Best Practice Suggestions for Resource Conservation
Introduction
This document is intended as a guide for The Whitlock Group’s offices and employees to follow
to help conserve natural resources and energy as well as save money. These are suggestions are
intended to stimulate thoughts concerning ways to reduce our consumption of energy and reduce
our impact on the environment.
Today, many companies are utilizing marketing campaigns that contain “Green” strategies for
promotion of their products and services. Often their products and services are not “Green”. It
is becoming harder to “weed” through what is really energy efficient and understand the products
they have that really reduce impact on the environment. Because of this, many businesses are
asking partners about their “Green” policies containing details on their efforts to reduce their
carbon footprint. The Whitlock Group has, therefore, created this document to detail our Green
strategy and statement. Energy efficient technology will be part of our economic future in
America and globally for years to come. Energy plans not only “feel good” but are also good for
marketing, the environment and the pocketbook.
Page 1
The Whitlock Group’s “Green Statement”:
The Whitlock Group is committed to following resource conservation practices that will help us
become good corporate citizens in regards to our environment and natural resources. In addition,
we offer quality engineering and systems integration services for technologies such as
videoconferencing, lighting control, building automation, and content streaming, among others
that help our clients reduce their carbon footprint, increase business efficiency and have a more
comfortable work environment.
Things We Can Do – Internal Policy Recommendations
Vehicles
How we manage our company vehicles will impact our consumption of gasoline and reduce
maintenance costs. Maintaining the vehicles properly will help them run longer and reduce costly
repair bills.
To conserve gasoline, keep the air in the vehicle’s tires properly inflated. As small as
that seems, it helps improves gas mileage. In addition, the tires last longer.
Reduce your normal driving speed by a few miles per hour. This can also help save gas.
Avoiding fast starts will dramatically reduce fuel consumption.
Do not fill your tires with Nitrogen. Today some garages charge a premium for filling
your tires with Nitrogen. But there is already 80% nitrogen in the air we breathe. Does
the premium for another 20% nitrogen really help? It’s mostly hype.
Page 2
Energy in the Office
There are many ways to reduce our energy bills inside our offices.
Turn lights out in the bathroom when leaving.
Turn your office lights out when leaving.
Turn lights out in conference rooms when they are not in use.
Keep blinds closed in the summer if it is not necessary to have them open.
Install Occupancy Sensors. Occupancy Sensors can be installed easily and are not very
expensive. They will turn lights on and off automatically when someone enters an office
space.
HVAC systems - try keeping the thermostat at one or two degrees cooler in the winter
and warmer in the summer. Often no one will notice and the energy savings can be
substantial.
Make sure your office HVAC system is operating correctly. If not, the system may be
inefficient and using more electricity than it should. Also make sure any return filters are
clean and changed on a regular basis. This will help the system operate more efficiently
and reduce energy costs, prolonging the life of the system.
Waste Management
Disposal of waste products can have a large impact on our environment. It is recommended that
recycling stations be placed in appropriate locations for paper, plastic and glass containers. The
less you print, the less paper you have to recycle! It is also important to remember that some
local and state governments have laws concerning the disposal of some items.
Batteries - Throwing batteries into the trash is harmful for the environment. When the
acid and chemicals seep into the ground from landfills they can enter the fresh water
aquifer and pollute our fresh water dinking supply. Sixty percent of our drinking water
comes from underground sources. Some waste disposal companies have a battery
recycling program and will provide the right containers to discard old batteries. Some
companies, like Home Depot and Lowes, have battery disposal buckets you can drop old
batteries into and they take care of the rest.
Fluorescent Light Bulbs - Fluorescent light bulbs contain mercury. This is highly toxic.
Breaking these bulbs should be avoided. Many local and state laws now prohibit
discarding these lamps in trash cans or dumpsters. Many regulations require that the
lamps be placed in clearly marked boxes and sent to a center where they can be disposed
Page 3
of safely. It is encouraged that each office investigate the local laws regarding this matter
and take appropriate action. Many waste disposal companies have a free recycling
program for these lamps. Proper handling of these lamps will help keep our work spaces
healthier and protect our soil and ground water.
Polystyrene or Styrofoam Cups - These cups are not biodegradable. Lately, there has
been a movement to reduce or eliminate these containers in restaurants, offices and coffee
shops. We might lose some insulation properties, but try using paper. Or better, use
something that is washable and can be reused. Today there are many alternatives to
Styrofoam cups.
Conserve Water
Less than 3% of the water on Earth is fresh; much of that is unreachable in glaciers, icecaps or
deep within the earth. Depletion of these dwindling water supplies degrades the natural
environment and can necessitate costly and habitat-destroying water projects. Water
conservation practices, such as efficient appliances and fixtures, behavioral changes, and changes
in irrigation practices, can reduce water consumption by as much as a third.
Many firms have implemented general water-saving devices and practices, such as low-flow
toilets, encouraging employees to turn off the water while washing hands and creating watersaving landscaping. Specific industries (service businesses and some manufacturers) find ways to
use less water, reuse wastewater or revamp water-intensive processes, such as cooling systems.
Water-efficiency measures can reduce water and sewer costs by up to 30%. Significant savings
in energy, chemical and maintenance expenses are also possible. The typical payback period is
three to seven years. Some general benefits of water conservation include:
Energy savings by using less energy for heating, pumping and treating water.
Financial savings, particularly if the firm is on an actual-usage meter, will result from
decreased water use.
Less wastewater resulting from reduced water usage, which cuts sewer service costs. In
some areas, wastewater utilities offer financial incentives for reduced wastewater output.
Various environmental benefits include increased water availability to local streams,
wetlands, and their natural inhabitants, and fewer water projects.
Positive publicity stemming from environmental protection efforts.
Let’s Practice What We Preach
We tell clients about the benefits of streaming and videoconferencing all day long. Many of us
use the technology ourselves. Let’s try and use it more to interact with each other, as well as our
clients. Before we drive to see a client we know has VTC, let’s ask ourselves if we can
Page 4
accomplish the same thing with videoconferencing. Not all meetings can be over video, but try
and use it when we can. It is also an excellent way to demonstrate new technology.
We should also build energy efficiency into our systems design and recommendation. Most
audiovisual equipment carries a huge phantom load. If we pay attention to energy use and
promote our efficient designs, it is another key differentiator for The Whitlock Group! You
might also demonstrate that the long term energy efficiencies provide substantial cost savings at
a higher investment price. For example, Revolabs has reusable batteries on their wireless
microphones and Crestron has their Green Light system.
Environmental conservation and intelligent building design should be part of what we promote
for every project.
Changing habits:
You'll get the biggest bang for the buck simply by replacing incandescent light bulbs with
compact fluorescent models. They're inexpensive and use about a quarter of the electricity.
Better yet, they last up to ten times longer, so they're also more convenient when you use them in
hard-to-reach places, such as closets, ceilings and fixtures that aren't easily dismantled.
LEED
LEED stands for Leadership in Energy Efficient Designs. This organization has levels of
certifications depending on how well a building is engineered concerning energy efficiency. The
entire building is examined, including lighting controls, videoconferencing, landscaping, etc.
Depending on the level of certification obtained, the property can realize an increase in value and
may be eligible for significant tax credits from local, state and federal government. More and
more companies are seeking LEED certifications, especially any new construction or major
remodeling building projects. To learn more use the link below:
http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CategoryID=19
Green Partners
Who are our green partners? The Whitlock Group has many vendor partners that help the
“Green” cause. These vendors include Polycom, Tandberg, LifeSize, Sonic Foundry, Accordent,
and Crestron, among others. These companies help us and our clients save money and conserve
resources. The AV industry and conferencing technologies have been green before being green
was “cool”.
What Green Means to Our Economy
According to the U.S. Green Building Council, 80% of commercial building owners have set
aside money for green initiatives. Many economic experts see a recovery plan focused on green
Page 5
jobs and building green infrastructure. They also call this one bright spot in our economy. You
can read the full article here:
http://www.usgbc.org/Docs/News/National%20Studies%20Show%20Green%20Building%20as
%20Key%20Part%20of%20America%20(2).pdf
Other than bicycle manufacturers, few industries have been doing this as long as the The
Whitlock Group. Few are better equipped to capitalize on this growing market of green
technology.
Green Resources
ftp://ftp.infocomm.org/Public/Green_AV_Summit - Lots of on-topic Infocomm documents.
www.buildingdashboard.com/clients/southface (a real life example of building management –
click on each topic for real time and historic statistics)
http://www.seegreennow.com Very useful Tandberg website
http://www.polycom.com/usa/en/company/about_us/global_sustainability.html Polycom Green
information
http://www.mcdonough.com/cradle_to_cradle.htm Recommended Reading
http://www.greenreportcard.org Specific to schools and universities (including report cards)
http://www.architecture2030.org 2030 Challenge
USGBC (LEEDs): http://www.usgbc.org
WEEE: (European hardware recycling program)
ROHAS: http://www.rohs.gov.uk
Sustainability: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_development
Energy Star: http://www.energystar.gov
ISO 14000: http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_14000_essentials
IEC 62075: AV and IT standards http://www.iec.ch/online_news/etech/arch_2008/etech_0208/store_1.htm
Did you know?
According to Conservation International, every time two people meet over video instead of
traveling roundtrip from LA to New York, they save the carbon emission equivalent of taking
one car off the road for a year.
http://finance.paidcontent.org/v?GUID=5536753&Page=MediaViewer&Ticker=PLCM
For every three meetings held by videoconference instead of flying cross-country, it would be
like taking a car completely off the road for an entire year.
http://www.washingtontechnology.com/online/1_1/32011-1.html?topic=360
Tell me you didn’t just print this document…
Page 6