Eco-Office Gals» green steps

Guest Post: Businesses Making the Solar Choice

Jen — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:47:59 +0000

[This is a guest post by Adrian Phillips, a renewable energy expert from Southampton, UK]

Governments across the globe are now introducing incentives to encourage a bigger uptake in solar panel installation and other renewable energy forms. But it’s not just homes that are now making the solar choice. In fact, solar panel installation is becoming ever more prevalent in commercial buildings and offices too.

CIS, Manchester, UK

Leading the way in example setting is the Co-operative Insurance Group who, in 2005, unveiled a solar masterpiece. The CIS tower in Manchester, UK was (until recently) the tallest building in Manchester and remains the second tallest today. It is the CIS headquarters and, more impressively, is one of the most eco-friendly buildings in the world. It has 4989 solar photovoltaic panels on it, generating enough electricity annually to power 61 three bedroom houses for a year! This cuts down CIS carbon consumption by 100 tonnes every year. Bravo, CIS!

The Kaohsiung Stadium, Taiwan

This impressive stadium in Taiwan generates 100% of its own electricity needs through solar photovoltaic panels. That’s a 50000 seater stadium running entirely off solar power! And the business brains behind it were certainly in overdrive when they came up with a plan to profit while the stadium is not in use. Its 8400 solar panels generate enough 80% of the power needs for the surrounding area too. So when the stadium is not in use, the power is sold back to the power companies and used to run the villages nearby.

Juwi Headquarters, Germany

Germany has a deserved reputation as a green nation. The country is the world’s solar power leader and its reputation is upheld by its businesses too. The Juwi headquarters is widely considered to be Germany’s most energy efficient building. The office block, located in Worrstadt, houses offices, leisure and sports facilities and dining facilities. The entire roof of the complex is covered in solar photovoltaic panels, seeing to it that the building can generate its entire required power supply. Add to that the incorporation of biomass fuel and extra insulation methods and the building is perfectly eco-friendly!

The Solar Ark, Japan

The Solar Ark is Sanyo’s creation and is an impressive solar panel covered ark shaped building housing a visitor centre, environmental issues educational centre and museum. The building uses 5000 solar photovoltaic panels, generating half a million KWh of electricity every year. Another ingenious and green initiative by Sanyo.

One thing you’ll notice about these example of businesses using solar energy, is that they are all huge companies with money to spend on such installations. But I in no way believe that it’s only the big companies doing their bit. What about you and your small business – what green steps are you taking?

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Guest Post: Businesses Making the Solar Choice

Labor Day: Confessions of a Non-Green Summer

Jen — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 13:58:16 +0000

Labor Day, the symbolic end of Summer. For me it’s good riddance. This has been one Summer I will be happy to forget! Between Abby’s toe, the construction field continuing to struggle, and way too much more to burden my readers with. All in all, it is best to be forgotten.

As a result I have seen my green efforts slack. In an attempt to annihilate the staph infection that plagued my baby girl, I brought many harsh chemical back into the house. My recycling efforts diminished, maybe not 100%, but it’s not where it was. Composting, eating organic… forget about it! Eco-Office Gals has suffered, posts have been less frequent, Flaunt It Monday… sporadic at best.

This past couple of weeks all of the lack of discipline and misfortune of Summer finally took it’s toll on me. I couldn’t get off the couch for days. Call it a mix of stress, depression, allergies, poor eating habits, too much soda & sweet tea, not enough water, and every other thing I can inflict on myself. I was just plain miserable!

Now let me say, I’m not a push over by any means. I have taken every obstacle thrown at me this Summer and I came out standing, I never gave up. However, I didn’t take care of me and my surroundings. So, moving out of Summer changes are a must. Here are my goals for Fall:

Eat healthier, more organic and fresh
Less soda & tea, more water
Phase chemical cleaners back out of the house
Pick up my recycling and composting efforts
Manage my time better, reduce waste of my own energy
Renew life into Eco-Office Gals Posts
Stop letting those reusable bags collect dust in the laundry room!

So, why confess to my readers, clients, family, friends & the spammer just trying to sneak his link into my posts? Accountability, how can I sit here encourage you to green up your act when I am not practicing what I preach? I can’t. Period. I started Eco-Office Gals with the desire to have my readers take my green steps with me. I’m not an expert and I’m far from perfect. However, I can look around and see what I can change and do something about it. So, that’s where I am today… you with me?

photo credit: John Loo

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Labor Day: Confessions of a Non-Green Summer

2009 Revisited

Jen — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 14:28:58 +0000

What? No it’s only March, but I thought we could take a look back at where we have been so far this year, a little accountability? At the end of last year and beginning of this year I had a series of posts to help my readers and I green up the new year. Some of them include:

I DID get a reusable coffee filter and I love it, after asking around I went with the gold tone mesh it was about $5, about the price of 2 packs of paper coffee filters. It has a five year warrenty and can be thrown in the dishwasher or rinsed, how easy was that??

Composting hasn’t started yet. Buster (our outside dog) usually got all scraps so it wasn’t a huge deal. Unfortunately, he was hit and killed by the mail lady the other day. It was sad to stand in the kitchen with leftovers last night, he was about the ugliest and stupidest dog I ever came across, but part of the family no less.

Doing better with my bags, but there is still room for improvement.

Eco-Office Gals business directions were to be more organized. I have gotten a little better with this, but once again there is room for improvement. Flaunt It! Monday has grown in popularity and I am so happy to see people respond so well to the great green companies I bring to them.

I wrote my first post for 5 Minutes for Going Green last month and I have also become the South Carolina Green Parent Resource for The Green Parent. By the way, The Green Parent is looking for a Green Parent for each state, so if you’re interested, fill out her form. I have also been tweaking my Blog theme skills and revisiting the services I offer, so you may see some changes in the future.

Finally, let’s not forget about Lori’s not-so-green confessions. Did you share yours? Have you worked on them?

Your turn. What have you done? What needs to be done? Any advice for Eco-Office Gals and my readers? Leave a comment below and share with us your advances, tips or even where you have fallen short. Have a wonderful day!

Jen

photo credit: g-hat

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2009 Revisited

Eco-Options: Job Hunting

Jen — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 15:49:07 +0000

Pounding the pavement is hard on the feet and with the current economy there is a lot of competition! So, why not consider getting a little green around the collar when searching for potential career options? After all, that’s how I ended up starting Eco-Office Gals and our new President Obama has hope that green collared jobs will keep Americans working and help the economy.

The best advice I can give is this: figure out what it is you know how to do, do well & love doing! After that the world is the limit, you’re no longer restricted to your local classified ads. There are great green job boards online to help you grow virtually, often from the comfort of your own home! Here are some great links to help you explore your green collar career option:

Green Gigs – Lori not only eliminates the need to search over the vast sea of main stream job boards and freelance site for virtual, green collared jobs, she shares green business ideas & tips and interviews green business owners. This is a great site to help you get your virtual, green biz juices flowing.

Green Collar Blog – This site lists probably every green collared job board available. Mind you many of these jobs may not be virtual, but you may find that perfect job right in your home town.

Thinkspace – This site offers virtually unlimited possibilities to grow your office space green. Whether you want to lease LEED certified brick and mortar space or enhance your virtual office options, Thinkspace has you covered!

Do you have a link you live by for greening your collar? Please leave a comment and let us know about it!

All the Best!
Jen

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Eco-Options: Job Hunting

Your Green Steps for 2009?

Jen — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 13:29:31 +0000

So, what will your Green Steps be for 2009? I have the 3 R’s covered for 2009:

Reduce – buy a reusable coffee filter and reduce paper waste.
Reuse – Work at remembering my reusable shopping bags when I go to the store!
Recycle - I would like to try to start a compost pile. I’d love to have one of those cool expensive tumblers, but I guess I’ll go the old fashion route.

What green steps will you try to make in 2009? Please share by leaving a comment below! All the best in 2009!

Jen

Images used under creative commons license.
Stairs at the public bus main station in Puerto de la Cruz at Tenerife.
extranoise

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Your Green Steps for 2009?

Growing Business Green Guest Post: Your Green Review

Jen — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 02:27:20 +0000

“Pollution is waste, waste represents inefficiency and inefficiency is simply not profitable” In this simple quote Jeffrey Hollander of Seventh Generation asserts what environmental advocates have been telling us for years: sustainability and profit are not mutually exclusive. Indeed, they go hand in hand.

A leaner, more efficient business not only conserves resources but also operates smoother, faster and smarter. This inevitably translates into savings which can be directly applied to the bottom line-not to mention potential marketing and media coverage opportunities thus generated. But the business case for Going Green is much farther reaching than just direct financial improvements. Businesses who have successfully implemented environmentally-friendly measures site various benefits including: increased employee retention, a stronger client base, greater productivity, liability protection, stakeholder communication, strategic management and internal communication, worker health and safety, stronger public image (if marketed responsibly) and, depending on the scope of the program, a measure of preparedness in a climate of evolving environmental regulation.

So, in light of the many benefits of adopting eco-friendly strategies, why aren’t more businesses Going Green? While this may not be a simple one-answer question, one common misconception may trump all others; the notion that eco-friendly invariably equals prohibitively expensive. What many businesses don’t realize is that hefty capitol investments are not synonymous with Going Green; simply creating an Environmental Management System, effectively using resources and trimming the fat can drastically reduce your ecological footprint without costing a penny (YGR’s Guide to Creating an EMS can be found below). The key is figuring out where your business currently stands, where it hopes to end up and then addressing those gaps. For us at YourGreenReview.com, this is exactly where the road to sustainability began.

First we identified our environmental ‘hot spots’ then customized a plan to reduce waste and conserve resources according to our own unique needs, ecological footprints and budget. Since fist taking this step, YGR has introduced a number of conservation measures including: on-site composting and recycling; making our own surface cleaners; power down, unplug and print-only-when-necessary policies; a purchase-used policy for furniture and appropriate appliances; avoiding single-use/individually packaged products (including water bottles); employing water/waste and energy conservation measures etc. Each of these efforts has resulted in cost savings while requiring little or no capitol investment. Down the line those savings we will fund our more ambitious Green upgrades and investments.

It may sound like a daunting undertaking but we, like many other businesses, have discovered that ‘Green’ represents a unique opportunity for innovative business strategies and creative license. From experimenting with alternative in-house paper recycling to creatively reusing non-recyclable plastic containers, we have implemented (and sometimes scrapped) new energy, waste and water conservation measures. Even large corporations like Sun Microsystems and Seventh Generation are finding that in this relatively new and constantly evolving niche, there is endless room for conservation innovation. Small to midsize companies can seize this opportunity to become trail blazers and gain a competitive edge by ‘doing good’.

As always, transparency and accountability are key to any Green marketing strategy. This is one lesson we ought never to forget lest we join the ever growing pool of Greenwash-labeled companies who have learned the hard way that customers do their research and walking the talk is not an optional commitment-it’s an absolute necessity.

*For more information on how to Green your business including guides, tips, links and articles visit YGR’s Green Business section here (http://yourgreenreview.com/category/green-business/). Keep checking back as we are constantly adding more!

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Growing Business Green Guest Post: Your Green Review

What is a VA?

Jen — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:51:08 +0000

A Virtual Assistant (VA) is an independent entrepreneur providing administrative, creative and/or technical services. Utilizing advanced technological modes of communication and data delivery, a professional VA assists clients in her area of expertise from her own office on a contractual basis.

As a small business owner you may have contemplated hiring support for your office. But the true costs of hiring on-site administrative support personnel can be overwhelming. Reduce your overhead by eliminating the following expenses:

* Wages & Salary
* Paid Leave
* Insurance
* Retirement & Savings
* Legally Required Benefits
* Office Space
* Office Equipment

Partnering with Eco-Office Gals allows you to reduce stress, protect your cash flow and it will help you eliminate those administrative duties. With Eco-Office Gals you will also be doing your part to protect the environment by utilizing paperless and earth friendly options for your small business.

Eco-Office Gals is available to you on a short or long term basis, either part time or full time. I offer a wide scope of services to suit your business needs.

What makes me green?

Some Virtual Assistants will say that being green comes with the business. The main claim being they work from their home rather then driving to the office everyday. Saving gas, office space, etc. I can’t disagree. I worked 35 miles from my house for 5 years, I spent my share of time idling in traffic during rush hour and occupying space to make my living as an Administrative Assistant, making barely enough to pay for daycare and another weeks worth of gas. I’m glad that these green factors came naturally with my decision to start Eco-Office Gals.

However, for many VA’s what come with the territory grows no further. Eco-Office Gals strives to not only provide your small business with your administrative needs, but I am always looking for the best ways to make us all a little greener. I try to give your small business eco-alternatives to everyday administrative needs. I try to encourage electronic communications, e-signed contracts, and other earth friendly alternatives.
As I grow green I share my finding through Eco-Office Gals… why keep it all to myself? I encourage others to share with me as I share with others. If it’s time for your small business to start making green steps, let me join you for the journey.

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What is a VA?