Category Archives: Green Business

Defining Green Team Roles and Responsibilities

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Happy team. Isolated.Green Teams are groups of green-minded co-workers and colleagues that can provide guidance and direction on sustainability initiatives within an organization. Often these teams are loosely formed and their role and responsibilities are not clearly defined. Providing clarity not only motivates the green team but can often help businesses go to the next level with their sustainability initiatives.

The following are possible roles and responsibilities your green team could have within your organization:

  • Conduct and analyze sustainability assessment/s
  • Set sustainability priorities and goals
  • Develop a sustainability project plan
  • Coordinate,  launch and support sub-task teams for sustainability initiatives
  • Advise on sustainability opportunities and innovations
  • Track, monitor and analyze sustainability metrics and measures
  • Address and manage challenges and constraints to the sustainability initiatives
  • Develop a sustainability communication plan and process
  • Recommend or provide sustainability education, support and offer advise to other employees

Green teams are an important asset to any organization and can be a source of motivation for innovation and business process improvements. According to Greenbiz.com, The National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) released a not-too-startling report entitled “The Engaged Organization: Corporate Employee Environmental Education Survey and Case Study Findings” which confirms:

“By engaging employees, companies can spark innovative changes in everyday business processes that save money and reduce environmental and social impacts while also inspiring employees to make sustainable choices at home and in their communities.”

For more information about how to effectively build a green team in your organization, contact us.

Sustainability Resources for Small to Medium Sized Businesses in Denver/Boulder Colorado

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Denver is leading the way for the denvernation in striving to become the “greenest” city in the country.  Greenprint, CORE, Alliance for Sustainable Colorado and many more sustainability groups have played a vital role in Denver being named recently as 5th Greenest City Overall by Siemens.

Each of these organizations offer a wealth of resources to support small and medium sized businesses in the Denver/ Boulder area including:

Certifiably Green Denver: An Environmental Business Assistance Program with Greenprint that assists Denver businesses in identify opportunities to reduce waste, energy, air pollution and water.

CORE Catalyst: A program sponsored by CORE that matches talented graduate students from our leading Colorado Universities to do sustainability assessment and recommendation plans.

Sustainability Calendar: Managed by the Alliance for Sustainable Colorado, this calendar keeps track of all the Colorado sustainability events and activities.

Here are also some other ideas and initiatives to investigate in becoming a green business:

  • The Denver Energy Challenge will encourage energy efficiency investment in our state and help advance our energy independence through large scale upgrades.  They hope to have 1,200 businesses participating by May 2013.
  • A carbon calculator is a great way to find out how you can help lower the release of carbon dioxide into our air.  This tool will help you find ways that your business can save energy and money.
  • They challenge you to join the Energy Star® Change a Light Pledge by changing at least one regular light bulb to a compact fluorescent bulb.
  • You can also find links to LEED®-certified builders or Energy Star® builders who can help you with your design plans for your business or with additions to existing structures.
  • Of course, one of the simplest ways to make a real change with very little investment is to plant a tree!

At Officiency our mission is to support organizations and consumers in developing and implementing eco-friendly initiatives to reduce environmental impact, resource consumption and waste while maximizing efficiency within business and home environments.  We hope and strive to have Denver become the number one greenest city in North America!

Contact us and we can help you take small steps that will make a big impact.

Greener Printing Methods and Products for Small Businesses

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Cartridge ChangingIn Office Depots 2012 Small Index Study, they found that 60% of small businesses want to green their ink and toner cartridges. Not only are printer and toner cartridges expensive for businesses, they have a high environmental cost. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), over 350 million printer cartridges are thrown away each year, and each one takes over 450 years to decompose.  That’s a lot of cartridges filling up our landfills.

There are several ways to green up your printer usage.

  1. Recycle Used Cartridges: Recycling used printer cartridges is a popular way to save money and help save the environment. Many office supply stores will take back used cartridges and give you a store credit in return. Office Max and Staples both offer a $2 credit for each cartridge, which also saves you money on office supplies if you purchase from these businesses. There are also numerous toner cartridge recycling businesses popping up nationwide. In addition to the environmental benefits, recycled cartridges often cost half of what new cartridges do, offering savings to business owners.
  2. Use Soy Ink: Another option is to switch to soy ink, instead of the more common ink products, which are petroleum-based.  Soy ink has several benefits. It is made from soy oil, which comes from a renewable resource, while petroleum products are not. Soy ink is more biodegradable, degrading four  times faster than regular ink. Also, less soy ink is required for the same amount of printing, leading to few cartridges made and fewer cartridges thrown away.
  3. Consolidate Printing: A final option is printer consolidation. Consider removing desktop printers and fewer networked printers. This leads to less printing by your staff and fewer cartridges that need to be purchased. Educating your employees on the costs of managing paper is also beneficial for a company attempting to go green in the printing department.

If you would like to move to a paperless office, then contact us for more information.

Getting Your Employees Inspired with Sustainability Training and Presentations

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employeesLet’s face it: your employees are probably not very concerned about the impact of your business’s sustainability efforts on your business bottom line. They are concerned that you are able to give them their paychecks on time, but getting them to buy into the connections between that paycheck and green efforts in the workplace is a tougher sell. Nor do you have staff with the time or expertise to sell this concept to your employees.

This is where our sustainability training and presentations can help. We have a number of training presentations available, all of which can be tailored to fit the needs of your particular company, and employee needs and concerns. For companies just beginning to make this a focus, we have an Introduction to Sustainability segment which helps employees connect their work with corporate sustainability concepts such as Natural Capitalism and the Triple Bottom Line. We will share stories of local companies that have done similar work to help them understand that this is not a fad, but an important component to all business cultures. We conclude these presentations with suggestions and resources for getting started. We also have a presentation on becoming a paperless office, which helps to orient employees toward the one thing that just about everyone in your office probably suffers from—too much paper!

Once you have at least some employees on the sustainability band wagon, we have trainings which focus on creating a sustainability plan and greening your business one step at a time. These presentations can encourage employees who are feeling overwhelmed or under educated, helping them see that working green is possible. We also have presentations which will help connect sustainability in the office with thinking green in your employees’ personal lives: Eco-Style Your Life and Conscious Consumerism. These presentations help employees make the connections between green practices and cash flow both at the office (for paychecks and such) and at home.

Finally, once your employees are truly on board with sustainability, we can help introduce the concept of getting to zero waste. These days this is not an impossible concept to achieve, and we can help you and your employees see why. So contact us today and let’s begin educating your employees on the need to think sustainably!

Recommended Sustainability Resources for Colorado Small Businesses

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Because Colorado continues to be a leader in small business implementation of environmentally-friendly business practices, our state has created an abundance of organizations and resources which can help guide a business in their sustainability plans.

CORE

CORE is dedicated to helping Colorado denverorganizations implement sustainability in their operations, products, and workforce development, focused on small and medium businesses. They have success stories that share sustainability best practices of businesses in the Colorado community.

Certifiably Green Denver

They can give free and confidential assistance with your environmental questions and concerns.  Because they work specifically with the small businesses of Denver, they can give you knowledgeable information to help with avoiding environmental liability specific to this area, while not sacrificing your profitability.

Denver Energy Challenge

You can find information regarding rebates and also find help with your energy-saving efforts.  You can even talk to an expert by phone Mon. thru Sat. (8:00AM to 6:00PM) at (720) 865-5520.  These are the people to talk to if you are preparing to do an “energy upgrade” as they will help you throughout the process.

Watts To Water

This water conservation program recognizes and awards small business for their water conservation efforts. All hotels and offices with over 5000 sq. ft. of space can participate with minimal effort, but the benefits to your business are great.

Denver Regional Council of Governments

This organization focuses on enabling telework as an alternative to commuting which will help our community reduce pollution, ease traffic congestion and create higher levels of employee satisfaction.  They can work with your company to help you implement a tele-commuting plan that can work in your situation.

The Colorado Carbon Fund

They have created the first, statewide, voluntary offset program in the U.S., with special attention paid to the GHG reduction projects in our state, which will mean verifiable and permanent carbon offsets.

Eco-officiency offers sustainability consulting services in Colorado and nationwide. We provide expert business advisors to assist organizations and individuals in becoming more sustainable in their work and personal lives.  Contact us to discover how we can help you today!

Small Businesses Can Save Money by Preventing Pollution and Waste

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A recent story in the Daily Journal of Commerce notes that small businesses in Washington State found that by preventing pollution and waste they saved money. Over the past four years, specialists worked with small business owners to “help them properly manage, store, and dispose of hazardous materials” so they wouldn’t end up in the air, water, or soil.

Why it Matters

These efforts are important considering that DoSomething.org reports: 

  • 40% of America’s rivers and 46% of America’s lakes are too polluted for fishing, swimming, or aquatic life
  • 1.2 trillion gallons of untreated sewage, storm water, and industrial waste are discharged into U.S. waters annually
  • Each year, U.S. factories spew 3 million tons of toxic chemicals into the air, land, and water
  • Over 80% of items in landfills can be recycled, but they’re not costing taxpayers millions of dollars

Results of Helping Small Businesses Prevent Pollution

Because of the efforts in Washington State, one golf course took action to prevent pesticides from leaking into the ground, including developing a prevention and clean-up plan, as well as moved gas cans into cabinets for flammables. Additionally, a group of dental offices along with two veterinary hospitals adopted practices to dispose of hazardous waste, such as dental amalgam and fluorescent tubes, while a group of specialists worked with a local mall to correct storm water system problems.

Your Small Business Can Prevent Pollution and Waste

As a small business owner, you may be wondering how you can do your part to help prevent pollution and waste. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) suggests that when your small business generates waste, it costs you more money because you pay for it twice – “once when you buy it and the second time when you throw it away. The bottom line is that preventing waste will save you money.”

Some EPA suggestions for waste prevention include:

  • Purchasing durable, long-lasting materials which reduce waste and hopefully will reduce cost
  • Using products free of toxic materials to improve air quality and reduce toxins in the environment
  • Reducing the amount of packaging to reduce waste
  • Recycle and compost waste materials

When it comes to running your small business, you have a choice to improve your local community’s environment. Let us show you how. Click here to find out about how we support small businesses.

How to Achieve a Paperless Office

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Achieving a paperless office is a great way to go green for the New Year. Going paperless reduces the carbon footprint for your office, saves money, increases efficiency and promotes sound data organization. Here are some ideas and tips that are easy to implement and are zero cost.

Request Electronic Files from Vendors: Paper documents that are usually received by external entities such as vendors can be scanned and saved as a PDF file on your computer system. However, why not eliminate this process altogether and ask that vendors send all information electronically. If there is a high volume or size of information that needs to be distributed, consider using an online cloud based system to transfer documents such as Google Drive or DropBox.

Replace a Fax Machine with a Cloud Service: Many online services can be used that can convert a standard fax to a PDF document to store online or sent to your office via email. This is a great way for your office to have a real fax number but not need a dedicated fax machine. The use of a cloud service for receiving faxes eliminates the need to print out a fax on paper.

Print or Save Documents as a PDF: Documents that are obtained online or created as a text document or even a spreadsheet can be saved as a PDF file instead of a printed document. Often multiple formats that need to be consolidated into one document can be done through PDF. Simply convert each document into a PDF, and through the PDF tool, combine those documents into one PDF. This eliminates the need to print each document out only to re-scan it as one document. Both Adobe Acrobat and Nuance are the more popular PDF tools.

Organize Your Shared Drive: One of the barriers for many employees becoming paperless is that they aren’t sure where the data is located electronically. Shared drives, as well as local drives, are a mess and users find it difficult to find and access electronic information quickly and therefore print documents for easy access. Take time and get your shared drive organized. If you need help, download the guide “How to Organize Electronic Documents for Shared Drive Networks”

If you are interested in achieving a paperless office, then contact us for more information.

Promoting Sustainable Behaviors in Your Organization

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Businesses often overlook one simple fact concerning sustainability education, human behaviors are not always rational. Behaviors tend to be based on emotion and culture. A classic example of this is cigarette smoking. Despite the clear negative effects of smoking and the highly visible warning labels, every year people still choose to start doing it.

When attempting to promote sustainable behaviors among employees, you can learn from this recognition that people do not always make rational decisions. When educating employees about your sustainability program, you not only need to give them facts and information but also identify the behaviors you want to change.  This is where the concept of social marketing to promote green behaviors will benefit your business.

According to Doug McKenzi-Mohr, author of Fostering Sustainable Behavior: Community Based Social Marketing, he cites three 3 steps to getting the change you want:

  1. Identify the Behaviors: Organizations need to clearly identify the behaviors they want changed as it relates to their sustainability program. For example, do you want your employee to turn off their computer at night OR do you want them to turn off the power strip that turns off all their equipment.
  2. Identify the Barriers and Benefits: Once a behavior is identified, then it is important to understand what barriers they are to doing that behavior. If we take the example of turning off their computer, a barrier might be that IT department encourages employees to keep their computer on so they can do updates to systems. Identifying benefits, is being clear to see what is in it for the employee and/or organization. With our computer example, an organization can save over $100 per computer, per year if turned off at night.
  3. Develop Strategies: Once behaviors have been identified with the barriers and benefits, then building a strategy and plan of action to adopt those practices is the final step. A successful plan will change the culture and the types of behaviors that are emotionally gratifying to your employees.

Here at eco-officiency we are at the cutting edge of fostering sustainable behaviors and understand the psychology behind promoting real change. Contact us for more on how we will help craft and implement a successful plan.

Going Paperless Reduces Carbon Footprint

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For most small and medium sized businesses reducing paper consumption can significantly reduce an organizations carbon footprint. If the US cut office paper use by just 10 percent it would eliminate 1.6 million tons of greenhouse gases which is the equivalent of taking 280,000 cars off the road for one year. According to reduce.org, the average office worker uses 10,000 sheets of paper a year. Further paper statistics conclude that it takes an entire tree to generate 12,500 pieces paper, of which only 5% will ever be recycled.

As companies of all sizes realize the constraints that paper places on their businesses, they are exploring the many advantages offered by a paperless office, as identified in the article, Becoming a Paperless Office.

Even though the principles of a paperless company are beneficial, it can be challenging to leave behind a data format on which your business has always relied. Here are just a few easy tips that can start your business to reduce and recycle paper;

  • Use both sides of the paper. You can set your printer default to print both sides, make double-sided copies, and use the backs of single-sided documents that have served their purpose.
  • Think before you print. Double check print/copy properties before you print, only print the necessary pages, and share documents whenever possible.
  • Put forms, newsletters, articles and any other applicable documents online. Your management, employees and customers will have immediate access to what they need. 
  • Recycle, recycle, recycle. If your company does not yet have a recycling program, get one started. If you have one, make sure you employees know how to properly use it. Be sure to use post-consumer recycled paper whenever possible.

Going completely paperless is a commitment that will take your company time to fully implement. A first step is getting better organized electronically Then, start by improving overall automation of processes. As identified by the numbers, if every business made improvements it would make a significant impact to climate change.

Benefits of Being Paperless For Businesses and Non Profit Organizations

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As a rule, many businesses and non profit organizations have been hesitant from becoming more eco-friendly because they worry that doing so is too expensive or time-consuming.  But, in recent years, more and more of them are realizing that going green can actually be cost-effective and improve efficiency.  Becoming paperless seems to be a growing trend that fits both those benefits.

Paper makes up about 25% of all landfill waste.  It also can account for 40% of all of the wood that is harvested all around the world.  It is also one of the largest users of raw materials, including fresh water, energy, and forest fibers.

The United States is by far the world’s largest producer and consumer of paper using nearly 3.7 million tons or 700 billion sheets of copy paper each year. The American paper consumption is over six times greater than the world average. We use enough office paper each year to build a 10-foot-high wall that’s 6,815 miles long. That’s more than the distance from New York to Tokyo.

Beyond the environmental impact, there is a high cost to paper as well. While the paper itself is a major expense, businesses must expect to spend 13 to 31 times more that amount just to use paper in their offices It not only includes the purchase the paper, but also includes equipment purchase and maintenance, printing supplies, filing cabinets, paper organizing supplies, paper storage, and the expense of having employees file, sort, manage paper. So, that ream of paper that cost $5 could really be a $155 to manage the full life cycle cost of paper. (For further information on the cost of paper refer to the article, The Cost of Managing Paper)

Because of the electronic age in data management organizations truly need very little paper in their offices. Businesses who transition to electronic processing and filing find that their employees spend less time locating and organizing the necessary documents. Becoming paperless is a great first sustainability initiative for small and medium sized businesses to make that not only saves money but improves overall operational efficiency. Contact us to learn more about how to start the paperless office in your organization.