Steps for Greening your business: Did you know that according to the US Green Building council and the department of energy, In the United States buildings use one third of our total energy, two-thirds of our electricity, one-eighth of our water consumption? Here are some simple strategies for Greening your business. Karen Storey

1.    1. Create a “green” business checklist. For example: Think about the cleaning products that you use.  How many people in your company use the same phone? How many germs/viruses are transmitted through this mouth piece to others in your office? (colds, flu, strep, staph, etc…) www.greenseal.org has a list of various products you can use from hand soap to floor strippers.

2.    2. How much paper do you use? Is it from recycled products? Many stores now offer 100% recycled paper for sale from tissues, to bathroom paper, to writing paper. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 40% of our landfill space is from paper alone! How much is this costing us in our community in taxes and land resources?

3.  3. hat type of lighting are you using? According to the US Department of Energy, roughly 25% of our energy cost is from the lighting that we use and 90% of this is wasted energy in the form of heating our indoor air. You save roughly $1/bulb replaced/year. Replacing one incandescent light bulb with an energy-saving compact fluorescent bulb means 1,000 pounds less carbon dioxide is emitted to the atmosphere and $67 dollars is saved on energy costs over the bulb's lifetime according to www.epa.gov

4. Do you have your computers, printers, office equipment on smart power strips? Using a power strip to power off office equipment reduces energy costs and saves on green house emissions. Are you using “energy star” (www.energystar.gov) appliances and office equipment? This can save you as much as 30% on your utility bills and many come with tax incentives!  www.EnergyStar.gov  

5.    5. eview your utility bills. Did you know that installing a programmable thermostat, according to the US Department of Energy (www.doe.gov) saves roughly $100/year on utility costs.  Shade trees can reduce your reduce your air conditioning bill by upto 75% according to www.Epa.gov

6. 6. Many federal tax incentives can be found at www.energystar.gov, and state tax incentives can be found at www.dsireusa.gov. Lots of incentives for commercial properties!

7. 7. What is the indoor air quality of your building? Did you know that 70% of the dust/pollution you bring in on your shoes? (think about where you walked before coming in‼) When painting, use paints with low VOC (volatile organic compounds). Most paint and hardware stores carry these. Just ask for them. 20,000 lung cancer deaths per year are contributed to radon exposure. (www.epa.gov ). Has your building been tested for radon gas?

    8. What is your water use? Low-flow aerators on faucets cost ~ $20 and save ~ 60% water!  One leaky faucet drip will cost you approximately $1/month until you get it fixed.

    9. What type of plants do you use in your landscaping? Xeriscaping is the practice of using local/native drought resistant plants in place of exotics. Using periwinkle instead of grass for “hard to mow” areas not only saves water, and reduces fertilizer use but saves in labor mowing costs and reduces greenhouse emissions. Did you know that using peace lilies and spider plants in your indoor office spaces actually cleans your air?

    10. More Fertilizer is used for lawns in the U.S. than is used to grow crops in all of the third world countries combined. Fertilizer runoff contributes significantly to storm water pollution. Storm water does not go into water treatment facilities. It percolates through the soil where we grow our food, getting into our ground water which runs into aquifers, streams, rivers, ponds, lakes, and eventually to the ocean.

THE MORAL OF THIS STORY FROM KAREN STOREY, IS TO REDUCE, REUSE, AND RECYCLE ALL THAT YOU CAN. PROTECT MOTHER EARTH AND IN RETURN SHE WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN.

    Karen Storey is the Owner of Peakland Consulting, Inc. An environmental education company based in Winston-Salem, NC whose mission is to facilitate companies in creating and sustaining best business practices regarding how to “walk the Green talk” in their everyday business and lifestyle choices. To book Karen as a keynote speaker or for a “green” workshop, contact Karen.