We may be a small design studio, but we have BIG ideas; including some big ideas on how to be green. After all, an environmentally friendly workplace leads to happier, healthier people and a smaller carbon footprint. By being green, we’ve found that things around here run smoothly – ecologically and economically. Here are just a few things we do to make our studio a green workplace:

1. Use Energy Wisely - As a design studio that uses computers in our day-to-day work, we make sure our machines are running on the least amount of energy possible. That means making sure they are on optimized energy settings and turning them off at the end of the day (a computer’s “standby” setting can still draw power and uses more energy). We also make sure our computers are plugged into the same power strip, so we can easily shut that off at the end of the day too, to keep the power draw down even more. We look for electronics that have the Energy Star seal of approval (products that earn this prevent greenhouse gas emissions by meeting strict energy-efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy–plus they help us save money while making a difference). We’re also lucky to have awesome sunlight in the studio during the day; instead of turning on the lights, we just enjoy the sunshine! Of course, any lights that do get turned on get switched off as soon as we no longer need light.

2. Reuse, Reuse, Reuse – Instead of using things like paper products and plastic water bottles once, we make sure to get as much mileage out of them as possible. If we have to print something, each sheet of paper gets reused as scrap paper once we’re done. Pads of paper get flipped over so we can scribble big ideas on the other side of each sheet. Water bottles get rinsed and refilled each day; we try to give everything a second chance (at least).

3. Recycled Products – We use recycled products – and recycle! – whenever possible. That includes our ink cartridges, cell phones, batteries, paper and plastic products and even our printer! We are always looking for creative ways to reduce our waste by purchasing and recycling things we use the most.

4. Green Commutes – We’re very lucky to be in New York City, which is home to some of the best public transportation in the world! That means we all take trains, buses, bikes and walk to work instead of each driving a car, which would leave much bigger carbon footprints than the ones our feet make on the sidewalk.  After all, American workers spend an average of 47 hours per year commuting through rush hour traffic. This adds up to 3.7 billion hours and 23 billion gallons of gas wasted in traffic each year. We’re proud to say we can avoid adding to those numbers.

5. Keep it Digital - The greenest paper is no paper at all, so we try to keep as much information on our computer screens as possible. We send all of our business-related correspondence (invoices, estimates, contracts etc.) via email. If we absolutely need to print something, we reuse it as scrap paper whenever possible.

These are just a few ways we strive every day to keep things lean and green as a small design studio. Whether it’s recycling ink cartridges, keeping the overhead light use to a minimum or finding the most energy-efficient appliances, we’re finding that we’re happier, healthier people helping to make our city – and the whole planet – happier and healthier too.

Posted by Krista Chambers  /  Filed under Easy Being Green  /  Comments: 0

We’re proud to be sponsors of Green Is: an event series that will work to promote green business by connecting doers, thinkers and thought leaders to inspire ideas and action into collaborations and innovations. This New York City-based networking group seeks to bring the community of green businesses and leaders into the spotlight by creating events that support the cause and business of sustainability as being viable – affecting the triple bottom line of people, planet and profit.

We love that they connect professionals from a cross section of diverse industries in intimate themed conversational spaces where ideas and collaborations are more readily realized.

To quote them, “At the core, Green Is: about seeing (new) media & technology as a great potential to innovate solutions that will bring us closer to answers pertaining to the sustainability challenge. We strive to collaborate and engage experiences that drive dynamic dialogue in a highly relevant networking space, where we hope to inspire action that will benefit citizen and community, professionally and personally.”

Green Is: will hold a launch event Oct. 17 at Meet at the Apartment, and we’ll be there! Meet at the Apartment, located at 101 Crosby Street in the Soho neighborhood of NYC, is a meeting space that combines technology within a unique, artistic and intimate setting.

As a design studio that strives each day to be lean and green, we’re so pleased to be a part of this cool effort. Please visit the Green Is: website at www.green-is-here.com.

Posted by Krista Chambers  /  Filed under Easy Being Green, Events  /  Comments: 0

We here at JPD believe that everything deserves a second chance, especially our printer ink cartridges! Unless you’re planning to use your empty ink cartridges to do something fabulous like decorate your bathroom walls or build a fort, we suggest you bring them over to Staples and recycle them for free like we do!

In 2007, Staples recycled nearly 24 million used printer ink cartridges in the United States alone. That’s a lot of plastic that would have otherwise clogged up our landfills! And, as if being a green god or goddess wasn’t enough of an incentive, Staples sweetens the deal by offering rewards if you recycle your cartridges with them. You can bring in 10 cartridges a month from HP, Lexmark or Dell, and they’ll give you $3 in rewards per cartridge. When you’re ready, you can redeem your rewards for anything in the store, like more ink cartridges, furniture, office supplies, and other necessary stuff. Even better: With a premium rewards card, you can recycle up to 20 cartridges a month!

Since we all know ink cartridges don’t last forever and are expensive, do your part for the environment while offsetting your costs a bit, and take advantage of this program! Just gather up all of your cartridges and swing by your local Staples; it just takes a moment to drop those babies off!

We’ve been inspired by this recycling program and want to see how you get your cartridges ready to recycle. Photograph your pile of cartridges in an interesting way and post your photos below before you haul your empties over to Staples. The participant with the most creative empty cartridge arrangement will receive a free goodie bag full of handy office supplies. We’ll contact the winner August 1 to get your address so we can send a prize your way. Good luck!

In the meantime, please make sure your friends and family are doing their part to rid our landfills of those empty cartridges; they have much more to offer than just one turn in your printer! We here at JPD love that a small change, like recycling your cartridges rather than pitching them, can make a huge difference in caring for our Earth.

Posted by Jessica Perilla  /  Filed under Easy Being Green  /  Comments: 0