Going Green Becomes Part of Corporate Culture

The U.S Department of Energy reports that office buildings account for 19 percent of all energy consumption in the United States, an environmental impact that many corporations are beginning to take seriously as they explore opportunities to Go Green in their everyday operations. 

For some, this means turning off lights and cutting back on paper.  For others “going green” has become a fundamental aspect of corporate culture. 

A recent survey by Kforce Finance & Accounting revealed that 65 percent of respondents are currently implementing green strategies in their corporate environment, and 64.3 percent are also incorporating environmental elements into their products and services.  For these companies, going green is not just a strategy or initiative.  It is a way of doing business. 

Environmentally friendly practices have found their way into daily operations through building construction and modifications, energy reduction and employee programs.  For example, many finance and accounting firms are transitioning to a paperless environment as they move toward a greener workplace.  In addition to benefitting the environment, they are saving hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in annual paper, ink and storage costs. 

Kforce Treasury

This was the case for Kforce Inc.’s Treasury department, a finalist in the 2009 Treasury & Risk Alexander Hamilton Award for Best Green Strategy.  By transferring the entirety of its documents to electronic format, the division has realized an annual savings of $25,000 in paper and storage costs alone. 

For Kforce, the decision to go paperless was prompted by several factors.  Paramount was the opportunity to reduce paper, boxes and other clutter.

“This was especially [problematic] at the end of the year and the beginning of the New Year, when there tends to be boxes everywhere because we’re in audit mode,” said Kforce Treasurer Judy Genshino-Kelly.  “Eliminating this clutter was one reason we sought to go electronic, but also because our team really wanted to help the environment.”

The benefits realized far exceed cost savings.  Employees now have better access to documents, which has improved efficiency.  This is particularly useful during audits, as information from past years is easier to find.  Time savings is another perk, since employees no longer have to spend their days printing out information and searching through documents. 

Business continuity has also been reinforced, because employees are able to work remotely, which “is also a draw for some employees,” said Genshino-Kelly.

With an upfront investment of just $1,000 to deploy Adobe Acrobat, Kforce Treasury’s return on investment for going paperless has been more than 25 times the cost for the four-person staff.  In addition to the $25,000 savings in paper and storage costs, the division is also saving 300 labor hours each year, which translates to an additional annual savings of $10,000 – plus the elimination of 200,000 sheets of paper. 

Imperative to the success of Kforce’s green initiative was the approval by internal and external auditors of the electronic documents and agreement on what constitutes an original signature for audit purposes.  These concerns were taken to the regional offices to gain approval, and a decision was made that anything signed and scanned as a PDF, or email forwarded with the original attachment, would be included as an original signature. 

“This program could easily be implemented in human resources, contract management, billing or legal,” said Genshino-Kelly.  “…What helped us was not biting off the whole pie at once.  We took one slice, one department at a time.  We got approval on an individual basis and then developed best practices from each department that can be implemented in other departments.  Each department is unique and starting small allows the initiative to be controllable and best practices discovered and repeated.”

Thrivent Financial

Fellow Alexander Hamilton Award nominee Thrivent Financial for Lutherans also exemplifies superior green practices in the workplace.  Sparked by an employee passion for the environment and the potential cost benefits from the implementation of environmentally friendly practices, Thrivent Financial began developing its ambitious green strategy more than five years ago. 

With corporate offices in Minneapolis, Minn. and Appleton, Wis., the company first recognized the opportunity to conserve energy in the construction and operation of their buildings.  At the start of 2003, the Building Operations Team in Minneapolis began exploring ways to reduce electrical and thermal energy costs while maintaining or improving comfort and indoor air quality, which was critical to peak productivity. 

“Our decision to implement green strategies stemmed from a combination of things,” said Kirk Ahlberg, field implementation consultant and head of Thrivent Financial’s Green Team.  “For starters, there were the benefits we could [realize] from an economic standpoint, since many of the improvements around the building are energy related.  There was also a swelling of passion in employees to help the environment that we wanted to address and, of course, as a non-for-profit membership-based organization, the needs of our members were also considered.”

Building improvements to the Minneapolis office include:

• An ENERGY STAR-qualified solar reflective roof to reduce building temperatures
• Replacing 32 watt lamps throughout the facility with 25 watt fluorescent lamps
• Two high-efficiency water chillers to replace the less efficient chilled water service
• Installation of water-saving plumbing
• A comprehensive modernization of the elevator and escalator systems

Each of these improvements has aided in the conservation of energy that translates into an annual savings of more than $600,000 on energy, utilities and supplies.  Since launching its green initiatives, Thrivent has cut emissions at its Minneapolis facility nearly in half, earning it the U.S. Department of Energy’s ENERGY STAR award in 2007 with a performance rating of 93. 

Taking its green initiatives a step further, Thrivent has begun serving sustainable, healthy foods in its corporate dining facilities and drastically reduced the use of Styrofoam.  Additionally, employees are offered Community Supported Agriculture services, allowing them to pay for a season’s share of vegetables and then receive weekly deliveries from local farmers.  Because the produce is grown locally, transport is minimal and carbon emissions are reduced. 

The company has also taken its green strategy beyond its corporate walls by educating its community and clients—Lutheran churches – on the benefits of environmentally sound initiatives. 

“Each year we build relationships with and provide mortgage loans to thousands of churches,” said Ahlberg.  “This has given us the unique opportunity to reach out to these churches with the expertise we have gained and help them build greener buildings.  It is a big step in reaching beyond our walls and greening the community.”

For Thrivent Financial, education is the key to success.  Employees are made aware of green practices through signage on site, green tips and resources on the company’s intranet and even lunch and learn sessions providing useful information for a green office and home.  With the support of employees, the green initiatives have continued to grow and building modifications are currently underway at the Appleton office. 

Humana

For nearly two decades, Humana has considered energy efficiency and environmental stewardship important aspects of daily operations.  It began with efforts to deploy a comprehensive recycling program at the national health insurance company’s Louisville office and has grown into what is today a company-wide commitment to practicing corporate and social responsibility to make the planet a healthier place. 

“For years Humana has been doing green things as a company – before green was even the color,” said David Noltemeyer, governance manager for Humana’s Workplace Solutions department.  “From a cost perspective, our company has always focused on energy efficiency.  Then, five years ago we started talking about our corporate social responsibility and going green.  Conserving energy and being more conscious of the environment is a pillar of this responsibility.”

Humana has set out to make each office building as green as possible.  For the 360,000-square-foot Green Bay, Wis. facility, this meant implementing a long-range energy saving plan to document and manage energy reduction efforts.  Improvements included:

• Installation of compact fluorescent light bulbs and LED exit signs
• Water-saving plumbing
• Modified light towers
• High-efficiency fan systems and water chillers
• Lighting with occupancy sensors and daylight controls
• Replacement of five electric water heaters with one gas-fired water heater

These improvements have resulted in a 32 percent increase in energy efficiency and earned the Green Bay facility ENERGY STAR certification. 

One location at a time, Humana has set out to modify its operations to be as energy efficient and environmentally friendly as possible.  For leased facilities, this goal has been harder to achieve.  However, as each lease expires or new space is acquired, the company plans to move forward making each facility as green as possible. 

Holding each building to high standards, the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) has become the benchmark for all design, construction and leasing decisions.  This is evident in their recent build-out in Chicago, which received a LEED silver rating. 

“Humana has really graduated from having a green initiative,” said Tony Tomazic, Director of Innovation, Humana.  “The thinking has now been infused into most of our corporate initiatives, and we have begun applying sustainable thinking to all aspects of business.”

Perhaps the best example of this is the Freewheelin Program, which was first piloted at the Louisville headquarters in 2007.  The program allows employees to borrow a bicycle for the day to travel between local offices and run errands – while benefiting from exercise in the process.  Within the first week, 3,000 Humana employees had signed up for the program, 20 percent of whom identify Freewheelin as their only form of regular exercise. 

In 2008, Humana partnered with the advocacy group Bikes Belong to bring 1,000 bicycles each to the Democratic and Republican National Conventions.  With Freewheelin kiosks set up across the city, delegates, journalists and local residents alike were given the opportunity to unlock a bike from one site, pedal all day, and return it at the end of the day.  The results exceeded expectations, with participants taking 7,523 rides, pedaling 41,724 miles and reducing their carbon footprint by 14.6 metric tons over a 10-day period.

“A few years back, the Innovation Center was asked to explore how Humana could engage the consumer in their health,” said Tomazic.  “After exploring the connection between health and sustainability, biking just made sense.”

The Freewheelin program is now available at three Humana guidance centers: Mesa, Ariz., Henderson, Nev., and Tamarac, Fla. It will also soon expand to the public through a partnership with a major city in the Southwest.

“We are excited to make the Freewheelin program available to the general public,” said Tomazic.  “Its launch will be the largest bike-sharing program in the U.S. to date, delivering 50 kiosks and 500 bikes to the city’s downtown area and providing the community with fun, green, health.”

Putting Green into Practice

For each of these organizations, implementation of green strategies began with a grassroots campaign by employees and has ended with reduced costs, increased efficiencies and a positive impact on the environment.

All three companies agreed that going green is within any organization’s reach.  The key is to hear what employees are saying and nurture their ideas and enthusiasm.

“Don’t feel like it must be restrained by committee and bureaucracy,” said Humana’s Tomazic.  “Let people maintain their passion for the environment rather than trying to task force everything.” 
 
 

Also in this month's issue:

Proposed Legislation Would Exempt Small Companies from Auditor Attestation Requirement

Survey:  Going Green