How green is our business? Below is a list of Green Business Program checklist actions we've taken to reduce our impact on the environment.

Energy » Lighting

Q: Arrange your workspaces to take advantage of areas with natural sunlight, and design for increased natural lighting when remodeling (workspace within 30' of natural light).
Q: Disconnect unused ballasts in de-lamped fixtures and replace burned out lamps to avoid ballast damage.
Q: Maintain (and adhere to) a written policy to turn off office lights when leaving for more than 15 minutes and post reminders.
Q: Use "task" lighting with energy efficient bulbs where extra light is needed, rather than overlighting an entire area with ambient light.

Energy » General

Q: Conduct an informal internal energy audit of your facilities (assess and implement simple measures to reduce energy consumption).
Q: Have an outside firm conduct a formal energy audit of your facilities.

Energy » Office Equipment

Q: Establish purchasing policy to only purchase Energy Star or energy efficient equipment and appliances.
Q: Install "instant-on" hot water.
Q: Set all office equipment to go to standby mode when not in use (e.g. energy saver buttons on copiers). Turn off equipment when not in use for long periods of time (end of workday).
Q: Set refrigerator temperature between 38

Energy » HVAC

Q: Maintain (and adhere to) a written policy that ensures blinds and curtains are closed during peak summer period (white reflects) to reduce A/C load.

Leadership and Education

Q: Designate a green office advocate or working committee.
Q: Actively encourage employees to adopt sustainable practices outside of work, and provide resources for doing so (such as discounted compact fluorescent (CF) light bulbs).
Q: Appoint management level sustainability officer.
Q: Assess and track your firm's/facility's (ies') Philadelphia region estimated baseline carbon footprint. (Use of the calculator provided by Pennsylvania Environmental Council is strongly encouraged; however, a member may assess its carbon footprint using the protocols identified below (see NOTE).)
Q: Be in a LEED-certified building and/or certify your space as a LEED Commercial Interior.
Q: Develop and implement a written plan to reduce carbon footprint.
Q: Distribute an external green e-newsletter on at least a quarterly basis.
Q: Establish and promote individual green pledge for employees.
Q: Host regular green awareness events within the company.
Q: Prepare an external annual report on progress to be distributed publicly.
Q: Prepare an internal annual report of progress and distribute to employees/shareholders.
Q: Promote sustainability initiative and forthcoming changes, strategies, and objectives within company on a regular basis to raise consciousness and add transparency of the initiative.

Operations & Procurement » General Practices

Q: Ask vendors to take back packaging and used or damaged products for reuse and recycling.
Q: Choose vendors who can articulate sustainable practices.
Q: Choose vendors who take back products after their shelf life is over (e.g. fluorescent light bulbs).
Q: In order to improve indoor air quality, ban smoking from interior spaces and designate exterior smoking areas at least 25 feet from building entries, outdoor air intakes and operable windows, with cigarette butt disposal units.
Q: Maintain (and adhere to) a sustainable purchasing policy (Energy Star equipment and appliances; recycled content, biodegradable paper products; energy-efficient, lowmercury lamps; plastic products; food products; building/renovation materials). Consider and favor products that are recycleable at the end of their useful life.
Q: Purchase items with the least packaging and work with vendors to minimize product packaging. Minimize packaging in your own products and services.
Q: Serve locally-grown and/or organic food at workplace events when possible.
Q: Specify deliveries in reusable or returnable containers.
Q: Use local businesses for products and services whenever possible.
Q: Use unbleached and/or chlorine-free paper products (copy paper, promotional paper, paper towels, coffee filters, etc.).
Q: When possible, arrange to order goods from vendors who make deliveries of multiple items in a single delivery.
Q: When purchasing garbage pails or garbage bags, find ones that use recycled plastic (e.g. recycled HDPE trash liner bags instead of LDPE or LLDPE).

Operations & Procurement » Facilities / Janitorial

Q: Buy low or no VOC paints, coatings, adhesives, and sealants for surface coating projects.
Q: Replace aerosols with non-aerosol alternatives (such as pump sprays for fresheners and cleaners).
Q: When renovating, use eco-friendly flooring, such as CRI green label plus carpeting, CRI green label carpet pads, and floorscore certified flooring (bamboo, natural linoleum, cork, etc.).

Operations & Procurement » Office

Q: For shipping items, use shredded paper or corn starch pellets for packaging needs instead of purchasing styrofoam pellets, bubble wrap or other packaging materials; also, reuse, in your own packaging, packaging materials received.
Q: Purchase boxes and bags for retail use or shipping made from recycled paper or plastic (or reuse old boxes and bags).
Q: Purchase copy, computer or fax paper, letterhead, envelopes and business cards with at least 35% post consumer recycled ontent.
Q: Use recycled or remanufactured laser and copier toner cartridges.
Q: When purchasing new printers, buy ones with duplex capability.
Q: Where possible, use non-toxic waterbased markers rather than toxic permanent ink markers/pens.

Transportation » Fleet

Q: Carefully plan delivery routes and errands to eliminate unnecessary trips.

Transportation » Commuter

Q: Encourage commuter alternatives by informing employees, customers and others who visit your office about various transportation options (post bicycle route maps, transit schedules, commuter ride sign-ups, etc. in a visible area for employees).
Q: Have a bike kit for employees who may have bicycle emergencies or problems.
Q: Offer lockers and showers for employees who walk, jog or bicycle to work. Provide your own, or subsidize the cost of locker rentals and shower passes at a nearby health club.
Q: Offer secure areas for bicycle storage for both employees and customers.
Q: Provide a commuter van or offer a shuttle service to and from bus, train and/or light rail stops; or be located within walking distance of transit stop.
Q: Subsidize or otherwise incentivize employee purchase of hybrid vehicles.

Transportation » Business Travel

Q: Have written policy to use public transit or car share if possible when traveling from office in metro area.
Q: Use teleconferencing to cut down on amount of business travel.

Waste Reduction & Recycling » Policies

Q: Conduct a waste audit of your facilities.
Q: Donate or exchange unwanted but usable items (furniture, supplies, electronics, scrap materials, computer disks, etc.) to schools, churches, hospitals, libraries, nonprofit organizations, museums, teacher resource organizations, etc.; or enroll in a waste exchange program.
Q: Make it easy for employees to recycle by placing clearly marked collection bins in convenient locations. Post signs and/or train employees regarding recycling policies and procedures in the office.

Waste Reduction & Recycling » Paper

Q: Eliminate fax cover sheets by using "sticky" fax directory notes or use software that allows you to send and receive faxes directly from your computer without printing.
Q: Encourage employees to read, highlight and comment on documents on the computer screen whenever possible.
Q: If your facility still has an old printer without duplex capability, use only for single page documents and ensure multi-page documents are printed on duplex printer.
Q: Institute a policy that switches to electronic forms, eliminate excess forms and make paper forms more efficient.
Q: Institute written policy encouraging the use of the size reduction feature in photocopying (e.g. print two pages of book on one page).
Q: Keep a stack of previously used paper near printers. Use it for drafts, scratch paper or internal memos or designate a draft tray on printers with multiple trays.
Q: Maintain (and adhere to) a written policy of "green printing practices, including duplex printing, draft printing, and utilization of scrap paper.
Q: Minimize misprints by posting a diagram showing how to load special paper, such as letterhead.
Q: Purge your own mailing lists to eliminate duplication.
Q: Recycle (after full use/reuse) all paper products that your recycling vendor will accept.
Q: Recycle toner cartridges, cell phones and dry cell batteries.
Q: Return labels from duplicate mailings and subscriptions requesting all but one be removed.
Q: Where possible, reuse envelopes as both send and return envelopes: cover up old addresses and postage, affix new, and/or use two way or
Q: Write "refused" on unwanted first class mail and return to sender.
Q: Write to or call senders requesting removal from mailing list to reduce junk mail.

Waste Reduction & Recycling » Food & Beverage

Q: For catering and takeout, either use your own reusable dishes or encourage caterers to serve "family-style" in reusable serving dishes.
Q: In the lunch/break room, eliminate disposables (plastic utensils, coffee stirrers, paper towels) by using permanent ware (mugs, dishes, utensils, towels/rags, coffee filters, etc.)
Q: Recycle food and beverage containers (all glass, #1 & #2 plastic and aluminum containers).
Q: Supply water through a fountain, cooler or tap; eliminate bottled water.
Q: Use refillable containers of sugar, salt & pepper, half & half, etc. to avoid individual condiment packets.

Water Management » Interior

Q: Post signs in restrooms and kitchen areas encouraging water conservation.
Q: Regularly check for and repair all leaks in your facility (toilet leaks can be detected in tank toilets with leak detecting tablets. Train your staff to monitor and respond immediately to leaking equipment.