Electronic Recycling &The Environment- Arman Sadeghi
Arman Sadeghi, CEO of All Green Electronics Recycling talks about the rapidly growing e-waste problem and what you can do to help.
All Green Electronics recycling is a full service electronics recycler and collector specializing in All Green electronics recycling. They offer pickup services as well as hundreds of convenient drop-off locations. Pickups are often free of charge and can be done at your convenience.
Waterless Co Earth Day 2012 Message: Water Conservation Is Energy Conservation
Waterless Co., Inc., a leading manufacturer of no-water urinals and other restroom products, is taking the opportunity during Earth Day 2012 to remind building owners, managers, and facility service providers of the close interconnection between water usage and energy conservation.
According to Klaus Reichardt, founder and CEO of Waterless, drilling for water, storing water, and delivering water to and from facilities uses a considerable amount of energy.
“This means if we can conserve water and use it more efficiently, we can also save energy,” explains Reichardt.
For example, at least 19 percent of all the energy currently used in California is expended just to transport water. Taking this a step further, some experts now believe most of the energy consumed in the Western half of the United States is in some way related to water production or delivery.
“In many ways, all of our conservation and sustainability efforts are interconnected in some way,” says Reichardt. “But with water, the connection with energy–and, with that, the need for imported oil–is rather dramatic.”
Reichardt adds that this is true not only in the U.S. but all over the world, especially in underdeveloped countries where serious water shortages are becoming an everyday occurrence.
“[In] many areas of the world, water is accessible but the power, fuel, and energy necessary to drill and deliver it are not,” he says. “This is why for millions of women in underdeveloped countries, their number one job each day is to walk several miles just to find water and bring it [back] home to their families.”
Reichardt suggests that as Earth Day approaches, North Americans should try to view turning on a water tap as they would turning on a power generator: “Do it, but do it wisely.”
Waterless Co. is now on Facebook. Visit us at: http://tiny.cc/ided6
Available for Presentations on Water Conservation:
Klaus Reichardt is founder and CEO of Waterless®, Co., Inc., manufacturer of No-Flush Urinals, Vista, Calif. Reichardt founded the company in 1991 with the goal to establish a new market segment in the plumbing fixture industry with water conservation in mind. Reichardt is a frequent writer and presenter, discussing water conservation issues. He can be reached at klaus@waterless.com.
Sticky Rice RVA invites you to explore New Sustainable Sushi Options on Earth Day
Sticky Rice RVA presents
In celebration of Earth Day…
THINK
In recent years we have seen the ever growing negative impact that popular Sushi items have on the environment. This year, we plan on being leaders to change the game by taking direct action by offering environmentally sound alternatives to these menu items. We hope you come out to support this movement by participating in this truly revolutionary night…and try some new abundant delicious ocean friendly foods that we hope to be incorporating into future menus at Sticky Rice.
A 7 course dinner of new sustainable sushi options will be presented the night of April 22nd at 6:00pm. You will learn how & why we choose these dishes to help our environment. To compliment our dinner we will offer a tasting of selected organic & sustainable wine/beer/sake options at an additional cost of 20 dollars.
Reserve by purchasing a ticket for the night right here:
You can buy tickets at www.thestickystore.com
Seating is limited, so tickets are limited.
Thank you.
*We will contact you thru email to confirm reservation and time.
Earth Month Specials from Grin Unlimited
Grin Unlimited has many specials going on for Earth month. Clothdiaperbutler is 20% off this month. For more details please check out www.clothdiaperbutler.com
For more specials http://www.ecobubsdiapers.com/
Celebrate Earth Day with PROShred Security – Milwaukee
On April 21st, in celebration of Earth Day, PROShred Security - Milwaukee is teaming up with the Better Business Bureau of Wisconsin to offer a free community shredding event in the Metropolitan Milwaukee area. Secure your ID day (ShredFest) will allow members of the community to stop by with up to three boxes of old and unneeded documents, and have them securely shredded on-site and recycled. The service not only yields a tremendous amount of recyclable paper, but eliminates thousands of potential identity theft risks, and all for free! For more information and locations visit: http://wisconsin.bbb.org/
PROShred Security - Milwaukee also offers an opportunity to its existing business customers to participate in Earth Day by having extra shredding bins dropped off and opened up to all employees. Employees are encouraged to bring documents and papers from home to have shredded at work (old taxes, receipts, check book registers, bank statements, and utility bills, to name a few). If you are interested in getting secure shredding bins or have any questions visit: http://www.proshred.com/about.
Communicating Sustainability to Your Customers
So, you know all the good reasons for moving to more sustainable business practices. You know that government regulations are increasingly requiring sustainability in various business platforms. You know that many sustainable practices will save you money over the long term, largely in the form of energy costs, material costs and maintenance. And, you feel that your customers will appreciate your company’s dedication to the environment through the development of a sustainable businesses plan and the execution of such sustainable practices. But, how will your customers know about these great sustainable initiatives you have embarked upon? The answer is that you need to be sure they know through advertising and word of mouth.
Proactive Communication about Your Sustainability Efforts Even if you are making efforts towards sustainability solely for your own business reasons or peace of mind, you should get the proverbial “credit” in the minds of your customers for doing so. To do this you need to take the proactive step of telling your customers what you have been up to. So, let’s back up just a moment and discuss your overall sustainability plan. When it comes to develop a plan for sustainability there are five basic steps that you need to take.
1) You need to begin by understanding the issues that are of concern. This means doing some research and understanding the reasons that sustainable business is such a hot topic today. Recognize, in your particular industry, what standards are emerging. Look at what your competition is doing, what the government is regulating (or considering regulating), and what the public is saying. The more you understand the better decisions you can make for both short term and long term sustainable business practices.
2) Next, you need to develop your company values. This is where you decide where your company fits in the overall scheme of things. You might ask yourself the following: Do you want to be an industry leader and innovate, or just follow the pack? Do we want to think short term or long term? What are the actual values of our company, meaning, what do we want to add to the world?
3) Once you have values you need to state them clearly. Once you have answered the above questions, use that to develop a clearly articulated vision statement. This statement should include sustainable business as a value, specifying what areas of sustainability are most pertinent to your business and how it impacts your customers.
4) The next step is to set goals so that you can measure your performance. Once you have a vision you can create concrete goals. Write your goals out, and do so in a way that they are measurable. For example, if one goal is to reduce energy use be clear. Say what your energy use is now, what steps you will take to reduce it, and what your goal is and within what time frame you will achieve it.
5) Finally, you need to communicate your plans to your customers. Now that you have a plan, communicate it. Shout it from the top of a mountain and let everyone know what your plan is. Continue the communications throughout the plan until you meet your goals.
Communicating Sustainability By simply having a plan to move towards more sustainable business practices you act as a positive example. This is a great start. But take it further and really tell your customers what you are about. You can do this in a variety of ways, here are a few:
- Use the packaging. If you have minimized your product package WRITE IT on the package; point it out. Honk your own horn, as they say. Include a brief paragraph about WHY this reduced packaging is important.
- Train your staff. Ensure that your staff understands your efforts and can speak to them. Prepare them to inform the customer and to answer customer’s questions about the plan and the value it has.
- Put it on your website. Ensure that your website has the complete information on why you are doing what you are doing, and what your goals are. Make it very transparent, allowing the customer to see your progress.
- Seek green certifications. By getting an outside company to approve your efforts you open yourself up to more exposure and positive word of mouth.
