Thanks for the great suggestions on how to green the office through an Earth Day party. I do have a few questions though. I've recently been asked to do an environmental audit, poll employees on how green they are and come up with a way to get them to be...well...greener. I was wondering if anyone could give me advice on the following:

How to do an environmental audit.

What questions to ask my fellow employees (so far I've come up with daily transportation and how many electronics are on/plugged in in their offices)

How the heck do I persuade my fellow colleagues to be more eco-friendly?

Thanks, everyone!

~NickieC

Wow, I had never heard that term and I love it- so yogic... we are all permatemps.  So "Be Here Now"ish.... We thought our species was just plain Perma but our whole species is permatemp.... Finally I can get some cards made up.... [My Name Here] Permatemp....

There are books on this topic, surely. However in the interest of helpfulness I'd suggest (not knowing how your company is organized)

Review products that your company is selling, find out how much green content they do or don't have. Compare to others in the field who are setting the pace toward sustainability.

Review usage of paper, water, electricity. Ask for info from those who have it. Divide by number of employees, shifts, and/or number of widgets that your staff produces.  Attempt to see if those numbers may be improved or optimized for efficiency and resource savings.

Check the lighting in the building. Is it on when folks aren't there? Is it the most efficient type? T-8 fluorescent tubes are better than fattter old style T-12 lighting. Is the light where it's needed, or willy-nilly?   I think over 50% of lighting in offices is wasted.

Check the cleaning supplies. Are they green or toxic?  Share the info.  Paper towels in bathrooms? are they recycled content?  How about the copy paper?  Look for post-consumer content asa high as possible.

Accept that seeking sustainability is a continuum we are all (hopefully) making progress on, not a destination to arrive at and put your feet up at.  Celebrate progress in big and small ways.

Extra credit:  Examine the company policies toward sustainable lifestyles and health. Do they promote bike commuting, walking at lunch, clean air initiatives and recycling?  

Recycling at most workplaces sucks and can be greatly enhanced.  It's the first step on a road toward sustainability.  Make it fun and consider a contest with prizes!

Note: the old way of doing environmental auditing merely loooked at whether a company was in minimum compliance with environmental laws.  The new way seeks to make environmental sustainability ingrained in the corporate culture. If that can be done, everyone wins!

This is to NickieC.

I've recently run up against the fact that many if not most people feel threatened by the idea of  making their ecological imprint known. There is a fear of being judged, there is a certain amount of guilt that gets stimulated, there is resentment at being forced to go public with what feels like a private matter.  (Consider it analogous to asking both skinny and overweight persons to keep food logs and let everybody see them)

If you can come up with any way to make the polling anonymous, use it.  Or at least don't plan to go public with any individual results.  

As for getting people to green up, I like Umbra's suggestion of getting a baseline, making it public within the company, translate it into tons of carbon or something else that can be visualized, and get the whole company to lower the footprint. That will get people involved in peer pressure in a positive way, rather than a competition that will lead to gloating on the one hand and cringing on the other.  The success of the company as a whole can then be celebrated (party! party!), and new ideas for beating the new record can be generated by the group.  I can see people really getting into it, expecially if it's a techie crowd.

For the audit you'll want to get the company's electric and heating bills.  Make a count of how many "disposable" cups, dishes, whatever, are used in a month, and see how much it can be reduced.  

For travel, there can be privileged parking places set aside for carpoolers with 3 or more riders, some kind of bonus for bikers and/or walkers.  A company I once worked for paid for (half the cost of?) monthly bus passes for employees who would use them rather than drive.  

The main thing, if you want people to get on board, is not to create a judgmental atmosphere.  The resentment, etc. can take you all where none of you wants to go.  

Mary G

This is to NickieC.

I've recently run up against the fact that many if not most people feel threatened by the idea of  making their ecological imprint known. There is a fear of being judged, there is a certain amount of guilt that gets stimulated, there is resentment at being forced to go public with what feels like a private matter.  (Consider it analogous to asking both skinny and overweight persons to keep food logs and let everybody see them)

If you can come up with any way to make the polling anonymous, use it.  Or at least don't plan to go public with any individual results.  

As for getting people to green up, I like Umbra's suggestion of getting a baseline, making it public within the company, translate it into tons of carbon or something else that can be visualized, and get the whole company to lower the footprint. That will get people involved in peer pressure in a positive way, rather than a competition that will lead to gloating on the one hand and cringing on the other.  The success of the company as a whole can then be celebrated (party! party!), and new ideas for beating the new record can be generated by the group.  I can see people really getting into it, expecially if it's a techie crowd.

For the audit you'll want to get the company's electric and heating bills.  Make a count of how many "disposable" cups, dishes, whatever, are used in a month, and see how much it can be reduced.  

For travel, there can be privileged parking places set aside for carpoolers with 3 or more riders, some kind of bonus for bikers and/or walkers.  A company I once worked for paid for (half the cost of?) monthly bus passes for employees who would use them rather than drive.  

The main thing, if you want people to get on board, is not to create a judgmental atmosphere.  The resentment, etc. can take you all where none of you wants to go.  

Mary G

Thank you so much for answering my question Umbra! I will definitely make an eco-tips sheet -- if they can hang hygiene tips in the bathroom, some recycling tips by the copying machine should be ok too. I will mention the power-use & recycling ideas to the office manager also.

@NickieC: Carbonrally.com might have what you're looking for. It lets you measure the impact of individual and group actions online.

As for my office party idea, going to the park was way too ambitious, even with the lone vegan & the holiday-cubicle-decorator on board. It would've been great to have a pinata.

The new party plan is to: (1) hold a cd/dvd/book swap; (2) collect batteries, cell phones & gadgets for recycling; (3) have a green-themed quiz contest -- the winners will be forced to take an extended lunch break, away from their monitors; (4) serve vegan treats & hope people talk about environmental issues.

We just have to walk into the president's office & see if he approves. Thanks again!

@karenc: lol, i've never thought of it that way. 'permatemp' is usually said with a sigh and rolling eyes.

Earth Day should be an international holiday on which every one does, consumes, as little as possible. Nobody goes to work. If people do gather, they walk there. No electricity is used. Ideas about what else we could do without doing damage?

Earth Day should be an international holiday on which every one does, consumes, as little as possible. Nobody goes to work. If people do gather, they walk there. No electricity is used. Ideas about what else we could do without doing damage?

I wonder if anyone knows which number is the "important" one to pay attention to on the bottom of the Nalgene water bottles.  My bottle has a number 7 inside the recycling triangle and then it also has a number 4 on the bottom - just as large font as the other and just on its own.  Anyone know?
ds