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Greater Philadelphia Green Business Program Celebrates One Year Anniversary
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The Pennsylvania Environmental Council celebrated the one year anniversary of the Greater Philadelphia Green Business Program, an initiative that commits area businesses to reducing the environmental impacts of their office practices.
PEC created the program with a committee of business leaders and promotes the program in partnership with the PenJerDel Council and others.
The Green Business Program started last March with 33 Charter member companies including Liberty Property Trust, Independence Blue Cross, Five Winds International, Duane Morris, CIGNA and Vanguard. Since then, the program has grown to nearly 100 businesses representing about 28,000 employees and at least 10 million square feet of office space.
The April 7th anniversary networking reception, hosted by new member Brandywine Realty Trust, celebrated current members and encouraged potential new members to learn more about the program.
"It is so easy being a green business," said Kristie Bergey of The KB Experience (Gold Member), who organized the anniversary celebration. "It takes thought and some changes in habits but the bottom line is that you are saving money. These days who doesn't want to do that!"
Participating businesses complete a checklist of green operational practices to achieve either Basic, Silver, Gold or Platinum rankings based on the number of practices they adopt. By making simple changes to daily practices, companies can significantly minimize their carbon footprint, and protect water, air and other natural resources.
"We hear a lot today about ‘going green' as simply a way to reduce gas consumption and save money. But for CIGNA, one of the most important reasons to strive for sustainability is that it provides us with a healthier environment for our employees and our customers," said David Cordani, CEO of CIGNA (Silver Member).
According to Waste Management (Silver Member), employees can be a powerful way to make the program fun and successful. "We initiated employee-ownership of sustainability initiatives within our offices, empowering our employees to make small changes that ultimately impact the environment, our customers, and our bottom-line," said Tara Hemmer of Waste Management.
There are a variety of office measures reflected in the checklist, including raising awareness of sustainability and environmental issues, reducing energy use, purchasing practices that minimize environmental impacts, recycling, waste reduction and improved water management.
"Our participation in the Green Business Program raised awareness of how our firm can reduce its impact on the environment. Our clients have also taken notice, and we've worked with quite a few on their own efforts to be more ‘green'," said Bonnie Barnett of Drinker Biddle and Reath LLP (Silver Member).
Companies often see the impact of going green on their bottom line. For example:
-- Brintnall (Silver Member) found that it actually cost less to buy 100 percent recycled copy paper than non-recycled paper;
-- RT Environmental Services (Silver Member) started renting equipment like data loggers and radiation detectors, which reduced their consumption, waste and cost while giving them access to the latest technology; and
-- Manko, Gold, Katcher & Fox (Silver Member) retrofitted their indoor lighting and saw a two year payback period that saved the firm $10,000 per year.
"As a 20 year old environmental and energy law firm, green business and sustainability have been a part of MGKF's culture from day one. The GPGBP gives us an excellent opportunity to learn from and share ideas on sustainable practices with many types of businesses and to benchmark and receive recognition for our green business activities," said Bruce Katcher of Manko, Gold, Katcher & Fox.
"This program is attractive because it offers a way for companies to easily take the basic steps to become a member, but is also challenging enough to encourage innovation and produce tangible changes within a company," Patrick Starr, Sr. Vice President of PEC (Basic Member).
Since the launch of the program, 58 companies have completed the checklist. Among the most widely reported green practices are:
-- Use green cleaning techniques and products, including low-toxic, biodegradable cleaners;
-- Supply water through a fountain, cooler or tap; eliminate bottled water;
-- Arrange your workspaces to take advantage of areas with natural sunlight, and design for increased natural lighting when remodeling (workspace within 30' of natural light);
-- Recycle toner cartridges, cell phones and dry cell batteries;
Some of the more challenging checklist items that few companies have reported include:
-- Be in a LEED-certified building and/or certify your space as a LEED Commercial Interior;
-- Make 50 percent of company fleet zero emissions vehicles; and
-- Install a rain garden to manage stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces (i.e. parking lot, roof) on your property.
For more information, visit the Philadelphia Green Business website.
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4/12/2010 |
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