We are committed to making a difference by adopting practices that reduce our collective impact on the natural environment. Our goal is to lead by example through:
- Sustainable transportation
- Biking, busing, walking and carpooling are encouraged to reduce fossil fuels
- Indoor bicycle storage can store up to 36 bikes
- Our space has no designated parking
- Waste and Energy Management – turning off computer monitors when not in use; printers set to print double-sided; garbage bins for employee work stations are not provided; and separating office waste into reusable, recyclable, compost and true waste components.
- Green Commuting – supporting low-emission modes of commuting and public transportation; promoting "Bike to Work” week; and videoconference meetings encouraged where appropriate.
- Green Purchasing – making purchase decisions that consider environmental impacts (e.g., office furniture from sustainable sources; recycled paper)
- Green Team Leadership – empowering staff through education, awareness and participation; and communicating our environmental performance through regular reporting.
- LEED Gold certified building – the office’s Green Team secured the resources and support for obtaining LEED-CI® (LEED® for Commercial Interiors) certification of the building where the office is located. This is an internationally recognized system for certifying high-performance green interiors that are healthy, productive places to work; are less costly to operate and maintain; and have a reduced environmental footprint. The office’s green building features include:
- Natural light
- layout of office space maximizes natural light and outdoor views
- unglazed east and west exposure windows
- Interior light
- T5HO fluorescent and LED lights
- Motion sensors turn lights off/down according to amount of natural light
- Occupancy sensors switch lights off when offices are unoccupied for 30 minutes
- Material reuse
- Over 30% of the office’s furnishings are reused from our former offices
- Office furniture has high levels of recycled content or MBDC Cradle to Cradle Silver certification
- Over 50% of wood products (furniture/woodworking) came from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) sources
- During construction, the contractor was encouraged to reuse/recycle waste materials instead of using the landfill
- Mixed in certified carpet from our old building with the tile pattern in our new carpet
- Low emitting materials
- Carpet, paint and glues have volatile organic compounds below specified levels
- Furniture meets high levels of indoor air quality standards
- Glue in composite wood products and furniture has no added urea formaldehyde
- Mechanical system
- System uses fan-coils supplied by variable refrigerant flow heat pumps - one on each floor
- Heating energy is recovered from areas that require cooling rather than a heat pump
- Heat recovery ventilation unit keeps air flowing
- Temperatures are controlled by fan-coil direct digital control thermostats networked together for efficient scheduling
- Appliance efficiency
- 90% of our appliances are EnergyStar rated
- Water efficiency
- High efficiency, low-flow plumbing reduces potable water for hand-washing, showers and flushing toilets
- Taps turn on and off automatically to reduce leaking and flowing taps when not in use
- Natural light
The office’s internal culture of sustainability includes adherence to legislation for public sector organizations to become carbon neutral in their operations.