This month you’ll read of many ways to make your work environment healthier, more cost effective, and better for us and our planet. I hope there’s something here you can put into practice tomorrow, and if you’re already doing all of this, please write an article for the Gazette and give us more tips! If you are a green business and feel you should be part of the free directory, check us out at www.GreenVillageGreen.com and become a Green Villager today. Please send this on, right away, to anyone, company or individual, who is interested in living sustainably, or is thinking of building or renovating soon.

I am passionate about recycling, reusing and saving money. If anything can be used by someone or recycled, I physically cannot discard it. Friends are used to me diving into the trash to rescue a rotten apple for the compost, or some junk mail for the recycling bin. My side of the garage was filled with trash bags full of Styrofoam, for 4 years, from a monthly delivery, that I could not bring myself to add to a landfill. Finally the county started recycling Styrofoam and may have saved my marriage! I’ve never understood why office blocks have so many lights left on all night, or why people buy bottled water when a good water filter gives them (often) better water at a fraction of the price (and the coffee tastes better), with no hard labor, and less to recycle (or throw out). Of course, we needed to do all this yesterday. Now that prices are shooting skywards, and awareness is everywhere, I’m sure things will improve rapidly. If you are already doing your bit, see if you can inspire someone else to start doing theirs.

Thanks to Sandra Cummins for her input and her wonderful website, which is on the Green Village Green directory, and at the bottom of this article.

Carol

Founder and CEO
Green Village Green

Greening Your Office

by Sandra Cummins

Simple and Affordable Ways to Lower Your Impact on the Environment
Going green is a gradual process.
Make one tiny change every week and you’ll make a difference.
Most of these changes can be applied at home too.

Recycling

• The average office tosses out about 350 pounds of paper per employee, per year.
• Use old trash cans, divider trays or cut up boxes as bins for discarded paper. Place one at each employee’s desk and encourage them to recycle all of their paper. Place a regular large recycle bin in a central place in the office where people can dump their recycled paper. Place a large recycle bin for cans, glass and plastic in your office kitchen. If you don’t have one, make one out of a large box. Talk to your building’s management office and/or city hall about pick up. Contact your local recycling center. Go to Earth 911.org for information.
• Email reports and documents instead of printing them, set your copier to print double-sided.
• Send large ink cartridges back to manufacturer to be recycled, refill small ink cartridges. Use copy paper made from recycled paper/material, stock bathrooms with recycled tissue products. Tissue manufacturers destroy forests when they turn virgin wood into throw-away paper products.
• Styrofoam packing peanuts can be dropped off at the UPS Store.

Energy Conservation

• Turn your computers off at night and during the day, set computers to sleep and lose the screen savers.
• Flying toasters and slideshows can use up approximately $50 of electricity in a year – per computer. Microsoft and Apple offer power management or energy saving features.
• Make sure all lights, equipment and computers are turned off at the end of the day If you can’t rely on the last person in the office to turn everything off before they leave, install timers or sensors. Replace old lighting with compact fluorescent bulbs.
• Contact your local utility company to arrange for a free or inexpensive energy audit.
• Install programmable thermostats; set the temp on your water heater to 120.
• Your clothes dryer can be one of the most energy intensive appliances in your business (or home).

Water Conservation

In drought areas our reservoirs are draining down faster than they are filling up. Who knows when conditions will improve. Even if you don’t live in a drought area, these tips will save you money.

• Check all faucets and toilets for leaks, explain how - install aerators on faucets and “dams” or toilet tank banks in toilets. Install dual flush toilets.
• If just 2 percent of the U.S. population turned on the kitchen and bathroom faucets to a fraction of full blast, nearly 12 million gallons of water could be saved everyday.
• Don’t leave faucets running, if you are waiting for the water to heat up, fill up a container or pitcher with the cold water until it gets warm. Use the cold water for indoor plants and humidifiers. (Placing ice cubes in plant pots waters your plants gently and effectively.)
• Set timers on outdoor landscaping so that outdoor watering occurs at night and only in 15- 20 minute intervals. Better yet, water grass and ground cover with stored rainwater. Rainbarrels can be purchased at Pike’s, Lowes and Home Depot or online at www.buildinggreener.com. (Ed: Check out www.rainwaterpillow.com for saving up to 40,000 gallons in the basement or under the deck.)
• Incorporate xeriscaping practices, condition the soil. Determine which areas get the most direct sun and cover that ground with mulch and drought tolerant shrubs & plants. Dedicate more of your landscape to drought resistant ground cover and less to grass or plants that require moderate to heavy watering. Water grass and ground cover with stored rain water.

Transportation

• Encourage car pooling by mapping out where your employees live – schedule a meeting just to discuss car pooling options, public transportation options, bike riding and telecommuting. Offer incentives and be a little flexible to make it happen.

Involve your staff

• Employee participation is essential to a successful environmental initiative. Bring together a team of employees to promote environmentalism in the workplace. These people can educate co-workers on environmental issues and keep track of the recycling, energy conservation, water conservation and transportation activities of your company. Consider creating incentives and recognition for employees who drive your company’s environmental efforts. (Ed: Have them all get the Green Village Green Gazette!)

Create a healthy, sustainable work environment by replacing antiquated systems

Heating & Cooling

• Maintain your heating and cooling systems and make sure they are checked annually. Replace your air filters regularly with charcoal based air filters.
• Set the temperature on your water heater to no more than 120 degrees.
• Replace old water heaters with a gas or tankless water heater.
• Install programmable thermostats.
• Replace or add insulation that is made from blue jeans or cellulose.
• Contact your local power providers and see if they offer Renewable Energy Credits from renewable-energy sources such as solar, wind power and geo mass.

Office Furniture & Equipment

Refurbish old office furniture, purchase used office/hotel furniture or purchase office furniture made from natural or recycled materials.

• Rent or lease copiers, computers and other equipment from manufacturers that will take back and properly recycle their goods.
• Purchase Energy Star office equipment – most major brands carry energy-saving models.
• Replace worn carpeting with carpet tiles made from recycled carpet materials.
• Use low VOC paints and sealers.

Support the local green business community and grow your business

Networking & Volunteering

• There are more and more non-profit organizations appearing that work towards environmental responsibility. Good organizations to join or volunteer for include: Southface (in the South East) www.southface.org , U.S. Green Building Council www.usgbc.org (check for your local chapter), Nature Conservancy www.nature.org , Earth Share www.earthshare.org , National Trust for Historic Preservation www.preservationnation.org , Earth911 www.earth911.org for recycling information, etc.

• Google for historic preservation, water quality, community groups, renewable energy, organic gardening, and so on in your area or nationally. Most of these organizations offer networking events and educational seminars on a regular basis. Many local governments welcome private input to their environmental meetings, storm water forums, etc. Many Habitat for Humanity are going green.

Social Investing

• Ask your brokerage firm about the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and invest in those companies.

• Calculate your facility’s carbon emissions and work to offset them through tree planting or contributing to forest protection organizations. Investigate state and local initiatives that provide tax credits, financial incentives for environmental efforts.

Create a healthy environment by using non-toxic products and cleaners

The average home/office today contains more chemicals than were found in a typical chemistry lab. An EPA survey concluded that indoor air was 3 to 70 times more polluted than outdoor air. Another EPA study stated that the toxic chemicals in household cleaners are 3 times more likely to cause cancer than outdoor air.

Reduce your risk of exposure to toxic chemicals by reading the packaging on products. Buy products that are: nontoxic, biodegradable, chlorine-free, chemical free, phosphate-free, non-petroleum based, fragrance-free. Stop using or try to avoid using products that contain:

AMMONIA is poisonous when swallowed, extremely irritating to respiratory passages when inhaled and can burn the skin on contact.

ANTIBACTERIAL: Cleansers containing triclosan may be contributing to the rise of antibiotic-resistant germs.

AIR FRESHENERS: Most air fresheners interfere with your ability to smell by coating your nasal passages with an oil film, or by releasing a nerve deadening agent. Known toxic chemicals found in an air freshener: Formaldehyde: Highly toxic, known carcinogen. Phenol: When phenol touches your skin it can cause it to swell, burn, peel, and break out in hives.

CHLORINE BLEACH: It is a strong corrosive. It will irritate or burn the skin, eyes and respiratory tract. It may cause pulmonary edema or vomiting and coma if ingested. WARNING: never mix bleach with ammonia it may cause fumes which can be DEADLY.

DISHWASHER DETERGENTS: Most products contain chlorine in a dry form that is highly concentrated - the # 1 cause of child poisonings, according to poison control centers.

DRAIN CLEANER: Most drain cleaners contain lye, hydrochloric acid or trichloroethane. Lye: Caustic, burns skin and eyes, if ingested will damage esophagus and stomach. Hydrochloric acid: Corrosive, eye and skin irritant, damages kidneys, liver and digestive tract. Trichloroethane: Eye and skin irritant, nervous system depressant; damages liver and kidneys.

FRAGRANCE frequently contains chemicals linked to reproductive abnormalities and liver cancer in lab animals and to asthma in children.

FURNITURE POLISH: Petroleum Distillates: Highly flammable, can cause skin and lung cancer. Phenol: (see Air fresheners, Phenol.) Nitrobenzene: Easily absorbed through the skin, extremely toxic.

LAUNDRY ROOM PRODUCTS: Sodium or calcium hypocrite: Highly corrosive, irritates or burns skin, eyes or respiratory tract. Linear alkylate sulfonate: Absorbed through the skin. Known liver damaging agent. Sodium Tripolyphosphate: Irritates skin and mucous membranes, causes vomiting. Easily absorbed through the skin from clothes.

Environmentally friendly actions don’t have to be large to have an impact. Consistently reducing the amount of energy, water, and toxic cleaners we use can make a huge difference, both to the environment and to our pocketbooks.

Sandra Cummins is the director of Southeast Green and SoutheastGreen.com. She is an experienced writer and presenter on the subject of environmental responsibility and sustainability.

SANDRA CUMMINS

SOUTHEAST GREEN

sandracummins@mindspring.com

www.southeastgreen.com