Work Your Way To Energy Savings

Waste Reduction

Small newspaper inks substantial energy savings.

How can a small business have a big impact on energy savings? The Herald Review/Itasca Shopper, a small newspaper in Grand Rapids, Minnesota found the solution. By encouraging all departments to efficiently use materials – and by recycling and reusing materials whenever possible – the company realized thousands of dollars in savings, reducing the volume of solid and hazardous waste, landfill disposal fees, and raw materials costs.

Here are the steps the paper took:

• Newsprint rollends, which were originally thrown away, were sold to a local ceramics company as packing material.
• Waste ink was reused by adding different colors to black inks with no reduction in print quality.
• Film-developing chemicals were re-used.
• The layout department reused page pasteup sheets, and the composing staff reused and refilled toner cartridges three times before buying new cartridges.

The results:
Overall, the company reduced solid waste by 97% and saved 250 pounds of ink per year. The savings included:

• Reduced waste hauling and disposal costs, saving $18,000 per year.*
• Reused ink, saving $2,600 per year.*
• Reused film developer , saving $240 per year.*
• Reused pasteup sheets, saving $570 per year.*
• Reused toner cartridges, saving $900 per year.*
• Rollend sales paid for yearly newsprint costs.^*

The cost to implement the waste reduction measures? $0.

*Adapted from EPA's EnviroSense Small Business Waste Reduction Guide

Reducing Paper At Work

Penn States improves margins – and reduces energy consumption.

It doesn't take a lot of energy to find ways to conserve energy. Sometimes it's simply looking for creative solutions as Penn State University did when its Green Destiny Council discovered a simple solution: reducing the margins on printed documents.

Paper is the end-product of an industry which moves trees from forests to chip, pulp, and paper mills, then to distributors, and finally to end-users. Each step of this process has a negative effect on the environment. Paper production contributes to air and water pollution: to the air it adds greenhouse gases and pollutants, such as nitrous and sulfur oxides, acetone, methanol, and carbon monoxide.

The plan
To cut down paper usage, Penn State reduced the default left and right margin settings (previously set at 1.25" respectively) and the bottom margin (previously at 1") to .75". This made 19% more area available for text on each page.

The results

• Reduced paper used by 5%, approximately 45,000 reams, saving ~$122,000
• Reduced paper disposal by 5%, approximately 45 tons, saving $225
• Saved 72 acres of trees

Reducing Energy Costs In The Workplace

ENERGY STAR - A shining example of how to reduce energy costs.

With the need to have equipment on 24 hours a day, offices can be a big source of energy waste. A possible solution is to use office equipment that has earned the ENERGY STAR label for having special energy-efficient designs. ENERGY STAR equipment uses less energy to perform regular tasks, and automatically enters a low-power mode when not in use.

Computers

To help businesses reduce the environmental impact of computers, the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) was created. This system helps businesses in the public and private sectors evaluate, compare and select desktop computers, notebooks and monitors based on their environmental attributes.

Recommended computer products have reduced levels of cadmium, lead, and mercury to better protect human health, and are easier to upgrade and recycle, in addition to meeting the government's ENERGY STAR guidelines for energy efficiency.

Major impact:
The EPA estimates that the purchase of more than 36 million EPA approved computer desktops, laptops and monitors since EPEAT was launched has led to a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Some highlights from the report show that the computer equipment has helped to:

• Saved 13.7 billion kWh of electricity, enough to power 1.2 million U.S. homes for a year
• Saved 24.4 million metric tons of primary materials, equivalent to the weight of 189 million refrigerators
• Prevented 1.07 million metric tons of carbon equivalent greenhouse gas emissions, equivalent to removing 852,000 cars from the road for a year
• Reduced the amount of toxic materials used by 1,070 metric tons, including enough mercury to fill 157,000 household fever thermometers
• Avoided the disposal of 41,100 metric tons of hazardous waste, equivalent to the weight of 20.5 million bricks

Solar Job Training on The Rise

No surprise that with the growth in interest in renewable energy applications, there is a growing demand for a trained workforce and thus a need for someone to offer training courses. This year, Solar Energy International (SEI), a leader in solar energy education courses, is experiencing a huge explosion in the number of people interested in taking classes. We have reported in the past how there is no longer a choice between the environment and economics and this is direct evidence of how using new, environmental technologies also means an expansion of new, environmental jobs.

Solar Energy International (SEI), a leader in solar energy education courses for over 18 years, reports that they have seen a 14 percent increase in enrollment (roughly 300 students) just over the last year. Over 1,700 students have taken courses thus far in 2008 and some classes even have a wait-list because of the high demand.

SEI offers training in over 22 locations, including their eco-campus in Colorado. In addition, they have online courses available for folks in the US and those not in the US. They also offer training in related eco-courses like wind energy, strawbal construction, women-only courses and renewable energy in the developing world.

Alternative Solar Training Options Can't get into a SEI course? Why not check out your local community college for related courses, as more and more are offering extension courses in renewable energy topics, often taught by folks who work directly in the field. Also, a solid electrical theory or construction course is just as helpful as a photovoltaic training course, so consider beefing up related skills if you can't get into a PV course.

(Source: Treehugger, www.treehugger.com/files/2008/07/solar-job-training.php )

Before you buy a new computer

Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT)

EPEAT is a system to help purchasers in the public and private sectors evaluate, compare and select desktop computers, notebooks and monitors based on their environmental attributes. Registered computer products have reduced levels of toxics like cadmium, lead, and mercury to better protect human health, and are easier to upgrade and recycle, in addition to meeting the government's Energy Star guidelines for energy efficiency.

In 2007 more than 109 million EPEAT registered computer desktops, laptops and monitors were purchased.

The Green Electronics Council's EPEAT 2007 Environmental Benefits Report stated that compared to non-EPEAT products, the 2007 EPEAT purchases will:

• Save 42.2 billion kWh of electricity, enough to power 3.7 million U.S. homes for a year;
• Save 75.5 million metric tons of primary materials, equivalent to the weight of 585 million refrigerators;
• Prevent 3.31 million metric tons of carbon equivalent greenhouse gas emissions, equivalent to removing 2.6 million cars from the road for a year;
• Reduce the amount of toxic materials used by 3,220 metric tons, including enough mercury to fill 482,381 household fever thermometers; and
• Avoid the disposal of 124,000 metric tons of hazardous waste, equivalent to the weight of 62 million bricks.

Source: Green Electronic’s Council EPEAT 2007 Environmental Benefits Report