Going Green

The AISES National office is GOING GREEN and has developed the following practices, plans and policies to ensure a green workplace.

AISES Green Team Checklist:

ENERGY

We shut off our monitors and/or manually send our computers into energy saving modes (standby or hibernate) when not in use and turn them off at night.
We have sleep mode enabled on all desktops, copiers and all printers after five minutes or less of inactivity.
All lights are turned off when not in use during the day and at night, including in common areas such as kitchens, conference rooms, storage closets, and bathrooms. We have posted prompts on light switches, where applicable.
We send, or will send, an e-mail to our staff before holidays and breaks containing an energy saving checklist.

RECYCLING

There are recycling bins in all common areas where trash bins are present, such as in kitchens, break rooms, conference rooms, mailrooms, and copy rooms. When a city wide campaign becomes available, we will join it.
In our office, recycling signs are clearly posted on or near recycling bins.
We spent several minutes reviewing proper recycling practices at a recent staff meeting to ensure that all members of our office are aware of the rules and had their questions answered.
We provide recycling bins at events and meetings sponsored by our office.
When we need to dispose of office furniture and equipment, we check to see if it can be salvaged and reused elsewhere.

WASTE REDUCTION

We print or copy to both sides of a page whenever possible/practical.
In order to save paper when printing and copying, we reuse paper that has text on only one side whenever appropriate. We keep a scrap paper pile near our printer and/or copier.

PUBLICATIONS

If we publish a newsletter, we offer an electronic version that readers may select instead of the paper version.

EVENTS AND MEETINGS

Before events and meetings we send an e-mail reminding attendees to bring mugs or reusable cups if beverages will be served.

TRANSPORTATION

Members of our office support biking and carpooling.
We strive to stay at enviro-friendly hotels when traveling, and when we rent vehicles, we rent fuel efficient vehicles.

KITCHENS AND BREAKROOMS

If we supply paper products to staff in our break room or kitchen, we purchase napkins and paper towels with at least 10% recycled content.
We seek to switch from using individual packaged items to bulk packaged items, with a focus on wasting less packaging.
We will use regular dishtowels when practical, and avoid the use of disposable plastics when practical.

PURCHASING

For printing and copying, our office only uses paper containing at least 10% recycled content.
Before we purchase office furniture, such as file cabinets, desks, etc., we check to see if we have any surplus furniture in stock or can obtain any.
Before ordering supplies, we exhaust the recycled and available supplies in the supply room.
Before purchasing new furniture we consider more sustainable furniture options.
If we must purchase new (or used) appliances and equipment (printers, copiers, microwaves, etc), we only purchase Energy Star or EPEAT certified models.
We strive to purchase more eco-friendly supplies from local vendors as opposed to non-local vendors

PARTICIPATION

We encourage all chapters, vendors, members, and stakeholders to follow our lead and ‘Go Green!’
We have created a ‘Green Team webpage’