It's Easy Being Green

Are human activities leading to a general warming of the earth’s atmosphere? While the debate rages on, those working at Ogden Publications, a local publisher of sustainable living magazines like Mother Earth News and Natural Home, believe that it’s not too late to change this course of action where it starts. They believe that it is the little things that can make a big difference. The collective mindset of more than 130 employees working at Ogden is simple: If human beings are the ones doing damage to the planet, than it is our obligation to undo it.
“We’re all responsible for holding our end of the bargain,” said Brandy Ernzen, Brand Manager.
Toward that end, the Ogden staff has taken it upon themselves to be as green as they possibly can. Many of the employees carpool together. They’ve added more recycling bins and four of their magazines are printed with 100 percent recycled paper. Recycling, in fact, is something those at Ogden try to implement into every aspect of their business – even their morning coffee.
“We’ve started composting our coffee grounds,” said Megan Phelps, Mother Earth News senior associate editor. “They work really well with garden soil so we’re either going to use them outside here or some of us will take them home to use in our gardens.”
Reusing coffee grounds certainly isn’t an earth-shattering feat, Phelps knows. But being more eco-friendly is what Mother Earth News is all about, so it’s only natural for her to want to practice in life the things that are published in the magazine she works for. And besides, she says, the little things do count.
“It really does add up. It does make a difference,” said Phelps. “We all like to feel like we’re doing the right thing.”
“Do right by the environment and it will, in turn, do right by you.”
Nancy Burkhardt, director of marketing at Stormont-Vail Health Care, believes this to be true – especially when it comes to conditions within the hospital. Being green is one of the best ways a hospital can serve its patients.
“I’ve heard people talk and I’ve done some reading about the fact that having an environmentally-friendly building can actually speed up the healing process – things like clean air and natural light,” said Burkhardt. “We also have an interest [in being green] for that reason.”
Stormont-Vail made a major move toward being green about 18 months ago. Some of the initiatives they’ve taken on have included using recycled materials in their drywall and in construction projects. They’ve also started using more environmentally-safe refrigeration, lighting and heating and air conditioning systems. One very simple measure the hospital recently made has been, for them, the biggest one of all.
Burkhardt says they are very proud of having chose a signature tree and planted them throughout the campus. “We’ve planted hundreds of these trees around the area and the campus. It’s something that’s really visible that the public can see.”
Burkhardt can’t pin down a specific reason for why the hospital has been so rigorous in its green efforts in the past months. But like everyone else, she watches the news, which hasn’t been so positive in its reviews of how the earth has been doing. And like everyone else Burkhardt, and others working at Stormont-Vail, can’t help but be affected by that.
“I think that what has been covered in the news and the media definitely has brought it to light and educated everyone about how important it is to be aware of how we’re affecting the environment in the workplace and at home,” said Burkhardt.
The slogan for Westar Energy reads “Doing whatever it takes to keep the lights on.” But the 20-year-strong Westar Energy Green Team seems to be also doing whatever it takes to make Westar a powerhouse of environmentally-conscious practices. The 50 to 60 active members that comprise the Green Team have their hands in a lot of things, including planting trees at schools, helping to develop wetlands and recycling everything from paper to electric poles.
“All the lumber we use for building projects is from our electric poles that have gone down in storms,” said Green Team coordinator Mike Nolan. “We’ve got so many poles just going into the landfill. It’s good, treated lumber so, instead of wasting all our poles, we just started reusing them. We reuse all we can.”
A very diverse set these businesses are. But the one thing they have in common is the willingness to take active measures to change the environment outside of the workplace. Their bottom line has become one of how to get the most profit out of the earth and not just out of the customer. It’s a simple idea of being kind to the environment so that it will be kind to you. And, as Phelps said, nobody loses in that equation.
“It’s a win-win situation.”
TK