Help clean up the Phl by starting your own office green team

(Part II of New Jersey way of cleaning up the community)

We may be a Filipino who has never done anything extraordinary before, but we can help change the state of the Philippines. Everything we do, from the way we wash our clothes, to how we clean our house, to the kind of car we drive can either make our country a better or worse place in which to live. By making small but substantial decisions about the things we do, the goods we buy, and the laws we support, we can make a better life for ourselves, while helping to ensure our country is fit for the future.

Today, good business and environmentalists are no longer on opposite sides, instead both are looking for ways to keep their country clean and healthy. The environmentalists recognize that everyone in business have considerable influence over what happens to the environment. Each has a say in decisions that directly affect the state of the Earth… and about the way people feel about taking care of it. Therefore, we must hold industry and government accountable for the many actions they take. However, if we expect others to be accountable, then we must be held accountable too, starting with our own lives.

Green teams for environmentally responsible corporate citizens

The book, “Save Our Planet,” by Diane McEachern provides numerous ways we can help clean up the environment – whether in the offices, schools or communities. Being an “environmentally responsible corporate citizen” gives us a competitive advantage in the marketplace for years to come.

If we are serious about our company’s commitment to protect the Earth in general and keep the Philippines clean in particular, we will need people in-charge of the effort — a group we can call the Green Team. If we are starting a recycling program, or if we want to switch to environmentally responsible packing materials, the Green Team can research and implement the change. If employees have a question about new eco-policies, the Green Team can act as a liaison between management and workers. They can also be responsible in making sure energy and water is conserved at all times.

Volunteers are best, or companies may draft Green Team members by assigning them the responsibility and making it part of their job description. A cross section representing different departments and levels can comprise an effective team. The goal is to make sure everyone in the company has access to at least one Green Team member. Someone from top management should be included to demonstrate the organization’s commitment to achieving stated goals.

Getting started and going public

The first order of business should be an environmental audit, so priorities can be set. When the Green Team is organized, the rest of the company should be involved. We have to be ready for some complaints because not everyone will be sympathetic to the effort. With the blessings of top management, a company-wide meeting can be arranged at which the Green Team members are introduced and people are given a chance to ask questions. Feedback should be given to employees by the Green Team with posters, newsletters, etc.

Environment research on fast-food chains

Since 50 million Americans lunch out every weekday, the food service institutions create 33 percent of America’s municipal wastes – almost 20 million tons a year. If half of all American company canteens reduce their trash by just 10 percent, 650,000 tons of trash a year could be eliminated.

In the Philippines most fast food chains fill up with hungry people almost 24 hours of the day. Thus, our municipal waste likewise reaches millions of tons yearly. Whenever possible, we must opt for re-usable plates, cups and silverware. When we have food delivered to our meetings, we should ask restaurants to “hold the disposable” and use our own utensils. Re-using and re-cycling save resources.

On personal mugs and ‘copy-holics’

A common company give-away would be a ceramic mug with a company logo on the side. Not only is it reasonable at P45 per mug, it is also useful. If an employee were to use styrofoam cups for a year, assuming only one cup is used per day, it would cost P700. The mugs will definitely pay for themselves in less than one month. Besides, if 10 million people used their own ceramic mugs in the office, five billion cups could be eliminated from the landfills.

We Filipinos are known copy-holics. According to an expert, the average 100-person company uses about 378,000 sheets of copier paper a year. That’s a stack of paper stretching nearly seven stories high. Since O.B. Montessori headquartered in Greenhills employs 255 personnel that has access to 129 computers, presenting an ideal computer usage ratio of 2:1, our total paper output is doubled. Therefore, it is imperative for us to re-use, reduce, and re-cycle. One of the ways we do this is copying on both sides of the paper. We also keep a collection box next to the machine for discarded bad copies with a sign asking employees to use it, so the copies could be recycled. This is an on-going practice at O.B. Montessori and it has proven to be an effective aid to cost-saving.

Similarly, “I’ll fax it to you” has become as much part of any business. Faxing uses less energy than other methods of sending documents by eliminating the need for envelopes, labels and stamps. It is how we fax that make the difference. Unfortunately, standard fax papers are generally none recyclable. They come in expensive rolls and it fades. We can buy a fax machine which uses plain bond paper, and use Post-it-fax transmission stickers placed on the first page instead of a full cover sheet.

Solve the traffic problem with a carpool or a vanpool!

Bumper to bumper traffic wastes an estimated three million gallons of gasoline a year. If we’re concerned about the effect of cars on the environment, and we can’t take the public transportation or we don’t have access to it – join a carpool or a vanpool. We must get our companies to support it. The Green Team can set up carpool or a ride-sharing program by matching riders and drivers who live within a few kilometers from one another. This can be done by placing a large map on the bulletin board and have employees pin their names and phone numbers to their neighborhoods on the map. Then the information can be posted and distributed.

The mechanics of a vanpool can involve a company-owned van or a double-capacity “FX” for groups of employees to use. Employees pay their own gas, maintenance, insurance and even their driver if needed. This will de-load the major roads of vehicles and thus, limit traffic. Besides, the payoff from a double-capacity vehicle can be expected considering the daily demands of the commuters.

Turn off your computers

Up to 70 percent of computers and related equipment inside offices are left on all the time. Because of the heat needed to fuse images onto paper, laser printers and photocopiers are especially big energy users, even on stand-by mode.

Because laser printers use up 20 percent more energy during printing than ink jet printers, we have limited their use here at O.B. Montessori to our Registrar’s Office and the Bookstore. The rest of the offices, like the Administrative Services which is comprised of 14 offices, and the Academic and Support Services made up of 12 offices, all use ink jet printers; for even on stand-by mode, these printers consume 99 percent less than the laser ones. We also print in draft mode instead of normal mode, saving us on ink consumption by as much as 50 percent.

Turning off office equipment that is not in use saves us up to 90 percent of the energy it consumes. If not used for at least 15 minutes, we can use a built-in power management program that automatically pause our computers to conserve energy during coffee or lunch breaks. Master-switched power trips to ensure that peripherals (printers, monitors, external drives, etc.) are turned off too. Plugging printers and copiers into a time switch ensures that they are turned off after working hours.

Cool aid

Companies try to keep its costs low, as well as the temperature since it takes a lot of money and energy to keep things “cool.” An inefficient cooling system can use as much as 20 percent more energy than a well-tuned one. Most A/C systems use the refrigerant Freon, which is an ozone-destroying chlorofluorocarbon. When the system isn’t properly maintained, CFCs can leak out.

The system must be checked annually, while monitoring CFC leaks and other malfunctions. Using shades, blinds and other window treatments should also be considered. Most office windows aren’t just sheets of glass. In itself these can be an energy system that controls the flow of hot or cold air that comes in from outdoors. Sunlight coming through a window produces heat. The air conditioning used to remove it consumes electricity. Installing reflective film over as many windows is a big help in conservation. If half of all business air conditioners were maintained at peak efficiency, we could save enough energy to drive a car around the equator an estimated 1.5 million times.

Let’s all get into the ‘cleanup’ act

While it is true that the above office discipline will certainly help save energy and resources all over the country, progress usually happens a whole lot faster when an entire community bands together to help clean up the Philippines. The pace picks up even more when local government gets into the act, bolstering citizen ingenuity with money, resources and, in some cases, credibility.

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