Green Living is the Life For Me!
Recently, I had the pleasure of attending a panel discussion at the NC Annual Sustainable Energy Conference on Green Teams that included presenters from Burt's Bees and the Biltmore Estate. It was a great presentation and I came away with lots of great ideas that I wanted to share.
Burt's Bees
Burt's Bees wants to
be known as "Nature's Champion". According to Paula Alexander from
Burt's Bees, sustainability is part of everybody's job description. Some
of the many successes Burt's Bees has accomplished through their green
teams:
- In 2011, they reached zero waste to landfill (anything not recycled or composted goes to trash burning power plant)
- 99% of their products are natural
- Carbon neutral on US operations
- Sustainable packaging (including container recycling at many retail locations like Whole Foods)
- Philanthropic Giving through the Greater Good Foundation
- Pollinator Partnerships to create bee buffer zones and bee hive materials for beekeepers
- Corporate goal to reduce water usage 10% by 2020
One
of their ongoing efforts includes an annual "dumpster dive". This is a
three day audit of trash, recyclables and organics to see how they are
doing. Alexander suggests this is a great way for a company or
organization to see how they are doing.
Biltmore Estate
Vanessa King is the Sustainability Coordinator at Biltmore Estate. Some of the green team successes at Biltmore include:
- Field to Table program
- Bio-fuel production (they grow canola, press into oil and produce around 100 gallons a day)
- Employees are co-creators of sustainable practice such as composting and recycling
- Biltmore is part of the community's cultural identity and strives to make tourism sustainable
- Philanthropy programs to help people in need, food and farming and preservation of cultural and natural resources
- Waste Management of composting, biodegradable materials, and recycling
- Occupancy sensors through out facilities to limit lighting when not needed
- Solar field that produces 20% of estate's energy usage
- Restaurant that is Green Restaurant Certified
- Annual river clean up both up stream and down stream from Biltmore Estate
Websites / Resources
Conclusion
Green teams are a great way to help companies and organizations become more sustainable. They affect the triple bottom line: Economic, Social and Environmental as well as create team building situations and something everyone can be proud of.
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Rick
apexgardner@gmail.com
@apexgardner (Twitter)
Rick
apexgardner@gmail.com
@apexgardner (Twitter)
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