Global Reporting Initiative

I just got back from a 2 day certification workshop on the Global Reporting Initiative or commonly known as the GRI. The GRI is the international framework and standard for sustainability reports.  I gained two great insights from this workshop. The first is that this framework requires companies to have dialogue and discussion with all its stakeholders on what they see as important regarding social and environmental issues of the company.  Secondly, I realized that this tool was more than a published, printed piece of information. Through its framework it requires companies to give careful thought and consideration on various aspects of economic, environmental and social implications of their business. Essentially, through stakeholder engagement and the conversation within the company, this tool is a catalyst to provide more thoughtful analysis on sustainability issues within a company. I’m excited to begin helping my own clients prepare and learn about the GRI

Are Your Computers on?

Did you know that you are wasting money with your computers on at night. The average is about $150 per computer to leave a computer sitting idle in the evening. Another study  estimated $2.8 billion wasted on excess energy costs each year in the U.S. alone just with the nation leaving computers on at night.  Often IT departments want workers to leave computers on at night so they can perform updates. Talk with your IT manager and discuss some other options. Such as maybe all updates are done on one night of the week. Bottom line a small step as turning off your computers can save a whole lot of energy and money!

Tell me if you have some other good suggestions of how to get computers off at night in your office.