Dear Eartha, 
I’ve been striving to live more sustainably over the past few years and want to make a better effort at my business. What tips do you have for someone trying to bring sustainability into the workplace? 

While your efforts to live more sustainably at home are commendable, we’re very excited about your interest in environmental stewardship at work. At the High Country Conservation Center, we work closely with more than 160 Summit County businesses to reduce their environmental impact and save money. Through our Resource Wise sustainable business program, business owners gain a greater understanding of how their business uses energy and resources.  

Beginning with a quick assessment of your business’s sustainability practices and energy efficiency, experts gain a deeper understanding of the specifics of your business and the building it operates from. With this information, the conservation center delivers reports outlining potential improvement projects and various ideas to green your business. Additionally, through the funding the nonprofit receives to operate this program, businesses have access to rebate incentives to help them pay for the various improvements that are recommended. 

Funded by our local municipalities and Summit County government, participation in the Resource Wise program is free for any Summit County business or religious organization and is intended to be minimally invasive and an easy process for businesses. 

When we assess a business’s performance with regard to environmental stewardship, we’re looking for a business that conserves water and energy, uses eco-friendly cleaning products, reduces material use, and recycles or composts correctly. In assessing these areas of a business’s operations, sustainability experts are able to take a holistic approach to identifying solutions that make the most sense for a business to implement. As your workplace completes recommendations outlined by the conservation center, you’ll ascend the levels of the certification system, earning your business more community outreach and recognition for your efforts.  

Anyone can take a walk around their place of work and take notes of some basic things that could be improved upon to help save money and the environment. While walking throughout your space, take note of the type of light bulbs you have installed. Most bulbs will list their wattage in small print somewhere on them. LED bulbs are the most efficient on the market today and can save up to 80% of the energy used by traditional lighting styles such as fluorescent and incandescent. The price of LED’s is at an all-time low, making this investment one that will typically pay for itself in a couple of years. Feel around for drafts and look for daylight around your windows and doors to identify where you could install new weather-stripping or caulk. In our climate zone, air-leaks account for about 40% of overall energy costs. 

Take a look at the paper you print and make copies on and see if you can start stocking post-consumer recycled content or pursue paperless options for your business. Do the same with the cleaning supplies you have on hand, and make a note to purchase more eco-friendly products moving forward. Touch base with the conservation center if you want to learn how you can improve your recycling procedure. Sometimes, the best fix for a business is to simply update their signage, which the nonprofit will be happy to assist you with. To cut down on water use, the conservation center also can provide your business with some free water-efficiency products that are easily installed in minutes.  

Be sure to ask the Summit County businesses you patronize if they have joined the Resource Wise sustainable business program. If not, share with them why their environmental stewardship is important to you and ask them to give us a call at 970-668-5703. For more energy-saving tips, and to learn more about our energy efficiency programs, give us a call or visit us at HighCountryConservation.org. 

“Ask Eartha Steward” is written by the staff at the High Country Conservation Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to waste reduction and resource conservation. Submit questions to Eartha at info@highcountryconservation.org.