
•  Home energy use down 5%
•  Highest participation in residential
renewable power programs
•  Highest number of LEED buildings
 Moral of our story:
Individual decisions add up!

So what can you do?

 Green Teams
Stephanie Schlecht
Director of Sustainability

Give Something Back Business Products

www.GiveSomethingBack.com
 Trends
•  More of them
•  Formed as employee engagement strategy
•  Green team goals aligned with company
goals
•  At basic level: ad hoc formation
•  Advanced level: institutionalized -- seen as
expert base
 Strategies for Starting
•  Make the business case
–  Measurement, survey
–  Connect to goals and corporate strategy
•  Have a cohort
–  Get the right people on the bus
–  Find a mentor in a senior role
•  Make other people feel (and look) good
–  Know what motivates
•  Understand corporate culture & politics
–  budget cycles, communication, roles
 Common Challenges
•  Time constraints
•  Keeping the message fresh
•  Benchmarking, quantifying results
•  Sustaining momentum
•  Developing fresh ideas
•  General lack of resources specifically for
green teams
 Continuous Success
•  Seek out a mentor
–  Senior Management
Support
•  Recognition
–  Email signatures
–  Awards

Time •  Align GT tasks with job functions

–  Do what you’re good at doing

•  Strategic & consistent communications

Message •  Keep it fresh & connected to everyday
behaviors
–  Intranet, newsletter, happy hour, brown bag
lunches
 Continuous Success

Sustaining •  Keep it fun & relevant

Momentum •  Intra- & Inter-office competitions

•  Audit, set goals, monitor and share

Benchmarking •  Start with money-saving, easy wins
Progress
•  Share your stories!
•  Net Impact, Impact at Work program
Resources •  Sustainable Industries Green Office Guide
Top Projects
 Recycling
  Energy
  Purchasing
 Top Projects: Recycling

Reduce,
Reuse,
and then
Recycle

www.ecologicalmail.org
www.41pounds.org
Top Projects: Recycling

Learn what you can and

can’t recycle in your area
www.earth911.com
Top Projects: Recycling

What else can you recycle?

www.e-stewards.org
 Top Projects: Energy

You can save energy two ways:

 Equipment
 Behavior
 Top Projects: Energy

Energy efficient equipment & controls

www.energystar.gov
 Top Projects: Energy

Given a 40 hour workweek,

your building is unoccupied 75%
of the time when you account for
nights and weekend
 Top Projects: Energy

After you have conserved, it’s time

to investigate renewable power
www.green-e.org
 Top Projects: Purchasing
1. Partner with a supply vendor that puts your
goals first and shares your green vision.

2. Have your current purchasing patterns audited –

where are you already green? Where could you be
greener?

3. Know your other decision drivers (e.g. cost,

performance, durability, design, etc.).

4. Recycle anything that is not reusable: paper,

boxes, toner cartridges, e-waste
 Top Projects: Purchasing
5. Start with high usage How
the
Paper
you
choose

Impacts
the
Planet

consumables
Using
100%
recycled
paper
is
an

Paper easy
first
step
to
greening
your

Toner office
opera7ons.
Compare
5

Break room cases
of
virgin
paper
to
5
cases

of
100%
recycled
paper:

Janitorial
Source:
www.papercalculator.org

6. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle,

Rethink
 Top Projects: Purchasing
Considerations for Choosing Green Products

Materials: What are they? Where did they come from? Naturally
occurring? Sustainably harvested?

Manufacturing: Who made it? Where? What were the

environmental/social practices?

Shipping: How far did the product travel?

Functionality: Will the product meet quality expectations?

Reusability: Can it be reused? Other uses?

Recyclability: Can it be deconstructed; recycled or composted?

 Top Projects: Purchasing
Considerations for Choosing Green Products

3rd Party Certifications can be trust providers – make sure you

understand them.

Evaluating Eco-Labels

  Independence of standard-setting organization (avoid

conflicts of interest)
  Rigor and comprehensiveness of standards
  Accountability mechanisms
  Transparency of audits
 Consideration of product lifecycle
Green Teams
Resources
Net Impact www.netimpact.org
Mark Albion http://www.makingalife.com/
Low Impact Living www.lowimpactliving.com

Recycling & Waste Prevention

www.ecologicalmail.org
www.41pounds.org
www.earth911.com
www.e-stewards.org

Energy Efficiency & Renewable Power

www.energystar.gov
www.green-e.org

Purchasing
The Green Office – Green Screen www.thegreenoffice.com
Sustainable Industries Green Office Guide http://www.sustainableindustries.com/resources

Eco-labels
www.ecolabelling.org
Greener Choices http://www.greenerchoices.org/eco-labels/eco-home.cfm
BSR www.bsr.org “Eco-promising: communicating the environmental credentials of your products
and services”
 Contact Us
•  Marlowe Kulley
–  marlowe@bestbusinesscenter.org

•  Stephanie Schlecht
–  sschlecht@givesomethingback.com