Page 124 - The Green Building Bottom Line The Real Cost of Sustainable Building

GREEN FROM THE INSIDE OUT 103

on paper (no pun intended!)—fully recycled content paper with only a 5 percent cost
premium over standard paper—did not work in application. The 100 percent recycled
content paper would not run through our copy machines. Indeed, if the copy job was
more than a few pages, half the copies would be ruined, resulting in more paper being
needed to reprint! This trial and error led us back to the 30 percent recycled content
paper we had been using, though we are still exploring paper options.
While some procurement results surprised us (each employee goes through one pen
per month, on average), we were right on track for others. Our use of 100 percent recy-
cled toilet paper, napkins, and facial tissues was the norm, as well as green cleaners,
recycled content trash bags and writing paper, and a significant reduction in battery
purchases since switching to rechargeables. We ended up with a fantastic baseline from
which to measure our progress in the following years. Decreasing paper consumption,
reducing per-person pen use to eight per year instead of twelve, etc., all result from
accumulating the relevant data and taking the incremental step to find more sustain-
able solutions. Don’t think clients won’t look to see if you use recycled materials—
not only on your photocopies, but also on stationery, marketing materials, and mailers.
In fact, one early change we made was to print our business cards on 100 percent recy-
cled content paper with soy-based ink. (You better believe that almost everyone we
hand a card to notices.)

MOVING FORWARD

You’ve audited your emissions, greened your procurement, started carpooling, cut
energy use and cost—what comes next? As mentioned, this chapter is neither a rigid
protocol nor an all-inclusive solution. In fact, it is intentionally an overview to help
organizations take the first steps toward a more sustainable future. We have not walked
far enough down the green brick road at Melaver, Inc. to even begin trying to offer
definitive advice for every situation.
We hope other steps we have taken regarding our partners and vendors will help
increase the ripple effect sustainability seems to have. Much like throwing a pebble
into a still lake causes waves to ripple outward to the shore, authentic acts of sustain-
ability often have far-reaching effects. For example, getting recycled content business
cards and letterhead meant working alongside our marketing partners and printing
companies to find solutions that conveyed our message in an environmentally respon-
sible manner. Our Savannah-based printer, Spanish Moss, now uses recycled content
paper and soy ink as the norm, instead of as a special order. That is just one example
of the ripple effect of sustainability.
If a small, thirty-person firm such as Melaver, Inc. can have this sort of impact on
partners, how does the ripple effect work for larger firms? Wal-Mart is redefining
many aspects of retail shopping—from how products are packaged and how fish are
caught to how goods reach stores and how supply chains are managed. Starbucks’ use
of recycled sleeves in lieu of double cups provides a quiet but persistent conservation
message. Do those ripples have an effect? You bet they do. In fact, they can change
whole industries.