Our Green Office Makeover

Our new sunlit office, located in Northwest DC, is home to environmentally conscious products and practices. The greening of our office was a homegrown effort, led by dedicated and curious staff members who researched environmentally sound options and provided direction and guidance. Here we share our story of learning and transformation, as told by Patrick Deavy, Director of Development and the volunteer leader for this effort.

Quick Links:
The Story: Going Green on a Shoestring
Your Story
Friends Who Helped
Sites and Resources We Found Helpful

Going Green on a Shoestring

Our old offices were . . . lacking life, to say the least. We had dark colors, closed-off spaces, and a floor plan that kept everyone in their own area. We were in the midst of an exciting re-branding of our organization, with a new look and new colors, none of which went with our dark, drab office. We needed a new space with some life and energy that would also help us save a little money. We started looking and found several shells that would enable us to design the floor plan and take an active role in what our new office looked like.

Diane Wood, our President, wanted to go the next step. “I want to make this office healthy and ’green’.” It was an exciting prospect, being able to use the ideals we were promoting through our programs and make our office healthy. “Here’s the problem . . . we can’t hire anyone to help us do it, we don’t have a lot of money for it, and we don’t have a lot of time, as they’ve started work on the space. Do you think people would help out?”

That was how I was tasked with the project, being the Director of Development—“Can we get donations?” My response was, “I don’t know. I know nothing about this topic. But why should that stop us?” Indeed it did not stop us. Though there would be challenges, the rewards would far out-weigh them.

We immediately moved forward. The first step was to get some knowledge, which did not prove easy at first. There are plenty of websites about the topic, but the jargon can get in the way and most of them talk about the whole building; we only had control of our little space.

I looked and looked for that source that would explain everything in laymen’s terms and I was not disappointed when I came across green-rated.org. Green-rated.org is a Portland, Oregon based website meant to serve the citizens of Portland in their greening efforts. The site provides resources for projects as big as entire office buildings, to one bedroom apartments and, fortunately for us, tenant improvements. This would prove to be the document we would return to time and again.

With ideas starting to take shape from our new found resource, it was time to form a Green Committee. The Committee would help decide what improvements we would be able to make. We all pored over this document, looking for the top five possible options. Happily, we did not lack for suggestions. From solar panels, to light shelves and a climbing wall—yes, a climbing wall—we all had our favorites. It became clear that we needed more guidance.

Many organizations had been down this green building path before us, most of them going for certification through a program called Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). These organizations were our next stop. All of the places we looked at used different means and had different resources, but the one thing they had in common was a list of principles that affected not only their building process, but the occupancy of that space. Developing these principles became our immediate focus.

Our goal is to strive to have a positive (beyond zero) impact on the environment through working together to conserve resources. We aim to reduce our impact on natural resources and create a healthy environment for NEEF employees. These principals will guide us:

-Purchase enivronmentally-friendly (Post Consumer Waste-recycled, sustainably-forested, non-toxic, etc.) building materials, furnishings, and supplies whenever possible.

-Minimize our use of energy to reduce pollution and CO2 emissions.

-Promote the health and well being of our employees both inside and outside of the office.

With these guidelines in hand, we moved on to our final step of choosing what green building improvements we would focus on. We each took a topic to research. As we looked into the different options we started to get a sense of what our new office would be like. For various reasons from the height of the walls, to whether or not we had control over a certain building issue, we accepted or ruled things out.

With a list of improvements to act on, we started looking for the right products and companies. Green building products are becoming more popular with consumers, so several mainstream manufacturers had options. There were also programs, such as Green Seal, that rated products. With each company we contacted we received more guidance on current technology and our contractors were great in working with us. We also received donations and discounts from several vendors. Decisions were made, products selected, colors picked out and soon we started to see (and not smell!) the fruits of our labor.

We now have low VOC (volatile organic compounds) carpet and paint, non-emitting cabinetry, natural linoleum flooring, Energy Star appliances, a floor plan and colors that maximize our natural light, and off-sets for our emissions provided by Baxter Healthcare through the Chicago Climate Exchange. Our new office, like our new logo, is bright, colorful and environmentally friendly.

Thankfully, we are not done. Our next step is to look at how we operate now that we are in the space. What paper and office products are we purchasing? What about cleaning supplies? Are our vendors using green practices? This experience has made it evident for me that anyone can do something to improve the health and environmental impact of their office. From changing the paper you buy to using low VOC paint, the options are out there, no matter how small your office or home.

Your Story

Have you recently made your space green? Tell us about it! We want to share your story with others who are looking to make their office, apartment, or just their workstation green.

Friends Who Helped

Sites and Resources We Found Helpful

While there are several resources that may be of help to you, these are the ones we used most.

Green-rated.org—Here you will find our main resource, the G-Rated Tenant Improvement Guide.
GreenerBuildings.com—This is the site that led us to Green-rated.org. It also has many resources and articles.
Chicago Climate Exchange—This is the organization through whom we are off-setting our carbon emissions, thanks to Baxter Healthcare.
Advanced Building Technologies and Practices—Once we had a list of possibilities, this site had some useful information.
GreenSeal.org—Green Seal provides science-based environmental certification standards for many products, such as paint.
Case Studies—In looking for other’s stories, we looked at the green building sections of both the World Resource Institute’s and the Natural Resource Defense Council’s websites.