Introduction

What Is P2AD?

P2AD is the Pollution Prevention Assistance Division, a division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources charged with developing programs and activities to reduce waste and prevent pollution in the state. The Division provides technical environmental assistance to commercial businesses, institutions, military installations, industries, and government agencies. P2AD does not enforce regulations, impose penalties, or handle issues regarding environmental compliance. Its services are free of charge and confidential.

What Is the Sustainable Office Toolkit?

The Sustainable Office Toolkit is a set of resources and tools developed by P2AD to help all types of offices and office buildings move toward sustainability through practices such as waste reduction, recycling, energy and water conservation, and “green” building.

So, why sustainability? The sections below describe why achieving sustainability is a worthwhile and necessary goal, how this guide can help your office or building implement sustainable practices, and the benefits to be gained from working toward sustainability – financial and otherwise.

Why Be Sustainable?

Cut Costs while Conserving Natural Resources

To stay competitive, businesses must continually find new ways to improve efficiency and cut costs. Many businesses have found that reducing the amount of solid waste they dispose of and conserving natural resources, such as energy and water, can result in significant cost savings, improve the work environment, increase employee retention rates, and enhance worker productivity and satisfaction. In addition to the benefits your office or building will realize, you will be helping to ensure that the earth's natural resources are available for generations to come.

To become a sustainable office, your environmental program must become part of your business’s core operating principles and values. It must be carried out as systematically and with as much attention to detail as any project for your manager or board of directors. For example, simply posting recycling signs above a new container is not going to effect a change in behavior; and such a change is exactly what needs to happen.

That’s where this Toolkit comes in — it makes it easy for anyone in your company to begin an environmental program and move toward becoming a sustainable office. The information in these pages will help you plan and implement your program, gain the support of your co-workers, managers, tenants and/or employees, and earn public recognition for your efforts.

How this Toolkit Can Help

OK, you’ve decided that cutting your costs and conserving natural resources sound like good things to do. How do you get started? This Toolkit is organized into a guidebook (which you are now reading) and seven different modules which are available on P2AD’s Web site (www.p2ad.org). The guidebook contains general information that you will use (to varying degrees) no matter which module you select. Each module contains specific information to help you with planning and implementation, in various areas of sustainability.

You will continue to find the guidebook helpful for all of the modules. However, you can also use the Toolkit to support individual activities – such as setting up an office paper recycling program or applying to a recognition program. Ultimately, how you use the Toolkit is up to you; after all, it’s just a guide.

Plan a Program

Step one, Gathering Information, describes the types of data you will need to collect prior to establishing an environmental program in your company or building. If you are a tenant, you will (with approval from upper management) identify each of your company’s key operations. (Ideally, tenants should also gather building-wide information with approval and assistance from the property manager.) If you are a property manager, you will need to identify each of the building’s key operations (such as water and energy use, waste disposal, landscaping, and purchasing).

Step two, Securing Support, covers documenting and presenting the data you’ve gathered. Tenants will need to gain buy-in from their company’s management and/or the building’s property manager. Property managers will need the support and participation of their tenants and staff to make their environmental program a success.

After securing necessary support, step three, Forming the Green Team, discusses the importance of taking a team approach and suggests who you will need to include on the team. For example, tenants will need the property manager on the team and property managers will need the tenants involved in the decision-making process.

Step four, Selecting & Planning a Program, includes sample selection criteria and ranking methods to help determine which module to select.

Step five, Launching the Program, discusses some key elements to include in your kick-off event for the program.

To keep up the momentum and encourage participation, tenants and property managers will need to establish an ongoing educational and motivational component to the program; this is outlined in step six, Encouraging Participation.

Step seven, Monitoring the Program, explains why keeping track of the program’s activities is crucial to its long-term success and provides examples of the types of information to include in your tracking.

Each online module contains troubleshooting tips, terms and definitions, and a list of additional resources.

Receive Recognition

You can also use this Toolkit in efforts to receive recognition for your achievements from internal or corporate awards programs or external organizations. By following the steps contained in the Toolkit, you will be well on your way to meeting the requirements for recognition in various state and national programs. (Of course it is completely up to your company to choose to apply for recognition.) One such recognition program in Georgia is the Partnership for a Sustainable Georgia. At the national level, we encourage our clients to become members of programs such as EPA’s WasteWise.

If your company decides to apply for membership in the Partnership for a Sustainable Georgia, online forms will be available to help you track and record your accomplishments and progress. Tips are also placed throughout the Toolkit to assist companies in applying to the Partnership Program. These tips will reference specific forms and suggest when you should apply to a higher level in the program.

We strongly encourage you to apply to the Partnersiop for a Sustainable Georgia and other recognition programs. The benefits of being acknowledged for your environmental programs extend far beyond just patting yourself on the back. Recognition and awards can:

• Demonstrate your commitment to the health and wellbeing of your employees/tenants and community
• Establish your business as a leader and a role model for your peers and community
• Help maintain loyalty among your customers, employees, and/or tenants
• Show your employees/tenants that their efforts are valuable and appreciated