Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Draft of Dunkirk Systems Environmental Statement
While perusing the “catchall” folder on my PC, I found this photo - it is of me at the Green Festival in Chicago this past spring. At the booth for Co-Op America, they asked people to write down something they do for the environment and have their picture taken with it. I chose the first thing that came to mind, printing on both sides of a sheet of paper.
Seeing this photo caused me to digress a bit from my daily routine and write down other things I consciously do having a positive impact on the environment. As I scrawled them on my white board, categorized and entered them into my content management system, I realized what I had was a draft of the Dunkirk Systems Environmental Statement. As I am working on content for my Web site, this is a logical statement to add.
In the spirit of blogging, I decided to post the draft here and solicit input. Here goes…
Reduce
- Use PDF documents and digital signatures rather than paper for contracts, invoices, etc.
- Power off computers at night
- Use whiteboard instead of paper
- Use eFax.com, which delivers faxes as PDF documents, instead of a fax machine
- Purchased duplexing laser printer to print on 2 sides of paper
- Minimal inkjet printer use
- For printing draft documents, use low ink and toner settings
- Always carry a compact shopping bag or pack
- Decrease burning of CDs and use Flash or portable hard drives and FTP of Zip files
- If an in-person meeting is required, walk or take public transportation over taxi and driving
Reuse
- Reuse paper – print on both sides or use for scrap
- Reuse packaging – boxes, padded envelopes
- Use reusable UPS envelopes for overnight shipping
Recycle
- Shred all confidential or personalized documents and recycle
- Recycle all other paper, cardboard, glass, plastic, etc.
- Give read books to friends and colleagues
- Recycled dead UPS (uninterruptible power supply) to vendor for credit towards a new one
- Return ink cartridges to Staples for recycling (do not refill ink cartridges due to reliability issues)
- Donate unneeded items to Goodwill
Rebuy
- Buy recycled products
- Seek products with minimal packaging
- Seek out stores and vendors that sell environmentally-friendly products and share my passion for the environment
So what do you think? Did I leave out something obvious? Have a question on something there?
