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New LEED building
Behind-The-Scenes
Did You Know...
 ABOUT
GREAT FOREST
Improve Environmental Performance, Reduce Costs

With over 20 years of experience, Great Forest is a leader in sustainability consulting, providing project management expertise to clients nationwide. Services include:

Learn How to Cut Waste Removal Costs by 20% to 50% 

 GREAT FOREST GIVES BACK
Great Forest is a proud supporter of the nonprofit Blacksmith Institute, which works to clean up life-threatening pollution problems in low and middle income countries.
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Great Forest, Inc.
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New York, NY 10035
212-779-4757 Phone
212-779-8044 Fax

 RecycleMania For Corporate Campuses?

Get your competitive gloves on. RecycleMania, the 8-week nationwide campus recycling challenge is taking place right now. From February into March, participating universities will report the amount of trash and recycling they collect each week and get ranked. Look for the champion to be announced in April to see if California State University at San Marcos, last year's grand winner, retains the title to continue its six-year streak.

Not a college? Not a problem. Great Forest is taking its RecycleMania experience and adjusting the competition for corporate campuses. Our consultants have already brought it to several office buildings with great results.  Look for a case study soon to see if it will work for your offices.

-- The Great Forest Team

New LEED Gold in Washington, D.C.  

LEED1919 M St  

Congratulations! The Vornado Realty Trust building at 1919 M Street NW in Washington, D.C. was recently certified Gold for LEED in the Existing Buildings category.  

 

Great Forest's work on the project included waste auditing, recycling program development, tenant and janitorial education and ongoing consumables metrics reporting.  Great Forest continues to manage the waste and recycling program for the building.  

Behind-The-Scenes: ShredX

 

ShredXOn a recent field trip, Great Forest visited ShredX to find out what really happens to sensitive documents sent off-site for disposal.

 

At its New Jersey location, ShredX operates one of the largest shredding machines in the region, capable of processing 800 tons of material a month. 

 

When Great ShredX 2Forest visited the operation, we were ushered into a restricted area of the facility, where we saw a giant two-story tall shredding machine in action, monitored by multiple security cameras. 

 

We were told that only authorized personnel had access to this room and we saw that the blue document-filled bins were only unlocked in the vicinity of the shredder.  

 

ShredX 4Once emptied onto the conveyor belt, the documents were sorted one final time. Workers pulled out items like paper clips and computer disks, which were sent to more appropriate recycling facilities.    

 

The shredded documents were then machine-baled and transported, that very same day, to nearby factories, where they were turned into products like paper towels and toilet paper.      

 

For secure and sustainable shredding, you should:   

  • Go local. Make sure the shredding facility is nearby so the documents will not have to travel far and do not get outsourced to another shredding facility.
  • Find out where the facility is selling their post-consumer recycled paper. You want to make sure it goes to a local factory and does not get shipped overseas.  
  • Ask for a document of destruction or other certification that you may need for sustainability reporting purposes.  
  • ShredX 3If you would rather not have your sensitive documents leave your offices, ask if the shredding can be done on your premises. Some companies offer mobile shredding units.
  • Ask about the company's security measures. Any reputable shredding facility should be able to provide you with locked bins and explain how they handle and track your documents from your office to the their rebirth as a recycled paper product.
  • Or ask your Great Forest representative. 

Did you Know: Green is This Year's Color of Choice for the Retail Industry 

 

From cutting down energy usage to using local materials in their buildings, the retail industry has been making strides toward sustainability in recent years.

The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) recently released the
2012 Retail Sustainability Report, which takes a look at where the industry has come from and where it's going in terms of sustainability. This is no small feat, considering that the industry produces the second largest amount of greenhouse gas emissions in the commercial sector of the U.S. (according to the EPA).
 
"This puts the first stake in the ground for us on sustainability," said Adam Siegel, RILA's vice president for sustainability and retail operations, of his organization's report. "It's a start. This is meant to open a dialogue and highlight good work in the industry. We also want to be frank about the challenges."

RILA counts more than 200 retail companies, product manufacturers and service suppliers among its members. They represent some $1.5 trillion in annual sales and more than 100,000 stores.

 

Have a question for our Q&A?