Author Archive

Ed Avis

Ed Avis is a writer and editor in Chicago. His specialties include green technology, large-format imaging, and architecture. His work has appeared in Crain's Chicago Business, the Chicago Tribune, Your Money magazine, and many other publications.

This is a program run by the U.S. Green Building Council. The USGBC is non-governmental organization, with over 20,000 members and 79 chapters. Its sole purpose, to promote green buildings.

Here’s a simplified look at how LEED works. Architects, developers and builders who want their buildings to be green work towards getting LEED certification. LEED certification comes when they earn a certain number of points. Points are awarded when they meet certain goals in six areas:

Sustainable Sites – that means they choose the right place to build their building, and work to make sure their building fits the site. Frank Lloyd Wright would have approved of this one – he was known for making his structures fit into the site, rather than changing the site to fit the structure.

Water Efficiency – obviously, that they take into consideration water usage of the building. Using landscaping that doesn’t need too much water, planning ways for rainwater to be efficiently taken care of, maybe even finding ways to use “brown” water for plantings.

Energy and Atmosphere – that the building is energy efficient, doesn’t create of lot of air pollution, maybe uses solar panels.

Materials and Resources – LEED emphasizes using recycled materials and sustainable materials – such as bamboo floors instead of regular hardwood floors, kitchen countertops made from recycled glass rather than granite, and carpets made from recycled plastic pop bottles rather than from virgin petroleum, etc.

Indoor Environmental Quality – this means the air the occupants breathe is fresh, so they use paints with low volatile organic compounds, they use adhesives that don’t release noxious fumes, they put in more hard floors than carpets, and when they do put in carpets, they’re the kind that don’t have a lot of fumes.

Innovation and Design Process – this is a category that allows LEED points to be earned for going above and beyond the other requirements.
To learn more: http://www.usgbc.org

The Forest Stewardship Council is a non-profit organization that makes sure wood products bearing its logo come from properly managed forests and ecologically sensitive logging practices. The Council works with third-party auditors who track the wood products – including paper– from the forest to the consumer to make sure they are properly handled the whole way. Learn more about FSC’s paper certification process at:

http://www.fscus.org/paper/.

You might think your employees do their best because they need the paycheck. They probably DO need the paycheck, but an awful lot of slackers collect a paycheck and don’t care a lick about the work they do to earn it. Those aren’t the kind of employees you want. You want employees who care about your mission, and who come to work because they believe it’s a great place to work. How do you get your employees to focus on more than greenbacks? By focusing your business on the other kind of green – environmentalism.

A recent survey of over 4,000 people by the recruitment job site MonsterTRAK found that 80 percent of young professionals are interested in securing a job that has a positive impact on the environment. And 90 percent of the respondents said they would rather work for an environmentally friendly employer.

Consider how those statistics affect your recruitment. If 90 percent of your prospective employees would rather work for a green company, being green is going to make filling your openings much easier. If you’re competing with the other reprographics shop in town for the latest computer school graduate – or the experienced sign maker who just moved to town – you want every advantage you can have. Being green is a big one.

Why do your employees care? Because they want to feel that their work – even if it has nothing directly to do with the environment – is helping in some small way. If your firm is green, your employees will be proud to be part of the organization.

“Your company may produce widgets, but if you are socially responsible and contribute to the community, and you’re environmentally responsible and among the leaders in your industry at helping or protecting the environment, then people identify with that. It makes them want to stay a part of the company,” wrote Frank Alix, CEO of Powerspan Corp., in an essay titled Better Business Practices for a Better Environment.

A 2007 survey by Kenexa Research Institute backed up this idea. The survey looked at companies with strong “corporate social responsibility” (CSR) initiatives, which include environmental aspects, and found that employees were happier and stayed longer at companies with those programs.

“An organization’s CSR efforts also positively affect an employee’s personal outlook of the future, satisfaction with their job and confidence in the company’s future,” Kenexa reports.“Employees who rate their organization as having a strong CSR culture outscored those who view their company’s CSR activities as weak on each of these key indicators. Furthermore, employees who work in a strong CSR culture are more favorable toward their colleagues’ willingness to do the very best for the organization, and have more favorable views of their company’s ability to motivate people to work hard and put in extra effort.”

An energy audit is a great way to discover places for you to save energy – and money. The first step in an energy audit is to talk to your power company. Many offer free audits that attempt to weed out energy wasting habits. Second, consider energy management software. These programs track your usage and help you identify areas of waste. Take a demo of the Energy Lens program at: http://www.energylens.com

If neither of those steps satisfy you, you may want to call in a pro. Many consultants these days conduct energy audits that identify air leaks, wasteful equipment, places that need more insulation,and such. Look online under “energy consultants” to find one near you.