HOW GREEN IS YOU WORKPLACE?

Colorado companies, communities green up for the greater good

Ten years ago the above question would probably have related to the color of your office walls. Today it has a lot more to do with the kind of paint on the walls and the color of the bins you use for trash. Companies that thought they were hot stuff for recycling the volumes of paperwork in a day’s span are now looking at options to go paperless. New office buildings are much more apt to include solar energy, hybrid transportation, energy-efficient lighting, green cleaning products and recycled materials incorporated into everything from carpeting to ceiling tiles.

It seems like everyone is getting an award for going green these days. Boulder continues to duke it out with Aspen for the greenest of the green. Boulder snagged the EPA’s Environmental Achievement Award for its “Keep It Clean Partnership,” while Aspen counters with an astounding figure of 75 percent of the city’s electricity coming from renewable resources.

Fort Collins encourages local businesses with its Climate Wise program – companies that participate receive technical assistance and promotion for their commitment to the environment. Climate Wise reduces greenhouse gas emissions by promoting waste reduction, efficiency, alternative transportation, conservation and pollution prevention.

Just about every Colorado community is turning a new shade of green. Telluride recently adopted an ordinance requiring all residential construction, additions and remodels to comply with green building regulations. The code covers four categories: energy efficiency, indoor air quality, recycled materials and resource conservation.

So companies are following in their communities’ footprints. Denver-based ProLogis, the world’s largest owner, manager and developer of distribution facilities around the world, has partnered with Energy Star, a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. The program protects the environment through energy-efficient practices and products.

Ball Corporation, headquartered in Broomfield, might as well have green as its middle name. Environmental awareness was a subject in Ball boardrooms long before it became the hot topic. The company has found and continues to explore “ways to reduce our own environmental footprint while providing a safe and healthy environment for our diverse workforce.” Ball has done things like reducing the weight of aluminum beverage cans by more than 40 percent – and steel cans by 50 percent since 1970. Package operations not only include recycled materials in energy-efficient surroundings, they also have reduced the greenhouse gas potential in their production. Ball Aerospace has pioneered the development of sophisticated satellites and instruments that help NASA and other organizations monitor and measure global climate change.

Hewlett-Packard has set an impressive goal by the end of 2010: to recover (reuse and recycle) 2 billion pounds of electronic products and supplies. The company recycled nearly 250 million pounds in 2007, a whopping 50 percent increase over the previous year. HP’s innovative Telework program saved an estimated 2.5 million round-trip commutes in one year, avoiding 65 million miles of road travel and nearly 28,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide. A big proponent of solar and wind energy, HP’s solar power installation in San Diego, is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 1 million pounds per year.

Workplaces come in all sizes – and it’s not just the big guys contributing to environmental awareness and change. A small hotel in Boulder is the first Zero Waste Hotel with allergy-friendly rooms and chlorine-free pool and Jacuzzi. That little dry cleaners on the corner switches to biodegradable materials for a cleaner world. The furniture maker sees new potential in someone’s castoff sofa. The local landscaper designs beautiful spaces that have no thirst. The point is to contribute something – the combination of efforts will pay off in a cleaner, healthier, greener world.

What we’re doing

The Denver Newspaper Agency is also doing its part for the environment. In addition to producing newspapers printed on recycled paper, we have also made strides to be green within our workplace.

• Recycling picked up three times a week by Denver Waste Management
• Recycling bins in all departments
• Departments use post-consumer recycled paper for printing
• Eco-friendly Sylvania lighting used throughout building
• Herman Miller Mirra chairs in department cubicles are 96% recyclable
• Herman Miller Ethospace System used in cubicles contain 100%
recyclable steel frames. In whole, the system is 78% recyclable
and is comprised of 32% recycled materials
• Novitas sensor-controlled lighting system in offices (automatically
turns off lights when no motion is sensed in room)