Green Week - Save the Environment and Your Cash
Last week, our office manager, Lindsey Mitten, instituted Green Week. One of our Cultural Values is Community, which includes environmental responsibility. I thought I’d share with you what we did for Green Week (I'm actually re-purposing the email that Lindsey sent to the team.)
Each morning Lindsey sent out an email letting everyone know about the small “green” project for the day. She also posted some friendly reminders around the office.
So, staying with the theme of this blog, what’s the business lesson here? Well… First, going green can save you money (something critically important during today’s economic times.) Second, it brings the team together for a common cause and builds pride, mutual respect and purpose. Third, it’s simply just a good thing to do.
You could feel the energy (no pun intended) in the office change every day when Lindsey announced a new green initiative.
Rubicon Green Week Initiatives:
Monday:
- Changed all of our light bulbs to CFLs (Compact Fluorescents)
Did you know?
“Compared to general service incandescent lamps giving the same amount of visible light, CFLs use less power and have a longer rated life. In the United States, a CFL can save over US $30 in electricity costs over the lamp's lifetime compared to an incandescent lamp and save 2000 times its own weight in greenhouse gases.”
Tuesday:
- All disposable paper products that we usually use were replaced by 100% recycled or alternative paper products.
Wednesday:
- Passed out individual recycling cans for every desk next.
Thursday:
- Carpooling, biking, or walking to work. Everyone who did it got a prize.
Friday:
- Switched all office cleaning products (general cleaner, dishwasher detergent, dish soap, hand soap, glass cleaner) over to eco-friendly products which will eliminate toxins in our company’s waste water. If you are interested in any of these products, please check out www.buygreen.com.
From Here on Out:
- All paper in the office will be 100% recycled
- All cleaning products will be eco friendly
- CFLS will be used in place of regular light bulbs
- Better recycling system (cleaners know that recyclables go in the white dumpster and trash in the gray dumpster)
- All paper products (towels, napkins, plates etc) will be at least 25% recycled if not 100%
- More recycling trash cans will be placed around the office
- I will try to use more of the reusable bags for groceries
Looking Towards the Future:
- Commercial composting
- Setting up carpools
How to Help:
- Consider printing out internal documents double sided
- Shut down your computer! One computer left on overnight equals the use of an entire 60 watt light bulb.
- If you are the last person leaving an office or conference room, remember to turn off the lights!
- Try to eliminate “Vampire Energy” by unplugging devices that you aren’t currently using
- Use those recycle bins I gave you and the ones placed around the office
- Go green on your way to work
It was such a huge success; we will be doing a “Green Week” once a quarter from here on out…