So last week I was approached by the "Go Green" Committee at one of my jobs and asked to join. This really flattered me because it's a very big concern for me and maybe they saw that I ride my bike to work. Unfortunately though, my AmeriCorps year of service ends in just over a month so I won't be staying long. However, I would really like to contribute some good ideas for the committee while I can. So far there's pretty much just little stickers by light switches asking people to turn off the lights when they leave the room.
Does anybody have any ideas for how a typical office workplace can "go green"? It's challenging since we have a few offices throughout the city so we're pretty decentralized. It makes education/awareness trickier. But we have an Executive Director who would get behind a good idea, especially if it would save money.
-Michael
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Michael,
ReplyDeleteMy experience is that much of the environmental impact of office buildings can be grouped as follows:
1. Energy consumed by the building and equipment.
Heating and cooling are usually biggest. j
They are probably subject to infrastructure maintained by the owner of the building.
On the otherhand, equipment energy usage can be reduced by the tenant with motion detector activated lights (they go off when no one is moving around), mandating power management protocols for PCs (like how long before they go into sleep mode when not being used. Also screen savers are archaic. The idea was to not burn a single image into the phosphor containing screen of a tube based monitor. In the case of LCD screens, the backlight is either on full tilt or off. So all monitors should be set to sleep after some interval (15 minutes?). Building lighting should be adequate to obviate the need for personal lamps.
2. Another major category is the transportation preferences of the office occupants. Usually bicycle friendliness, encouraging car pooling, van pooling, public transitg and such things are used to reduce that impact. People are sometimes surprised to learn how much money they can save by using alternate transportation, so that is a good thing to publicize.
3. Material usage is another category. I would look into text/e-mail alternatives to all the paperwork sent around the office and to your clients. It may be pointed out that clients may not have access to computers: a. make public stations available b. find a low cost source for basic computers for clients (as in those built from scavenged parts) c. ask, don't assume about use of e communication versus paper.
Probably you have already implemented recycling of paper, etc. Another usage reduction idea is to look at your incoming mail and see if there are electronic alternatives. For example, read papers, journals, periodicals on-line. Request that suppliers and others use on-line invoicing and on-line payment.
My personal opinion is that is less an issue of awareness and education and more an issue of ease of implementation, cost benefit awareness (both personal and as a business), and leadership by example by top management. If the CEO leaves a big screen saver blazing away, everyone else has trouble believing there is real commitment to change. Ditto for things like group wide information distributions, time cards, etc. etc.
The impact can be startling. I remember the first drought I encountered while at HP ca 1976. The building was asked to conserve water. It turned out that 80% of water usage was related to the airconditioning system which was trememdously reduced by adding a simple return loop for used water.
My office still doesn't recycle... sooo... don't think I can help you there.
ReplyDeleteBUT you've already inspired lots of people to start riding their bikes at social services organizations ALL OVER THE CITY! (well ok, maybe mostly concentrated in city heights, but that's where most of the social serveces orgs are anyway). I've always said inspiration is one of your best qualities!
Hey fun!
ReplyDeleteWhen are you moving back? Come by any time. The chickens love to have guests ;) It's been awesome having them...so easy and so nice to have fresh eggs daily.