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This category covers a broad range of aspects including waste management, environmentally preferable purchasing, recycling of specific products, compostable containers, third-party certification, duplex printing
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The Problem of E-Waste...and the AnswersMay 15, 2013A week ago Sunday, I was on a long-distance flight between the coasts. I picked up the New York Times and settled into my seat, happy for the time to read it cover to cover. I have a habit of scanning for environmentally-related news or articles, and I came across a piece written by Leyla Acaroglu in the Opinion section entitled, “Where Do Old Cell phones Go to Die?” As the author puts it, “The answer isn’t pretty.”
The article paints a disturbing picture of young children in third-world countries sifting through e-waste and burning it to extract metals and inhaling smoke from burning phone casings to get to the plastics that they can sell to recycling merchants. Women bend over hot lead baths cooking computer boards so they can remove slivers of gold. It’s not hard to find videos and pictures on YouTube.
Americans replace their cell phones every 22 months on the average, and the vast majority of them and other outdated electronics are put into the garbage can along with general waste rather than recycled. Between 2006 and 2010, 89% of all cell phones were thrown away. Sixty percent of old computers are trashed, 67% of monitors, 90% of mice and keyboards, and 83% of televisions. All in all, electronic dumping added up to nearly 10 million tons.
The article goes on to note actions that have been proposed and are being taken around the world to deal with the problem of e-waste. There is a bill in Congress, but it’s not been put to a vote. The US remains the only industrialized country not to have signed on to the Basel Convention, a treaty that makes it illegal to export or traffic in toxic e-waste. Still, there is progress. Some manufacturers are shifting to a different business model that makes it possible to sell products with prearranged return and recycling services to exchange old units for new ones. Xerox, for example, has successfully implemented this for photocopiers.
What can offices do to increase recycling and proper disposal of e-waste? There are resources to find local e-waste recycling services. California state government has a website that provides information about e-waste recyclers in every county. Anyone can tap into this, public or private, to locate local providers. Click here to get started. New York state has a similar website for information. Click here for the link to NY. If you’re in Washington State, this website will guide you to where to dispose of e-waste. I suggest you Google your state or locality to find listings of e-waste recyclers. Our office holds an annual e-waste event and employees can bring their e-waste to work and they can drop it off. Need to dig deeper? Try the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries to get help and information about service providers in your neck of the woods. |
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Buying Into the Green Supply ChainMay 8, 2013One of the first blogs I wrote for GreenWorksGov was about the importance of early success for green teams. Pick the low-hanging fruit in your office to get attention, support, and results for the program. Typically, this means starting or expanding recycling programs, establishing a policy for two-sided printing as the default on printers and copiers, or lowering energy costs by turning off lights and appliances when not in use. There are so many no or low-cost steps to take at the beginning that are visible, environmentally friendly, and carbon-reducing.
As green teams gain traction and set their sights on more advanced measures for bigger impact, it’s no surprise that we look outside our buildings to business partners from which we buy goods and services. We and consider the content of the materials, but also sourcing, packaging, transportation and shipping, and disposal practices. New terms and terminology come into play, such as “life cycle analysis” and “the green supply chain.” Whoa. Now we’ve moving into uncharted waters and the concept of sustainability in all its full meaning, well, takes on more meaning, and significance.
A good primer I found for environmentally preferable purchasing was published by the California Department of General Services and has been transformed over the years into a Buying Green website and buying guide. The primer is an invaluable reference tool. It describes the key environmental impacts of a commodity and explains what is meant by terms such as life cycle assessment and “cradle to cradle”, or C2C, where waste from one process is input to another. Think a plastic water bottle’s waste being transformed into a t-shirt. Yes, it’s true.
Recently, I found a special report published by the Wharton School, “Greening the Supply Chain: Best Practices and Future Trends”. It discusses what leading businesses are doing to lower their carbon footprints in the manufacture, delivery, and sale of products. The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania is the world’s first collegiate business school. The Wharton-led, Penn-wide Initiative for Global Environmental Leadership (IGEL) “promotes knowledge for business sustainability through world-class research, transformative teaching and constructive dialogue between top alumni, academic, corporate, government, and non-government organizations.”
This report is a fascinating read. Large corporations such as Walmart and Xerox are completely rethinking their operations, in part as a result of regulation, but also because they see the real opportunity to save money by reducing waste in their product manufacturing and transport to market and to increase profits by improving their brand image. Consumers resist spending more for “green”, but recent innovations throughout the supply chain are replacing old practices with sustainably manufactured and delivered goods that are price competitive. This is a boon for government buyers, to be sure, who have been challenged to find environmentally friendly goods at the lowest price, a core principle in government purchasing. |
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My Green Apps, Courtesy of the EPAMay 1, 2013Today’s blog picks up from a website I wrote about last week. It’s not uncommon that in the course of writing one blog, I’ll discover material or information that leads me the subject of another. Just so it was when I checked out a “Law Technology News" article that led me to EPA’s My Green Apps. The EPA describes the site as a repository of 230 applications to “help you understand and protect the environment.” It’s even more than that! My Green Apps is like a green app think tank, a place to offer ideas for apps, to share existing ones that should be included on the lists, and a place to evaluate proposed apps for further development. App developers, novices and professionals alike, can even access EPA data resources to develop new green apps or build on existing ones.
The list of green apps that are free or at nominal cost to users is organized along categorical lines and platforms, e.g. transportation and Apple, or games and Windows. In addition, you can search for apps that relate to education (86 apps with info on climate change, calculators, geography), energy, health, and communities (which has a natural resources emphasis). One nifty convenience is that when your cursor hovers over the name of the app, the EPA has a pop-up that gives a short description of the app. You can fairly quickly go through the group of apps and choose the ones that interest you. I observed that there’s a good spread among the platforms—web, Apple, Windows, Android, and Blackberry. And many of the apps are free. Finally, you can "Like" an idea for an app so the developers know what the public wants.
Today is GWG’s 181st blog. I plan to pull out a cork when we hit 200. I know this is the 181st blog I’ve written, because I periodically count them up so I won’t miss the Big 200. I think it’s worth noting, especially at numbers 181, or 162, or 215, or any numbered blog beside an anniversary date blog, that GWG reflects the idea that sustainability is a journey, not a destination. There is not going to be an end to the story, a final blog, or a last step. Stewardship of this planet we call home is our job in our lifetimes, until we hand it over to the next generation.
I’ve experienced this every time I come up against a deadline for writing the next blog. Usually, I write ahead of schedule, but occasionally I’m running behind. For a few moments I feel a bit adrift, wondering what if I can’t think of something useful to write about. Then, it comes to me. I recall a website I’d bookmarked, an article I had read, or an issue I’d researched that was ready to be written up. It never fails; there is always something to write about when it comes to sustainability.
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A Dozen Ideas to Put to WorkApril 24, 2013GreenWorksGov sprang from my interest in sharing my experience in the California Department of Justice/Office of the Attorney General starting up our Green Office program. Also, I’d encountered resources that accelerated our learning curve and successful accomplishments, and I wanted to share them in hopes of building a community of knowledge about what works and what doesn’t and a forum for exchanging innovative ideas. Law Technology News (LTN) is a resource I’ve tracked to stay informed on the latest trends in legal technology and how those trends and new developments intersect with the green agenda.
The April 12 issue of LTN features “12 on 12 Ideas to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint”, by Monica Bay, editor-in-chief. This article is of interest to everyone. The twelve ideas include environmentally- friendly steps that law firms and others have taken, equipment and technology solutions that save energy, individual actions adopted at home, and websites that deliver knowledge about environmental issues and focus on sustainable practices. The article delivers a lot of good material in a short amount of space. Thanks to “12 on 12…”, I learned about a site hosted by the Environmental Protection Agency, My Green Apps, that provides over 230 web and mobile apps to understand and manage carbon emissions. The apps cover the categories of education, games, energy, transportation, health and communities. I checked out the 25 apps for transportation and came across Waze, a traffic and navigation app that allows drivers to share real-time traffic and road info, saving fellow drivers time, gas, and emissions on their daily commutes. There is a lot to discover on this website, and GWG will dive in with more particulars about My Green Apps next week.
If you work in a legal environment, you probably are familiar with Law Technology News. It’s a must-read publication for tech-savvy lawyers, CIOs and IT staff, and law office administrators. Add to this list sustainability officers who will read informative and helpful articles throughout the year that will generate discussion of ideas and examples of business practices and solutions to help lower carbon footprints. |
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Harvard's Crimson is Turning a Green LeafApril 17, 2013If you are looking for a template to quick start your green office program, head to Harvard’s green office website, where you’ll find numerous resources you can adapt for your workplace settings. Sustainability at Harvard was established in 2008 with the purpose of implementing the university’s goal to achieve by 2016, a 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions below 2006 levels. Harvard’s program encompasses all aspects of university operations, facilities, and academics. Faculty, students, and staff are supported by numerous programs and opportunities to get involved and help Harvard become more sustainable.
According to Harvard’s website, “The Green Office Program provides information, outreach materials, and fact sheets to help offices use less resources, purchase green products, and lessen their carbon footprint.” The program’s web pages are easy to navigate and offer offices and their green teams a roadmap to success. Want to green-up the kitchen? Get ideas and tips here. Find more green practices for purchasing, waste reduction, energy, printing/publication, recycling, and transportation.
I really appreciate Harvard’s Green Tip of the Month resources, which are posters and emails for each month of the year. It’s updated annually with pertinent facts, upcoming events, and a green tip to implement at work or home. Click on the month and the user can print a pdf poster to print or share and an email that conveys the monthly message and info. Join Harvard’s email list to get the tip of the month and updates and news.
Harvard’s Sustainability Pledge, which is a great idea to pair up with Earth Day, a plant sale, or lunchtime green topic presentation, serves to invite staff to make or renew a commitment to sustainable working and living. Also, it is in the form of a checklist, so it is a crash course all by itself on the things one can do to lower their carbon footprint.
Four levels of green office certification allow for early recognition of start-up efforts and achievement for offices which have adopted advanced and comprehensive green practices. I like this stepped program, because it reflects an understanding for the reality that some offices will come along slower than others, yet everyone’s progress merits applause.
Finally, if you’re looking for a sample presentation for new employees or an outline of your program for a lunchtime seminar, check out Harvard’s PowerPoint presentation that you can tailor to your office’s needs.
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