Sustainability & profit31 January 2011
Is it possible to enjoy the best of both worlds - sustainability and profit? Anna Stanford, a media officer from Faversham in Kent, says you can
I work for a wind-power company. The staff have encouraged the company to be as green as possible, although it is knocking on an open door, as the managing director is into sustainability.
We have a green travel plan for the office. There are two or three pool bikes at the office for people to use to pop into town for lunch rather than take a car. We have a pool car that has a hybrid petrol/electric motor, a Toyota Prius. The company gives subsidised loans for season tickets and bike purchase.
The building we work in has been designed to be highly energy efficient and generates all the energy it needs from clean, renewable sources. We have the first installation in the UK of solar panels that produce both electricity and heat, and we have a wind turbine. The company will have recouped a significant amount of the cost of these measures within eight years.
Staff are encouraged to be energy conscious: not to leave lights on or the computers on standby. All waste is recycled. The total running cost of our office is less than half of that of a comparable, non-green office. The company shows that it is possible to be sustainable and profitable at the same time.
This is an extract from Save cash & save the planet.
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