Earth Day brings green business practices to lightApr 22 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Brook Stockberger Las Cruces Sun-News, N.M.
The week of Earth Day has arrived. There are steps businesses take to be more environmentally friendly. "I am a manager at Sitel and we make every attempt possible to be paperless," said Zack Robert Spring via Facebook. "We have a company-wide recycling policy," said Elisa Cundiff with Energy Concepts Las Cruces Joey Gallardo with Las Cruces Fitness and Lifestyle said that he works on ways to conserve water by using hand towels instead of larger ones -- which cuts down on the washing -- and offers hand sanitizer that can be used to limit the amount of hand washing. English Bird, executive director of New Mexico Recycling Coalition, has told the Sun-News that companies can help themselves by monitoring what is thrown in the trash. "The first thing they can do is take a look at what they are throwing away," she said. "And then look at ways to reduce that." By throwing away fewer items, companies can begin to reduce operating costs. As for a goal, business operators must figure out what they want to accomplish and what is attainable. "First off, set short and long-term goals," Bird said. "Say for this year you want to recycle all of your cardboard and paper. And in five years you want to reduce your waste by 50 percent. This will require planning properly, training staff, measuring where you are now so you know where you are headed." Bird asked: "Even issues like in the office: Do you use paper cups that you throw away?" The average office worker uses up to 500 disposable coffee cups per year, according to the eco-news Web site RiverWired.com. If employees use cups and mugs that can be washed and reused, the money spent on temporary cups can be eliminated. "It needs to become an economic driver so businesses learn they can save money," Bird said. Bird said companies can utilize duplex copy machines that allows papers to be copied on both sides of a page. "They can encourage employees not to print everything," she said. Bird's organization offers the ability for people to search for different recycling options for each county in the state on its Web site, recyclenewmexico.org. Bill McCamely is business development manager with ROJO Apparel. He said the company aims to help with its products. "Our biggest contribution is options for our customers," he said. "For instance, for people concerned with natural products we offer organic shirts. And for those worried about shipping and what the effect it has on the world's carbon situation, we offer Made in the USA shirts." Cundiff said her company, which sells solar systems to customers, practices what it preaches. "Our head office is completely off-grid," she said. "We completely power our office with solar power, and heat it with solar-thermal water tubes. We also have a huge underground rainwater catchment system that provides our office with water for most of the year." Brook Stockberger may be reached at 575-541-5457; follow him on Twitter @Bstockberger http://www.energycentral.com/functional/news/news_detail.cfm?did=28322825 |