Our Green Business Plan

We share our facility and Green Business Plan with Bowman Design Group. Our goals and action plans cover the range of activities for an existing small building that is not especially energy efficient. We offer our goals and timetables, action plans, and progress reports, as a model for other companies to improve upon.

Goals. We think that small businesses can easily beat the stringent greenhouse gas emissions targets called for by science assessments and California law. We hope to demonstrate that taking aggressive action voluntarily helps us build a thriving business.

Our goals are compared with 2006, our baseline year. The Climate Registry verifies our greenhouse gas emissions annually.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Goals:
10% less by 2010
20% less by 2013
80% less by 2020
95% less by 2050

Water Consumption Goals:
20% less by 2010
50% less by 2013
75% less by 2020

Landfill Waste Goals:
20% less by 2010
50% less by 2013

Recycling Goals:
10% more by 2010
Overall reduction thereafter

Green Supplies Goals:
100% recycled paper by 2009
100% green cleaning and miscellaneous supplies upon replacement

Action Plan. Our strategy is to take low-cost actions first while planning ahead for investments that involve longer paybacks.

Our Facility: Bowman Design Group joined the California Climate Action Registry in 2007 and established verified emissions baselines on our shared facility for 2006. The facility and company vehicle are measured and verified annually.

Our strategy is to improve the passive energy efficiency of our building so that we need less electricity, water, and natural gas. This will allow us to replace active systems, such as heating and air conditioning, with smaller, more cost-effective units. We plan to invest in solar PV and hot water systems when our demand is lower.

Driving: Commuting and visiting clients and suppliers represent a large share of the company’s carbon footprint. We are implementing telecommuting and carpooling programs to reduce commutes. We are co-scheduling client and supplier visits with commuting to minimize extra trips.

Business Travel: Travel is an unavoidable part of teaching and consulting. We travel by rail on the East Coast, drive whenever possible on the West Coast, and fly non-stops over longer distances to minimize fuel consumption. We are using electronic meetings to minimize travel.

Water Consumption: In response to California’s ongoing water crisis, we are shifting our landscaping to drought tolerant species. Our facility already employs low-flow plumbing fixtures.

Green Supplies: We purchase recycled and non-toxic alternatives as new purchases are made. We plot fewer drawings by working electronically and shifting to smaller formats, and we print on 100% recycled paper.

Progress Report: 2008.
65% less greenhouse gas emissions
18% less water use
45% less landfill waste
33% less recycling

Additional Details:

27% less electricity, 40% cost savings
14% less natural gas, 7% cost savings
63% less gasoline, 59% cost savings
43% less employee mileage, 29% cost savings
76% less plotter paper, 76% cost savings
7% more copier paper, 37% cost increase
12% cost savings on office equipment