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.
|
| CONTACT | |
Great Forest, Inc.
2014 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10035
212-779-4757 Phone
212-779-8044 Fax
|
|
Be Part of the Conversation on Earth Day Everyone will be talking about sustainability on Earth Day. Don't get left out of the conversation.
Call your Great Forest representative for Earth Day ideas. Last year, we constructed several large attention-getting recycling displays to get people talking, and even brought in an electric car to encourage greener transportation alternatives. (See photos from some of last year's events)
We can conduct surveys, organize games, hold refresher-training courses, or simply be on hand to answer questions from your tenants and employees. Start planning now for April 22nd. -- The Great Forest Team
|
|
|
Trash Talking - Waste Audits Tell All
Every company or building should listen to what their trash is telling them at least once a year by conducting a waste audit.
Great Forest has conducted waste audits not only in office buildings, but also in schools, universities, VA hospitals and in NYC's Penn Station. This month we are conducting audits for Arlington County in Virginia to help them gauge residential and commercial recycling participation and diversion rates.
A comprehensive waste audit will provide a detailed account of what is going into your trash. Waste audits are key for a number of reasons:
- They help you create effective green programs. The only way to find out what you are "wasting" is to look in the trash. One company decided to implement a compost program after a waste audit revealed a large percentage of their trash was made up of food scraps. As a result, their waste load is now 25% lighter. Another company decided to eliminate disposable coffee cups after a waste audit revealed that nearly 30% of their waste volume was made up of coffee cups.
- They help you save money. If your audit turns up a huge percentage of recyclables in the trash, you can take corrective steps, either by refining your recycling program or through recycling education. Less recyclables in the trash will probably reduce waste hauling fees, and could possibly earn you money.
- They help you meet metrics targets and other certification standards. A waste audit can help set a baseline and create benchmarks year after year so you can gauge the progress and effectiveness of your recycling programs. One large financial institution began a series of recycling training sessions after a waste audit revealed that 22% of their trash consisted of recyclables. A follow-up waste audit a year later showed that the amount of recyclables in their waste stream had dropped to 15%, meeting their goals for improvement. A bonus - the audit results were a morale booster for their employees, who were delighted to learn that their efforts were making a measurable difference.
|
| |
|
Composting Case Study: Two Scenarios
 To compost or not to compost? That is the question many businesses are still asking. The answer depends on a number of factors that may affect you uniquely. So if you are considering composting, do the research and launch a
trial. Here are two examples:
Case 1: A large financial firm in Weehawken, NJ, with a three-building campus housing about 6,000 workers.
Process: Kitchen workers in the corporate cafeteria began collecting all food scraps in buckets, which were conveniently positioned near prep areas. These buckets were then emptied into 30-gallon covered, wheeled containers that were stored in a refrigerated room near the loading dock. These were picked up weekly.
Result: The site produced about four containers worth of food scraps daily, each one weighing an average of 200 pounds. The diversion of 8 tons of food scraps a month was a financial wash, as the cost of composting was offset by money saved with reduced trash removal fees. With no added cost, the company has been able to boost its green profile with its composting efforts, which have become a source of pride for its employees. And of course there is now 8 tons less trash going to the landfill.
Case 2: A multi-tenant building with 1,500 workers in Pearl River, NY.
Process: The kitchen at this smaller site began collecting food scrapes in the same way as Case 1. However, because they did not have a refrigerated room to store compostable items for any period of time, the food scraps had to be picked up every day.
Result: The composting effort at this smaller site was not as successful because it did not generate enough food scraps. The kitchen produced only one 30-gallon container of compostables a week. The daily cost of hauling a single container did not offset any savings from reduced waste fees. In fact, it cost them more money to compost the food scraps than to send them to the trash.
Conclusion: By establishing these trial composting programs, Great Forest was able to figure out the best approach to take for each. In Case 2, this research paid off by avoiding the instituting of a program that was doomed to be cancelled due to cost despite the best intentions of all involved. Instead, Great Forest is working on channeling this building's green efforts in more effective directions
When done properly, composting can save money and reduce waste sent to the landfill. Ask Great Forest if composting will work for you. |
| |
|
New Energy Star Building
AFP Properties has earned an ENERGY STAR label at 28 West 44th Street.
Great Forest helped to generate the building's energy performance statements and worked on the application process to the EPA. Congratulations.
|
| |
|
Q&A: Our office does an annual spring cleaning. How can we make it green?
 Early spring is a great time to do an annual cleaning of your building or office space. Here are some tips to ensure your efforts are good for you and the environment.
- Declutter your file cabinets of old paperwork, making sure to have your recycling bin handy. Reuse folders and binders instead of tossing them.
- Broken or outdated electronic equipment collect dust and risk getting tossed in the trash. Properly recycle these items through your building's e-waste program, or call Great Forest if you're not sure how to dispose of equipment.
- Donate usable office equipment and supplies to an organization or school.
- Commercial cleaning companies can find healthy and environment-friendly cleaning products from many suppliers. LEED standards award points for using green cleaning products. After all, spring is in the air but chemicals don't have to be.
- Purify the air with plants. Many plants cleanse the air of chemicals such as formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, and others that are harmful to humans. Try peace lily, bamboo palm or mums to name a few. Even if you don't have a green thumb, you can have a green office.
Have a question for our Q&A? |
| |
|
|
