ACCION USA Takes the Energy Star Challenge
ACCION USA kicked the year off right by pledging to reduce our carbon footprint in 2010! We created an internal committee of passionate staffers and signed onto the Energy Star Challenge to hold our feet to the fire. We figured that greening our own operations would be an important step in promoting green business practices to microentrepreneurs.
To start, ACCION USA staffers in each office volunteered to be a green champion— each responsible for surveying our current green (or not-so-green) status. The survey considers the following:
- Facilities and Energy Use: Utilities, Lighting, Electronics, and HVAC
- Water Conservation
- Waste: Reduction, Recycling, and Printing
- Green Product Purchasing
- Transportation
The survey will help the green committee determine ACCION USA’s baseline. Once the baseline is established, we’ll be able to create a plan and track our progress (which, of course, we’ll report back to all of you!).
To rally our entire organization around the green theme, the committee will be throwing a St. Paddy’s Day pot luck and, you guessed it, staff will be asked to bring their favorite green (or green-colored) food. And, of course, we’ll post pictures.
Read more about the Energy Star Challenge and sign up to take it yourself!