The Green Workplace

Al Gore is Kinda Cute

2008-07-18T08:48:00.004-04:00

I’ve always been a fan of older men. Today I fell for another one, Mr. Al Gore. Al (I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if I called him by his first name) came to DC to give a presentation for the We Campaign. Greenette sent me an invitation, so I clicked through, got my free ticket and headed off to DAR Constitution Hall yesterday along with my 3,699 best friends.

Al’s presentation was truly inspirational (click here for the transcript). With his slight southern accent and relaxed presence, I felt like he was talking directly to me about all the things I CAN do (even though I was waaay in the back). It’s always nice to hear what we CAN do versus things that cannot be done. It was also nice that there was a limited amount of politicking in the presentation (though there were some slightly crazy protesters outside).

Al’s concept was that the US move to use of entirely carbon-free fuel and electricity (bye bye petrochemicals and coal!) within TEN years. His inspiration: JFK’s similarly ambitious dedication to putting a man on the moon in ten years (we did it in just over 8). His arguments for why this is possible were quite compelling: the US has vast renewable resources including sunlight, wind, and geothermal. All of which can be tapped at a relatively low cost, particularly when compared to skyrocketing economic and environmental costs for oil and coal. His arguments for why we HAVE to do it were equally compelling: environment, economy (hello job creation!), national security (no more borrowing money from China to pay Saudi Arabia).

The one thing missing was behavioral change: all this is good, but we need to think about our own personal choices. How do we reduce demand for fuel/electricity? How do we drive less? How do we plan better?

Overall, great presentation Al. I’ll be sure to let my hubby know he has some competition.

Lost...in...Spaaaaace

2008-07-17T09:13:00.000-04:00

I was clicking through Planetizen's newsletter from last week and ran across an article I found worth sharing. The article, "Getting Stuffed" was featured in Macleans Magazine.

The focus of the article is on American's obsession with stuff...and our need to store it, particularly as it relates to the self-storage units. The author also relates the self-storage boom to the increase in housing foreclosures.

The article made me think about office practices (as well as personal junk storage, of course). In the effort to reduce real estate costs and make offices closer to paperless, many companies have turned to off-site archiving solutions. These are great solutions as some files absolutely need to be kept for legal or other reasons; however, there is not a need for regular access of these documents. Off-site storage allows these files to be stored in preferable environmental conditions, as well as in lower-cost real estate.

My question is, how much of the stuff we store in archives do we actually need to keep? The answer is, probably not as much as we thought when we were cleaning out our desks. Perhaps companies need to think about doing an annual "archive purge" in addition to the regular office clean up. This could benefit not just the company (lower storage costs), but also the environment (more paper into the recycling stream, fewer needs for new storage facilites, to name a few).

Companies also need to be more stringent in what employees are allowed to send to storage. At my office, as long as I fill out the forms, I can put pretty much whatever I want in my boxes. Yes, we do have archiving protocols, but not everyone knows them and those who do don't necessarily follow them. Since we don't archive THAT much stuff, there's also not significant cross-checking of what we're archiving. I'd guess lots of companies operate similarly.

How much have you thought about your archived files? What needs to be there? What should have been recycled? What did you need to keep for only a few years?

Lightbulbs to Leadership

2008-07-16T11:31:00.000-04:00

I love the latest Sierra Club campaign... Lightbulbs to Leadership. They are launching a fun but earnest movement to encourage a "night of action" for green job development. From their press release:

"On July 17th, the campaign will culminate with more than 110 Lightbulbs to Leadership House Parties across the U.S., where people will listen in on a national conference call featuring Green For All President Van Jones, Washington State Gov. Christine Gregoire, and Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope. Attendees will then write letters to their governors encouraging green job development. House parties planned in your area can be found by clicking on the “Find a House Party” button and entering your local zip code from the Lightbulbs to Leadership site."

Check out their video below:

Want to Learn about Energy?

2008-07-15T10:05:00.002-04:00

Go to Green Energy TV... They have a collection of fantastic videos that talk about various types of alternative energy and how they can be applied. http://www.greenenergytv.com/ Each of the videos are short and will really capture your attention. It's like HGTV for energy... very addictive!

One of my favorites was the first video about wind by T Boone Pickens. He shows where solar and wind energy is available in the US and breaks down stats about America's dependance on oil and how we can kick our habit.

Are Carbon Offsets for Real?

2008-07-14T10:49:00.004-04:00

Whenever I buy an airplane ticket or reevaluate my electric bill, I think about purchasing carbon offsets...but my dad's skepticism has worn off on me a bit. I wonder if the companies selling these are serious legitimate businesses, or just some guys with a snazzy website. Luckily for me (and you), there are now companies that certify carbon offsets.

One such agency is Carbon Concierge. The Carbon Concierge has established some provider evaluation criteria, including:

Business and Project Transparency
Offset Quality
Project Location and Offset Traceability
Industry Leadership
Business Model and Program Services Ratio
3rd Party Evaluation
Education
Social Benefit

These criteria have helped the Carbon Concierge develop a list of preferred offset providers. At this time, they recommend the following:

While this does not replace doing your own due dilligence, it's nice to know that there are groups out there verifying the legitimacy of offset providers.

Image source: Business Day

Your Water Footprint

2008-07-12T22:17:00.013-04:00

A friend asked me today about the environmental reason for "preserving water." For those if us in big East Coast cities, water appears plentiful. We use this potable water, it moves through municipal systems, is treated, and available again as potable water after a certain amount of time. Why all this focus on capturing rainwater and minimizing potable water use? Can't we just continually clean and reuse it?

Though we both knew there was a flawed logic in this, we had trouble explaining it. After a little research, I think I get why saving water is important for our planet. Here's the logic. Much of this info pulled from savewater.com.au.

1. We don't have much fresh water to start with. First off, of all the water in the world, only 3% is fresh. Less than one third of 1% of this fresh water is available for human use. The rest is frozen in glaciers or polar ice caps, or is deep within the earth, beyond our reach.

2. More people over time will be using a limited amount of fresh water. Global water consumption has risen almost tenfold since 1900, and many parts of the world are now reaching the limits of their supply. World population is expected to increase by 45% in the next thirty years, while freshwater runoff is expected to increase by 10%. UNESCO has predicted that by 2020 water shortage will be a serious worldwide problem. One third of the world's population is already facing problems due to both water shortage and poor drinking water quality. Effects include massive outbreaks of disease, malnourishment and crop failure. In addition, excessive use of water has seen the degradation of the environment costing the world billions of dollars.

3. "Embodied" water requirements are increasing. Embodied water is not the water you drink, wash your clothes/dishes with or flows through your toilet, but the amount of water used during the growing, processing and transportation of the goods we use or consume, or the services we use. As an example, it takes 37 gallons of fresh water to produce 1 cup of coffee or 4,227 gallons of water to produce 2.2 pounds of beef.

4. The need for increased water consumption can have significant negative environmental impacts. For example:

Building more dams. This has severe environmental effects such as destruction of wilderness, creation of greenhouse gases from rotting vegetation, altered stream flows and degraded ecological health. It’s also very costly.

Maintaining other infrastructure for water supply and use. This includes costly upgrades and maintenance of pipes, sewers and treatment facilities. Three feet of storm water drain costs about $2,000 to install.

Erosion, salinity and desertification. Water consumption for agriculture alters the natural water cycle. This degrades production areas and intensifies other environmental problems such as land clearing and desertification. Salinity is said to directly cost Australia over 1.5 billion dollars a year, but true figures are probably a lot higher than this.

Degradation of water bodies. Many of our rivers, wetlands and bays are degraded. This is partly due to the high levels of water extracted, as well as polluted surface runoff and storm water flushed into them.

I know there has been a lot of buzz about carbon footprint lately, but honestly, I think we may suffer a clean water crisis before anything else. You may already measured your carbon footprint, if so, kudos. Now it's time to take your water footprint. Go here: waterfootprint.org

I just used the quick version of the calculator and it says that my water footprint is 4,347 in cubic meters per year as an average meat eater in the U.S. The global average is 1,243. What can I do to drastically reduce my consumption? One way is to become a vegetarian! Here's the breakdown of water consumption by food type.

The other significant way to reduce my individual water footprint is to move to Tanzania. See the Institute for Water Education's Water Footprints of Nations to see your country's per capita footprint (and other data).

But if you're an American and a meat eater who doesn't plan on giving up being either, start with taking some steps at home. Try this site for tips on saving water in the kitchen, the laundry, bathroom, in your pool and elsewhere. And share what you learn with others (and this blog).

T-shirt for your thoughts. . .

2008-07-09T10:14:00.004-04:00

A reader recently approached The Green Workplace for some recruiting ideas. We thought it would be a great opportunity to open a discussion that would benefit all of our readers. The benefits don't stop there, however, we will give away 100% organic t-shirts for the best ideas you post to the discussion!

Question: Our company has really strong environmental policies and is actively recruiting for a number of positions. We really want to reach candidates who think Green. Our company gives free bicycles to employees, recycles, uses organic materials in production, and the roof of our factory is covered in solar panels. So far, these programs haven't really become the selling point for applicants that we anticipated. Do you have any advice?

Answer: Your current employee base is always going to be your most potent recruiting tool. Think of things they may choose to discuss about your company while at happy hour, at Thanksgiving dinner or while they are chatting with another parent while watching a Little League game. Are your green policies going to be among the headlines?
Here are some other ideas that are likely to prompt personal testimony:

Implement flexible schedules, like 4 day work weeks or part time work from home
Inspire some teams to start desk sharing or working anywhere
Consideration of video conference as an alternative to business trips
Reduce quantity of office equipment by increase the ratio of employees to printers or removing select computer monitors

Readers: Please let us know what you think! Submit your ideas by posting your responses and send me an email with your mailing address, t-shirt selection and size if you wish to claim your 100% organic t-shirt.

Japan's Zero Emission House

2008-07-08T17:15:00.005-04:00

Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has unveiled its “Zero-Emission House” in parallel with the Hokkaido Toyako G8 Summit that is currently taking place.

This prefabricated house exhibits robots that serve tea to guests, a washer that requires no water, an air conditioner that sends cool air towards people in a room rather than general empty space, and a wind-turbine generator and a photovoltaic system which produces about 15 kilowatts of energy a day.

The structure has great insulation, natural aeration to maintain dry conditions and is designed with the seismic technology, SHEQAS, to mitigate damage due to earthquakes.

The waterless washer is a three-in-one machine that uses high-powered air to wash clothes without water. The process known as "ozonation" uses about twice as much electricity as a regular wash, but only one-fifth the total energy of a comparable full wash and dry because it operates without a drying system.

Additionally, there is a solar-powered TV, a roof-top vegetation system comprised of a thin film of moss grown on tile plates attached to the roof of the house which can also be fitted and grown alongside solar panels.

Very cool.

Commuting at $4 a Gallon...

2008-07-07T16:46:00.004-04:00

..is a real burden for many! While increasing gas prices and environmental considerations are encouraging many to get off the road, some companies are finding ways to help their employees with this goal.

Last week, the Seattle Times had an article, "Employers Going Beyond Requirements for Commute Alternatives," that discussed how some employers are giving additional incentives to employees to get off the road:

Transit subsidy (T-Mobile)
Shuttle service (Microsoft)
Transportation counselors (Children's Hospital & Regional Medical Center)
Telework (Entellium)
Bonus for biking (Mithun architecture firm)
Zipcar (Safeco)

What is your employer doing for you?

Image source: 808oasis

Pay as you Drive Insurance

2008-07-04T20:50:00.004-04:00

Progressive Insurance is now offering "pay as you drive" or PAYD insurance. Progressive will put a little tag on your car and it knows how often you drive - which, in combination with your safe driving record - determines your premium. Here are some potential benefits from our friends at Wikipedia:

Commercial benefits to the insurance company from better alignment of insurance with actual risk. Improved customer segmentation.

Potential cost-savings for responsible customers.

Social and environmental benefits from more responsible and less unnecessary driving.

Due to the 24/7 aspects of vehicle location, it enhances security - both personal security and vehicle security. The GPS technology could be used to trace the vehicle whereabouts following an accident, breakdown or theft. [1]

More choice for consumers on the type of car insurance available to buy.

The same GPS technology can often be used to provide other (non insurance) benefits to consumers,e.g. satellite navigation [1]

Social benefits from accessibility to affordable insurance for young drivers - rather than paying for irresponsible peers, with this type of insurance young drivers pay for how they drive.

What interests me about this is the potential companies have to encourage green behavior. Think about it. If you drive less, you not only save gas, but also your premium. For some, this may be enough incentive to get them to bike or walk to work one day a week. It may also encourage parents (paying those big premiums) to encourage their children to drive less. If this product is successful, Progressive will win kudos for setting a new standard for risk mitigation in their industry and for changing their customer's behavior. Wow, that's pretty powerful.

So what other behavior changing ideas are out there?

Image from BBC News

State of Utah Moving to 4-Day Work Week

2008-07-03T19:54:00.005-04:00

I had the great pleasure of meeting Governor Jon Hunstman (R) from Utah today. An inspiring man on many fronts (he speaks fluent Mandarin and adopted two abandoned babies from China and India for a start), but I was particulaly inspired by his credible commitment to the environment. One of his most recent initiatives is to transition all state employees to a 4-day work week (4 ten-hour days with Fridays off). This will start full time in July and his team will be measuring the economic and environmental results at the 1-year mark. There are many logistics to work out (daycare for employees, etc.), but the benefits he sees are numerous:

1. With this one chnage, state government buildings in Utah will reduce energy consumption by 20%.
2. The state will be more likely to recruit smart, young people looking for work-life balance jobs.
3. They are more likely to retain staff - it's a perceived "bonus" by most to have three day weekends all year.
4. They will be able to provide better service to their constituants (they are open earlier and later Mon-Thurs, so better able to support working moms and dads).

If roughly 17,000 employees across an entire state can take on alternative work hours, how hard can it really be?

For more info: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25518225/

Wikis in the workplace

2008-07-02T03:24:00.002-04:00

This week I read a very interesting article in Newsweek that I wanted to draw your attention to.

Here is a summary of the full article for you:

The United Nations, notorious for endless deliberations, is trying a technological quick fix. Its Global Compact Office, which promotes corporate responsibility, has embraced the wiki in hopes that it will help staff in 80 countries share information and reach consensus with less deliberation and more speed.

It is debatable whether encouraging public input is a good way to increase efficiency, but the move is the latest example of a quickly growing trend. Wiki software—easy-to-use programs that let anyone with Internet access create, remove and edit content on a Web page—first gained popularity thanks to Wikipedia, the user-generated encyclopedia that has come to be hailed as one of the Web's greatest resources. Now the technology is increasingly spreading outside the world of tech geeks and into the mainstream, being adopted by workplaces, corporations and even governments. In what's been dubbed the "wiki workplace," a growing number of organizations have begun shifting from traditional hierarchical structures to self-organized and collaborative networks, using wiki software—a basket of technologies that include wikis, blogs and other tools—to foster innovation across organizational and geographic boundaries.

Executives say the new tools make it easier for teams to collaborate and share information, and to get projects up and running on the fly. "Collaborative software has become a very important part of how businesses will invent and innovate," says Ken Bisconti, IBM's vice president of messaging and collaboration software. IBM has used internal wikis since 2005, with an eye to selling the concept to its clients. IBM has incorporated the wiki and other collaborative software into its corporate products like Lotus Notes, a desktop software for accessing e-mail and other applications. Its most advanced tool, the Quickr 8, combines blogs, wikis and plug-ins called "connectors" to link a range of business documents and libraries. Meanwhile, governments and

NGOs are, like the United Nations, experimenting with using the wiki concept to collaborate within—even involve constituents in policymaking. Sixteen U.S. intelligence agencies have begun using a common wiki called Intellipedia, a government-run—and top-secret—information-sharing source that allows them to merge research and intelligence gathering. And the nonpartisan WikiCongress—a user-generated Capitol Hill founded by former U.S. congressional staffers—lets the public vote on bills, create petitions and propose new policy, and then forwards the results to legislators.

"Wikinomics" coauthor Don Tapscott says wikis have the potential to spawn new models for international problem solving and dialogue, increase transparency in government and open communication between citizens and policymakers. Consider Habitat Jam, an open conversation that was hosted recently by the nonprofit Globe Foundation in preparation for the third session of the World Urban Forum, a gathering of leaders to discuss the impact of global urbanization.

See the full article for more details.

Green Furniture for the Home

2008-07-01T23:12:00.005-04:00

I recently was asked for sources for green furniture for the home. I'm mostly familiar with commercial products from our friends at Herman Miller, Teknion, Allsteel, Steelcase, Knoll, and the like. Though many of these companies have products that are available to individuals, they do have a distinct modern look - not necessarily everyone's taste. Here are a few goodies I found that range from the sublime to the ridiculous. My favorites are the beds from Environment-Furniture and the Target tables (last link from Inhabitat).

http://www.inhabitat.com/category/furniture/
http://www.environment-furniture.com/
http://greensofas.com/
http://hautenature.blogspot.com/search/label/furniture
http://www.sprig.com/home/furniture/
http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/09/03/back-to-school-targets-economical-eco-furniture/
http://www.vivavi.com/
http://www.greenerlifestyles.com/
http://www.thewoodenduck.com/v2/home.html
http://www.woodshanti.com/
http://www.ifgreen.com/
http://www.greenculture.com/
http://www.viesso.com/viesso/home.php

The future for coal power stations: renewable energy production?

2008-06-26T15:58:00.005-04:00

Battersea Power Station in London was decommissioned a quarter of a century ago. It was the first in a series of large coal-fired electrical generating facilities set up in England. For those of you who are not familiar with London, Battersea is very centrally located, just across the River Thames from Kensington & Chelsea. The first part of the structure was built in 1939, but since the early 1980s the site has remained largely unused, with numerous failed redevelopment plans from successive site owners.

The building is the largest brick building in Europe and is notable for its original and lavish Sir Giles Gilbert Scott Art Deco fittings and decor. In fact, the building is Grade II* listed but the condition has been described as "very bad" by English Heritage. The site has been owned by Real Estate Opportunities (REO) since November 2006, after they purchased it for £400 million.

REO have made waves in the UK press this week by announcing their plans for the future of the Power Station as... a Power Station! But the difference is, this it will generate electricity from renewable sources rather than coal. It will once again be used to produce power with a new combined cooling, heat and power plant, but this time using biofuels, waste and other renewable energy sources. Two of the existing Power Station’s chimneys will be reused as flues for this new Energy Centre.

The site will also be developed to incorporate 8 million square feet of hotel, office, residential and retail accommodation. REO propose that alongside the existing Power Station there will be a new building, designed by Rafael Viñoly, which will be the cleanest and greenest building in London. A 300 metre high Chimney and Eco-Dome will dramatically reduce carbon emissions of the 38 acre £4 billion development. Additionally, the largest solar driven natural ventilation system ever conceived will eliminate the need for air conditioning for the commercial and ground floor retail accommodation.

The Chimney will also house apartments with panoramic views over London. The Battersea Power Station development will be home to around 7,000 people and up to 20,000 new jobs will be created. More than 3,200 homes will be built on the site and 2,500 jobs will be created during the construction phase.

The Chimney will draw air up through a campus of individual office buildings which will be covered by a transparent Eco-Dome, made of material similar to that used at the Eden Project in Cornwall. Up to 3,000 cubic metres per second of air will be drawn through the system on a sunny day, reducing energy demand in the buildings by 67%.

REO is planning to spend £150 million on saving and repairing Sir Giles Gilbert Scott’s Power Station, with the key historic spaces retained and open to the public. It will be the single largest development site in central London. It is planned that construction work will start in 2012 and the development will be completed by 2020 – depending on the speed of the planning process.

My Company's Carbon Footprint

2008-06-22T19:15:00.011-04:00

The firm I work for has just completed measuring it's carbon footprint for 2007. The results? Most of our impact is our travel. Our employees are using alternative travel when we can, we're greening the buildings we occupy, but the real impact of our carbon footprint is the air miles our 2,500 people spend traveling across the country and the world. Alternatives to this? We're starting to use Polyvision Thunder rooms and Cisco's Telepresence systems where we can. We're also taking the train rather than flying. Even still, there are major cultural shifts that will need to happen before we change our "need" to meet face to face with our clients. We're not saying no when we're asked to fly across the country for fear of losing the job. We're a global company and we pride ourselves in our ability to be anywhere we are needed. But is that the right answer? Here are some 'win-win' negotiation tactics for minimizing all those trips with your client:

$4.50 / gallon is driving our travel expenses sky high. Perhaps we consider saving our face to face meetings for key meetings only. Would you be willing to try new technologies in this project and work virtually for some meetings?
What if I take the time I spend on the road and use it towards working on your project?
The environment is very important to our company and we've committed to reducing our carbon footprint. Would you be willing to partner with us in this effort and reduce the number of trips we all take in this project?

LOHAS and Greenwashing

2008-06-22T18:39:00.006-04:00

I learned a new term today: LOHAS. Lifestyles Of Health And Sustainability. It speaks to the rapidly growing consumer market for sustainable products and services.

Unfortunately, the article that gave me LOHAS also gave me bad news on the greenwashing front. Natural Marketing Institute (NMI) did a study on LOHAS market trends and found four main themes:

From Purchaser to Participant
Sustainable Style
Shades of Green for Everyone
Greenwashing Washout.

The fourth topic is what struck me the most: essentially, many companies are doing the right thing and trying to provide environmentally-responsible products and services. Sadly, many other companies are more opportunistic and are providing products that are fooling consumers. Consumers are, however, becoming more discerning, which is encouraging!

Here are some sources to check out if you have some time:

Are You Experiencing "Greenwashing Washout"? (Source article from GreenSage E-Zine)
NMI Report (available for a mere $4,000 - no I did not buy it either, just giving you the opportunity to if you are interested)
LOHAS Online

Image source: www.groovygreen.com

Garbage Gasification

2008-06-20T23:36:00.000-04:00

Ok, I'll admit it, I am secretly a 12-year old boy. I was drawn to this article because of the word "gasification." Immature, yes, but also useful - due to my slightly warped sense of humor, I learned about a cool new technology: "The Prophet of Garbage" (found in Popular Science magazine) disusses an invention about the size of a two-car garage that basically vaporizes trash of all sorts to create energy.

According to the magazine, here's how it works:

Startech´s trash converter uses superheated plasma-an electrically conductive mass of charged particles (ions and electrons) generated from ordinary air-to reduce garbage to its molecular components. First the trash is fed into an auger that shreds it into small pieces. Then the mulch is delivered into the plasma chamber, where the superheated plasma converts it into two by-products. One is a syngas composed mostly of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, which is fed into the adjacent Starcell system to be converted into fuel. The other is molten glass that can be sold for use in household tiles or road asphalt.

Pretty cool technology!

Livestock in the City?

2008-06-19T21:51:00.001-04:00

Someone sent me this adorable picture of a boxer dog and a goat kid a while back. Since I'm a boxer mom, I've been trying to talk my hubby into getting our boxer his own goat. Needless to say, it is not going so well.

That is, until I read this article: "Herhold: Sheep, goats get down to grass tacks." It turns out that some people are looking to livestock as the landscapers of the sustainable future. GREAT idea. Not only do they cut grass, but they fertilize it too!

I remember my grandmother letting the sheep loose on her farm to take care of the yard...but apparently this is less unusual than I'd expected. Here are a couple of other sources:

Unfortunately for me, grass mowing is MY job, not the boxer's dad's job...so he sees no benefit to goats in my house. Maybe I can talk my boss or some of my clients into one for the office?

Time for a Hybrid?

2008-06-18T21:35:00.003-04:00

With the price of gas crossing $4 a gallon (I paid $4.14 last time I filled up), lots of businesses and individuals are seriously considering trading in their fleets/cars for hybrid vehicles. Is it the right thing to do? This article in the Wall Street Journal argues that the answer is….maybe.

There are a number of reasons it’s a “maybe” – not the least of which is that a new car is a new car, and it’s wasteful to get something new manufactured when something old will do. Some of the other arguments include:

It depends on how many miles per year you drive (the average American is 15,000 per car per year)
Priuses cost $22K (that’s for the low-end model)
You’re not going to get much money back for your trade-in, especially if it’s a guzzler
Other small cars get pretty good mileage too…especially compared to your SUV!

All this said, I have a Prius and I love it. Not just for the gas, although that’s a big plus since when I calculated out the cost of getting a Prius vs. a similar-sized car, I was calculating gas at $2.50 a gallon. At $4+, I'm doing much better than I expected. The car is roomy, easy to drive, kinda cute, and my dog likes that it has a big back seat all for him. Of course, it does have a big old blind spot, but I’ve figured out how to work that out. For me, it was the right choice...but is it the right choice for everyone?

The 100 Thing Challenge

2008-06-17T19:31:00.003-04:00

I’m travelling on business for a couple of weeks and was trying to be efficient in packing up my suitcase. While on the plane, I read an article in Time Magazine, “How to Live With Just 100 Things.” I guarantee I packed more than 100 things for my trip - even just socks and underwear for two weeks bring me close to 30!

This article discusses America’s obsession with consumerism. How many things do we actually need? Far fewer than we have, for certain. Anyone who has moved to a larger office (or home) knows that it fills up immediately with “stuff.” Some of it is necessary or desirable, but a lot of it is just because we have room to store it. When you have a tiny workstation (or apartment), it does make you think twice about what you actually need.

My workstation in the office is 36 SF – pretty tiny by any standards, but it suits me well. I have a pedestal with two drawers, two filing cabinet drawers, and two shelves. It is more than enough, and forces me to regularly recycle or archive my old files.

In the article, Dave Bruno has challenged himself to have only 100 things (personal items) to live successfully. When applying this to business, I wonder if I could do it….despite its small size, my desk still has a good number of things (grouped below by category rather than thing) – I don’t think I make it even close to only 100 things!
1. laptop computer, docking station, monitor, power cord, mouse
2. external hard drive, jump drive
3. files
4. pens, pencils, markers, highlighters
5. notepads, post-its
6. binder clips, paper clips, rubber bands
7. reusable water cup
8. desk phone & headset
9. cell phone & charger
10. books
11. drawer full of personal items (lotion, shout wipes, splenda packets, contact solution, etc.)
12. snacks (mostly diet cokes & granola bars)
13. tissues
14. vendor freebies
15. recycle pile, trash can
16. work bag, lunch bag, gym bag

How does your desk add up?

Corporate Social Responsibility and the Workplace

2008-06-15T23:01:00.003-04:00

When it comes to incorporating social responsibility or sustainability in the workplace, it’s not just about creating a green building or complying with green building code; it’s about creating healthy and productive workplaces for people while increasing social and shareholder value for the organization.

The 100 Best Corporate Citizens list (from Corporate Responsibility Officer Magazine) ranks firms based on how well they perform in eight categories: shareholders, community, governance, diversity, employees, environment, human rights, and product. Their scores draw on both financial information and measures of corporate social performance. Here's my take on how the workplace can support these social performance categories:

Shareholders
Use minimal infrastructure resources to maximize shareholder value (minimize total amount of real estate needed which in turn impacts energy use, water use, cleaning, etc.)

Community
Accommodate safe business practices that don’t negatively impact their surroundings.

Create a desirable environment which supports local recruiting.

Governance
Adopt operational policies and protocols in support of a healthy and productive work environment.

Diversity
Accommodate a variety of work styles and work functions through flexible work settings, furniture, technology and training.

Employees
Design an environment is healthy and productive (access to natural light, visual stimulation, access to nature, etc.)

Support work-life balance through alternative work policies (work at home, desk sharing, etc.)

Environment
Implement transportation demand management strategies in place to minimize carbon footprint (public transportation incentives or rebates, bicycle or other personal transportation accommodations).

Design a workplace that is highly flexible and adaptable, accommodating organizational change and minimizing construction impact.

Human Rights
Create work policies and practices that ensure a safe and healthy environment

Products
Building materials, furniture and all products used in the workplace are safe, non-toxic and reusable if not easily recyclable.

Beautiful but Disturbing: Waste Art

2008-06-13T08:36:00.003-04:00

Image above depicts 11,000 jet trails, equal to the number of commercial flights in the US every eight hours.

A colleague sent me to Chris Jordan's website, "Running the Numbers: An American Self-Portrait." This site uses photography to show a specific number of something (such as number of plastic bottles used in the US every five minutes). The photography is beautiful, but the statistics it portrays are incredibly disturbing. Take a look and be astounded!

Sustainable Style

2008-06-10T06:55:00.003-04:00

I have just come across this fantastic website for very stylish sustainable interiors and apparel and I thought I should share it with you. This is particularly relevant for the interior designers out there... Here's the link: http://www.sustainablestyle.org/

The Green Workplace of the Future

2008-06-09T09:18:00.001-04:00

What does the workplace of the future look like? Better question... what is the nature of work in the future? Right now, most people associate work with an "office" or a single physical space where they do work. But with technology, we no longer need to be tethered to one place. In fact, for many knowledge workers, they are almost never in the office anyway (they just don't like to admit it). So, if we're completely untethered, how would we like to work? I'm willing to bet it wouldn't be in a place like this:

Microsoft says it should look like this. But I think that's a software company's dream. I mean, it looks like an environment made for computers, not people. Very sterile.
My idea of the perfect workplace? How about something like this...
It's one of the quietest places I've ever been and a short commute from my house… the Library of Congress Reading Room. Now that's a workplace that is inspiring and very condusive to working on heads-down tasks. Or how about any other library for that matter.

How about when I need to collaborate? How about a place like this?
You’re probably thinking… So you’re talking metaphorically, right? Actually, I’m not. Using libraries and cafes or other public or private spaces available to us could really be an individual or team choice. Do we even need an office? Or if we have one, perhaps it's much smaller, as we only need it to collaborate, use special equipment or regularly connect with our colleagues from time to time. Given the wide variety of choices we have to work in truly people-centric, productive places, why would we ever choose to sit in a Dilbert cube again?

Shoppers - the new eco-energy supply?

2008-06-08T05:09:00.003-04:00

I have been reading in The Sunday Times (UK) this morning that "the footfall of trudging shoppers is to become the latest source of emission-free energy".

Using under-floor generators, the technology could use the footsteps of pedestrians to power thousands of light bulbs at shopping centres. It uses the pressure of feet on the floor to compress pads underneath, driving fluid through mini-turbines that then generate electricity, which is stored in a battery.

The Sunday Times reports that engineers have carried out a trial of this technology at Victoria Underground station in central London, and have calculated that 34,000 travellers passing through every hour could power 6,500 light bulbs.

The article goes on to explain that the same principle can be applied to harnessing energy from trains moving over railway lines. But the most relevant application of this technology for this blog is the possible application in new office buildings.

Here is a link to the original article.