The Case for the Sustainable Workplace

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7nnIvRixh4

“The list of green upholstery sources is growing…” – Gary Evans

“I think the green consumer is mindful that there is a lot of ‘greenwashing’ going on. Unless you can back up your claim, I’m not sure (consumers) are totally convinced that what they’re buying is really green” – Woody Williams

- environmentally sound or beneficial; usually refers to the long-term health benefits and/or

concerns attributed to an item.

• lower levels of anything that is typically considered to be harmful to humans, animals, or the environment

• biodegradable vs. disposable

• organically grown rather than genetically engineered or chemically altered

• can a Hummer be “green”?

• “green” cleaning products?

• whatever happened to “it’s not easy being green”?

- the capacity to endure; always refers to the resources affected by the production, use and

disposal of an item or product.

• reduction in use of raw natural resources extracted for new products

• implementation of resource conservation and preservation methods

• cradle to cradle vs. cradle to grave product life cycles

• does a resource have to be a raw material to be considered worthy of sustainability?

• natural rate of regeneration

• would I rather be “green” or “sustainable”?

On December 17, 2007, C.R. Laine officially made a pledge to the AHFA’s Enhancing Furniture’s Environmental Culture (EFEC) program. With the support of the AHFA and their guidance documents, the implementation of the program was a breeze. EFEC gave us the necessary tools to formally create an environmental committee to evaluate and scrutinize the processes of our company and the impacts that they have on our surrounding community. Our environmental committee consists of seven pro-active members of C.R. Laine’s managerial staff because we feel that the program must have the support of management in order to be successfully implemented and maintained. Once our committee was in place, we began analyzing every inch of our facility in order to establish a baseline for effectively setting our goals and initiatives for the first year of our commitment.

Our Commitment . . .

Step 1…Must complete the AHFA’s Enhancing Furniture’s Environmental Culture (EFEC) program. Evaluate all areas of environmental impacts, determine areas of weakness, and set achievable goals for improvement.

Step 2…Implement a process to effectively minimize your company’s environmental footprint through new methods of recycling, conservation, and waste reduction.

Step 3…Increase supply chain management by introducing a mandatory chain of custody program, in which all supplier must provide a detailed account of each product they provide to your company.

Step 4…Evaluate a baseline green house gas emission calculation for all corporate and manufacturing processes in acknowledgement of your effect on global climate change and research ways to offeset your company’s environmental impacts.

Step 5…Increase your company’s social performance among your employees, surrounding communities, suppliers, and even your competition and industry partners.

• In our first year of implementing the EFEC & SBD programs, we saved over $50,000!

• Just by simply turning off some lights, we decreased our energy usage by almost 20% since 2007! That equates to a savings of $12,000 in the last 2 years.

• Through new water conservation methods, we have decreased our water usage by 17.4%, which equates to over 81,000 gallons of water!

• Within the first six months of implementing the EFEC recycling program, C.R. Laine saved upwards of $6,000 by simply redirecting fabric scraps, leftover cardboard, excess paper and plastic wrapping, and wood blocks out of the waste stream. We’ve recycled over 75,000 lbs. of scrap fabrics, over 10,000 lbs. of cardboard, over 5,000 lbs. of paper/plastic wrapping, and over 4,000 yds. of wood blocks in the last 2 years.

• By recycling and duplex printing our office paper, we’ve saved over 300,000 sheets of paper. That’s over 40 cases of paper and a savings of over $1,600 in office paper alone!

• C.R. Laine has saved over 269 trees by recycling paper with Shred-it.

• Approximately 200 lbs. of aluminum cans and plastic bottles are recycled each quarter at C. R. Laine. That’s over 1,600 lbs. of cans and bottles recycled in the last 2 years.

All that sounds good, now….SHOW ME THE MONEY!

• Goals must be realistic and achievable.

• Everyone has to be invested in the program; managers, employees, vendors, everyone.

• The little things can add up to big savings.

• Make a comprehensive plan and take it one step at a time. Don’t invest too much time or energy into sweating the little details at first; look at the big picture and keep your eye on your long-term goals. Any improvement is still improvement.

• It’s not all about being green….it’s about becoming a sustainable, viable industry leader in order to ensure stability in any economy.

remember….

committed to preserving the resources of our world for future generations

Executive Marketing & Design Assistant Co-Chair of Environmental Committee

828.328.1831 ext.1127 sstine@crlaine.com www.crlaine.com

EFEC/SBD QUESTIONS?

Bill Perdue, VP of Environmental Affairs American Home Furnishings Alliance (AHFA) www.ahfa.us | http://sustainablebydesign.us