1. A Green Office
by Kristin McGinnis, MBA
Masters, Sustainable Development
2. A Green Office – Why & How
• Reality of the World
• Why “Going Green” at the Office is Important
• Basics of Sustainability
• Ways to Make an Impact
6. Basics of Sustainability
• How do your decisions impact
your body, your community, the
world?
• Triple Bottom Line (3BL)
Environmental Economic Social
7. Ways to Make an Impact
• Reduce
• Recycle
• Purchasing
• Feel Empowered & Lead by Example
Think of the 3BL on select slides…
9. Computer Habits
It costs a 300W system $328 per
year to run 24/7
Item Watts
Typical Desktop CPU 65-250
Laptop 15-60
LCD Monitor 15-70
CRT “old school tube” Monitor 80
Michael Bluejay, Inc. (2013)
10. Improve Your Computer Habits
Put monitors on sleep mode when you take breaks
Turn off your computer when you leave for the day
Turn off peripherals (i.e. speakers, scanners, mice)
& appliances (i.e. coffee maker) when not in use
12. Improve Your Printing Habits
Think Before You Print
Print to PDF
If you must print, Print Double-Sided
Technologies for Viewing E-Documents
Reuse Paper for Drafts or Scratch Paper
13. Lunch Habits
An average of 200+ pounds of food
are wasted per person per year.
What about food packaging?
14.
15. Ways to Reduce Lunch Waste
Skip the Fast Food Urge…Plan Ahead
Only Pack What You Will Eat (& make sustainable food choices)
Pack Lunch in Reusable Container Instead of Baggies
Skip the Paper Plates & Plastic Utensils
Pass on Bottled Water…Use Reusable Bottle or Glass
18. Improve Your Transportation Habits
Carpool to Work…or to Lunch
Combine Trips & Errands
Public Transportation
Bike or Walk to Work
Telecommuting (working from home)
20. Recycle…
Paper
Paper makes up the largest
percentage of the municipal solid
waste stream – yet is one of the
most recoverable items to be
recycled.
21. Recycling Tips… Paper
Ensure Paper is Discarded in Recycling Receptacles (incl. wrapping)
Recycle Newspaper & Magazines
Reuse File Folders
Save blank return envelopes that come with bills…and reuse
23. Recycling Tips… Kitchen Items
Most Items are Recyclable….Think Instead, What is Trash?
Clean & Recycle Food Containers (i.e. yogurt)
Remember… Recycling is Only Second-Best to Reusing
24. Recycle…
E-Waste
& Other Items
At least half of the U.S.’s e-waste
ends up overseas, such as China,
Nigeria, or India
(Asia Society, 2013)
25. Recycling Tips… E-Waste & Other
Ask if Office or Building has System for
E-Waste Recycling & Batteries
Recycle Printer Toners
Donate Supplies, Furniture, etc.
27. Purchasing Tips…Think Green!
Recycled Paper
Pass on the Single Use Snacks & Beverages
Buy Items with Little/No-Packaging (Bulk)
Green Cleaning Supplies (incl. aerosols)
What is more GREEN than a Plant?!
28. Recap: How to Make an Impact
• Reducing
• Computer Habits
• Printing Habits
• Lunch Waste
• Transportation
• Recycle
• Paper
• Kitchen Items
• E-Waste
• Purchasing
29. Feel Empowered & Lead by Example
• Feel Empowered to Make Change
• Ask Questions of Decision Makers
• Others Will Follow Your Good Example
• Teach & Listen
• Be Creative
32. References
• Asia Society. (2013). E-Waste: Dumping on the poor. Retrieved from http://asiasociety.org/policy/environment/climate-
change-and-energy/e-waste-dumping-poor
• Aune, S.P. (2013). 25+ resources for carpooling. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2008/09/30/carpooling/
• Bowman, M. (2008). About your commute. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/marcus.bowman.slides/us-
commuting-statistical-analysis
• Earth 911, Inc. (2013). Paper. Retrieved from http://earth911.com/recycling/paper/
• ETHunters. (2013). How much does it cost to run a computer 24/7? Retrieved from http://www.dslreports.com/faq/2404
• International Bottled Water Association. (2013). U.S. Consumption of Bottled Water Shows Continued Growth, Increasing
6.2 Percent in 2012; Sales up 6.7 Percent. Retrieved from http://www.bottledwater.org/us-consumption-bottled-water-
shows-continued-growth-increasing-62-percent-2012-sales-67-percent
33. References
• Michael Bluejay, Inc. (2013). How much electricity do computers use? Retrieved from
http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/computers.html
• Reduce.org (n.d.). Become a paperless office. Retrieved from http://156.98.19.245/paper/
• The Water Project. (2013). Bottled Water is Wasteful. Retrieved from
http://thewaterproject.org/bottled_water_wasteful.asp
• U.S. Census Bureau. (2013). Megacommuters: 600,000 in U.S. Travel 90 Minutes and 50 Miles to Work, and 10.8 Million
Travel an Hour Each Way, Census Bureau Reports. Retrieved from
http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/american_community_survey_acs/cb13-41.html
Editor's Notes
According to NASA, the hottest year on record was 2005, which matched 1998. Twice in the last ten years, we've had the hottest temperatures on average ever recorded in our planet's history. That is very likely more than just a coincidence. U.S. and global annual temperatures are now around 1.0 F degrees warmer than they were in 1900. The rate of warming has accelerated over the past 30 years, increasing at a rate of three times faster than the century-scale trend. It's likely the increase in CO2 emissions has something to do with that rate increase.
Will be talking about suggestions….just touching on the surfaceCountless ways to be green….Be creative
A 300W system costs $0.90 day to run * 365 = $328.50* number of systems in office (let’s say 10) = $3,285Computers only account for a fraction of worldwide electrical use - Air conditioning, lighting, refrigeration account for a lot more
IT Notes: Sleep Mode: saves up to 90% more powerBy turning off computer every night, you save $0.30/day * 365 days = $110 (per computer)
10,000 = 2 boxes
Have someone proofread your document electronically before you printSaving to PDF & emailing increases efficiencyTechnologies: iPads, Dropbox, Adobe with form fill Pacific Life great example of Paperless (JH trying to come on board)
Globally, 1/3 of the food produced for human consumption is lost, about 1.3 billion tons.Think about your “footprint” on the items you use for lunch. How long will all of that take to decompose?Glass bottles…Thousands of years….Plastic….Hundreds…Aluminum cans….80 to 200 years….Paper 2-4 weeks (faster when wet)Bottled water consumption increased by 6.2& in 2012. Bottles used to package water take over 1,000 years to bio-degrade and if incinerated, they produce toxic fumes. It is estimated that over 80% of all single-use water bottles used in the U.S. simply become "litter.“
In fact, light-duty vehicles -- that's passenger cars, vans, minivans, SUVs, and pickup trucks -- account for 62 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S., says the EPA. Passenger cars alone are responsible for 35 percent of that, and are the largest contributor of any vehicle category, above even heavy-duty vehicles and aircraft. Consider now that for each gallon of gas a car burns, it emits about 20 pounds of carbon dioxide. Multiply that by a daily commute of 40 miles for a car that gets 24 miles per gallon, and you have a car that's spewing out more than 8,000 pounds of CO2 for its commute each year. Saving just a few gallons of gas each week can really add up.
Avego.com–CarpoolConnect.com- Offers up international carpooling opportunities for people mainly in the USA, Canada and Europe.CarpoolWorld.com - CarpoolWorld has been around since 2000, and continues to provide matching services for those looking for drivers and passengers. Also offers the ability to set up carpool groups for your company, club, sports team or just about anything else you can think of.DivideTheRide.com- A carpooling site designed to get your children around to their activities. One person starts it, they invite people they trust, and then a calendar is created. Reminders are sent via email and text message.eRideShare.com - Assists you in finding rides for daily carpooling, cross-country travel, running errands, or even to special events & club meetings.GishiGo.com - A ride sharing system that charges $.99 for creating a post as either a driver or passenger, and allows you to post reviews of the experience after it's over.GoLoco.org - A social network style carpooling site that makes sure everyone pays their share of the expenses. Each mile of a proposed trip is calculated at $.50, then split between the number of people and then GoLoco receives a 10% share of the transaction.GooseNetworks.com - A service focusing on corporate websites to allow your employees to find people they can share rides with, providing them with public transit schedules, and more.iCarpool.com - Assists you with finding carpooling partners for work, long distance trips, events and more. Works for members in Australia, Canada, Europe and the USA.NuRide.com - NuRide offers sponsored carpooling. Set up your ride, confirm that it actually occurred, and you can earn points towards rewards such as gift cards, discounts and more. All members must belong to a company or organization so as to remove some of the anonymity.PickupPal.com- Sign up for carpooling for work, long trips, to events and more. Focuses heavily on reducing your carbon footprint on the Earth.Pooln.com - A car pooling site with a social networking structure. Give it a try by entering the zip code where you live and the one for your office to see if there are any members who match up with your needs.RideAmigos.com - Use the RideAmigo'sRideMatcher system to enter your trip or commute, and find people with a matching schedule that you can share a ride with. The service also shows the environmental impact reduction of the people sharing a ride. Also offers a corporate version, which restricts results to people within your company.RidePro - A white label solution for companies and cities looking to set up their own carpooling site.RoadSharing.com - Enter the route for your proposed road trip and find people to share the ride with and split the costs. Has lots of international members, and it's easy to spot who has the vehicle and who is looking for one.TrafficBulldog.org - Billed as a commuter advocacy site, TrafficBulldog offers up news and suggestions on reducing traffic congestion via carpooling and other suggestions.Zimride.com - Zimride offers carpooling for just about any distance you can think of in the USA. They have a Facebook application and have already built an app to be released to work with Android.
Many of you may not have purchasing roles, so I will only touch on this
Feel Empowered. You don't need to be management to institute change; your role as someone who cares about improving the energy efficiency and healthiness of your workplace is just as vital as those able to make the "big decisions". In fact, change from the bottom-up is often a lot more effective as everyone has "buy-in". And just because you don't make the purchasing decisions, it doesn't mean you can't influence them. Do your research, point out the financial savings to management, and enlist the enthusiasm of your team members too. Find the information, show by doing, and create the momentum, all just because you care.
