You washed your hands and now what? Do I blow dry, towel dry or air dry? What is the greenest option? Interestingly enough there have been studies done on this.
Dyson, the maker of air dryers actually commissioned a study by MIT called Life Cycle Assessment of Hand Drying Systems. The study claimed that Dyson’s own hand dryer produce70% less carbon emissions than the conventional hand dryers or paper towels (obviously 100% recycled paper was better than virgin paper). Greenbiz.com did a nice article review on the Life Cycle reports findings.
Overall, most studies find that hand dryers will be the greener choice in about 95 percent of circumstances. It is the option that is lowest in carbon emissions and waste. However probably the greenest option of all is to carry your own handkerchief and dry your own hands. This is a custom in Japan and some parts of Asia and has worked well. No worries on paper towel dispensers being empty or dealing with hand dryers that don’t seem to work anymore. You take your own drying into your own hands!
With this season’s holiday parties, plan and hold ‘green’ events. You may not be able to do everything but even a few activities set the example. Here are a few ideas to help your holiday parties, whether at home or work, to be more environmentally conscious;
Be zero waste. Boulder’s eco-cycle has a zero waste kit that provides the recycling and composting containers, as well as pick up.
Use compostable disposables. Eco-Products have an entire line of compostable of bio-ware of forks, knives, spoons, cups and plates. Although, these items can be a little more expensive and not decorated, they are eco-friendly and set the right tone and image for companies trying to be more green.
Provide alternative transportation options. When possible provide alternative transportation options to the holiday gatherings. Arrange carpools, provide van transportation or hold your event near a public transit stop.
Use less meat at parties. Meat consumption has a high environmental impact. To learn more facts reference this blog entry called Meat Impacts on the Environment. Try some new holiday vegetarian recipes from Vegetarian Times.
It actually is greener to convert your Prius or other hybrid you might own to increase the battery capacity and electric usage. Although the new electric vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf, are well –made cars, it is actually more sustainable to convert the car you have rather than purchasing a new one. The other factor to consider is that Prius cars wear better than normal vehicles. So you might also consider purchasing a used Prius and getting it converted to all electric.
All electric Prius conversions are becoming more popular especially in Colorado with aggressive tax rebates. The State of Colorado is now offering an incentive to convert your Prius to plug-in through a refundable tax credit of 85% of the cost with a maximum credit of $6,000. This is only good through the end of 2011 and might be extended through 2012.
There has been a lot of press lately on cloud computing that is not only good for data management but also a great green solution for businesses. It offers tremendous energy savings and IT efficiencies. Here are some of the recent reports and articles available on cloud computing;
Green Biz recent article, 4 Reasons Why Cloud Computing is a Green Solution, cites that cloud computing services are expected to grow by 22% annually to 2020. It also discusses the four top reasons cloud computing is a green solution including energy efficiency, utilization and consolidation efficiencies, pay per use and multitenancy.
Accenture put out a great whitepaper called, Cloud Computing and Sustainability, in November 2010 that discusses in more depth how cloud computing reduces the environmental impacts of IT and also provides case study examples.
The Carbon Disclosure Project in collaboration with Verdantix also did a report called, Cloud Computing: The IT Solution for the 21st Century. It cites that businesses with more than $1 billion in annual revenue can achieve in energy savings of $12.3 billion a year by 2020 through cloud computing services. In addition it projects an overall 30,000 metric tons savings in CO2 reduction.
Then Greenpeace report entitled How Dirty is Your Data, discusses the cloud’s energy footprint on these large cloud based service providers. It provides a table and report card on the primary cloud service providers and their use of clean energy vs. coal.
One of the primary hesitations of moving to the cloud is the security and privacy issue. The National Institute of Standards and Technology has a publication on the Guidelines on Security and Privacy in Public Cloud Computing. The U.S. General Services Administration is moving all their data to a cloud based provider and now offering these services to government agencies. Learn more from Information Week Government article, Cloud Computer is Safer Than You Think, on how they overcame these challenges.
There are some great green apps now available that can help consumers make conscious choices on products and services and improve their green footprint. All these apps are free:
Find Green: This app provides a directory of green retail establishments in your area. It uses the GPS system on Android phones and can direct you to the nearest green establishment from where you are located.
Good Guide: An app that the developers have been working on for years and is very well regarded. You can scan the barcode of a product with your smartphone and it will provide you a sustainability ranking of that company and product.
Fooducate: An app that provides more information on ingredients and labels of food products. It has a rating scale and does offer alternative products that might be better or healthier for you.
Animal Free: Is able to help consumers know which ingredients contain animal products. This is useful for those individuals who want to be completely animal free.
Ecorio: This app also uses the GPS system on your smartphone to track your carbon footprint as you travel. Then, it also provides a quick way to purchase carbon offsets through Google.
PedNav: This is an app that helps plan the best route and transportation option with the activities of your day. It encourages walking and biking instead of a vehicle and helps route the best way to travel.
For a more extensive listing of Green Apps, see Treehuggers list of over 100 green apps.
Today, there are many more sustainable packaging options than there used to be. Now there are various eco-packaging products that can be as price competitive and durable as plastic and Styrofoam.
Here are a few companies to check out if you are looking for some green packaging options for your company:
Be Green Packaging, based in Santa Barbara, is the one Whole Foods switched to a year ago. The packaging is made from bio-materials and are compostable. Be Green also has Cradle to Cradle certification for their manufacturing processes.
BioCorp also provides biodegradeable bioware including plates, trays, bowls, cups, lunch boxes and compartment trays. They also have cutlery that is heat resistant.
Eco-Products, based in Boulder, Colorado also supplies foodservice compostable packaging.
EPI makes packaging products out of an oxo biodegradable plastic additive technology.
Green Packaging Group is a one stop shopping source for eco packaging. It showcases various vendors and resources for all types of packaging.
Greenbiz had a great article after Earth Day 2011 about the green consumer market called the Polling of America 2011. Joel Makower, editor of GreenBiz, identifies some key consumer reports and studies about American’s attitude toward green products and services. Most of the reports do recognize that consumers are more aware of environmental consumerism than they have in the past. A poll by NBC universal found that 68% of consumers believe its worth paying more for a green product or service if it comes from a brand they trust. They also found that found that 62 percent of respondents are making a conscious effort to buy products made by environmentally responsible companies. Another study by BBMG called, Unleashed: How New Consumers Will Revolutionize Brands and Scale Sustainability said that even with the recession over 25% were willing to pay to pay more for sustainable alternatives. Consumers ‘voting’ with their dollars is a key aspect for new innovation and new green products and services from companies.
Many offices are encouraging their employees to carpool or take public transportation to work.Public transportation or carpooling may work well to get to the office, but can be a hindrance when trying to get to outside meetings during the day. Consider joining a carshare that will alleviate the need to have a company car but support alternative transportation programs within your company. Most carshare programs have online or phone reservation systems. Cars are usually parked in convenient areas around urban areas.
Here are some recommended carshare programs;
eGo CarShare is a carshare service located in the greater Boulder/Denver area.
ZipCar is a national carshare program. They have locations in most major U.S. Cities and around University campuses.
CarSharing.net is a directory of other local carsharing companies across the U.S.
Walmart Canada recently launched a website, ShareGreen, that offers case studies on green business best practices within Canada.
Case studies have already been posted from companies such as Nestle Water, Stonyfield Farms, Tetra Pak, SC Johnson and Kimblerly-Clark. All companies are encouraged to share their stories and case studies on how they have improved energy, waste, green products and solution, and employee engagement.
Case studies are organized by industry sector such as food and beverage, manufacturing, professional services, resource extraction and retail industries, with plans to add further industries for the government, tourism and transportation sectors.
Take a look and see what other companies are doing to be more green and eco-conscious in their business.
It’s true for all of us. We all want to be more green but each step requires us to do something differently which is not always easy. If we each committed to just one new thing for the year, we would make a powerful difference as a collective in our nation.
We will have more success with our commitments if we are as specific as we can be to the action and behavior we would like to change. Instead of committing to just purchasing less, make a firm dollar commitment. Based on what you usually spend on ‘luxury’ or ‘disposable’ items, make a dollar commitment to spend only $200 for the year, or whatever amount makes sense for you and your family. Then, determine how you are going to track your commitment and have some way to measure it. With the example of purchasing less, you would know by the amount of money you spend.
This year, I have committed to driving less and my goal is to reduce my usual 12,000 miles per year down to 9,000 miles for the year. Although that doesn’t seem to be a lot, that is essentially not driving my car 3 months out of the entire year! My plan is to use a combination of alternative transportation methods such as my bike, the bus and try to carpool more often. How will I know if I am successful? Well, I will track my miles monthly and the goal is to reduce each month by 250 miles. I’ll keep you posted on my progress during the year.
Again, make your new resolution a specific action and determine the way you will track it. When you do this, the likelihood of success will go up dramatically.
Share with me what your green commitment will be for the year.
You washed your hands and now what? Do I blow dry, towel dry or air dry? What is the greenest option? Interestingly enough there have been studies done on this.
Waste Reduction | eco-officiency January 31, 2012 | 
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