So in my last blog “Easy Steps to Going Green…No Excuses!” I promised to turn the spotlight on Ranch Ehrlo Society. So before I admit to the Ranch’s dirty little secrets, I will admit to mine. So here goes….I’m perfect! There, I said it; it feels great to get that off my chest. On a serious note, I am conscience about the environment and do what I can but I could always do more and the same goes for the Ranch. So, the big question is will my good friend Kermit the Frog be proud? Before I get into the meat and potatoes I just want to add a side note. I work in the office environment at the Ranch so a lot of what I comment on will be what I see in the office. I did ask for feedback as to what happens on the residential and vocational side as well and will share what I’ve learned but I’m sure it doesn’t give the entire picture. I encourage our employees to read this blog and use the comment section to share some information as to what your program does so we can all take that information and implement it into other programs at the Ranch. Also, please refer to my last blog for some ideas to bring back to your program. We Reuse, Reduce, and Recycle…as for going paperless… Not to brag, but we have a pretty excellent agency wide recycle program at the Ranch Ehrlo Society. We have a couple of our vocational programs, as well as residential units, helping us out with our efforts. To start, the Learning Centre comes around to our offices to collect all our paper recycling to take in. This doesn’t include the recycling set aside for shredding which we contract services for. Our other vocational program, CVEP, runs a large recycle program that involves the community as well. They have recycle bins set up in some of our mall parking lots for refundable items such as bottles. They also have an internal program in some of Regina’s businesses where they go in and collect recycling for the cost of the refunds. The money raised goes back into the program. A lot of our units also collect bottles to raise money for activities. As for the rest of the recycling in the units, CVEP takes care of it for a small fee. I think it’s great that we have our residents participate in the recycling program so they learn the importance of recycling. Around the office we will reuse what we can. An example of this is that we constantly reuse file folders by slapping on a fresh label and it’s only when the file folder is holding on by a thread that we will throw it in the recycling bin. We also will reuse boxes when possible and if any of our employees are moving or need extra boxes they know where to find them. Those that are no longer reusable are broken down and recycled. As far as paper goes…some efforts to reduce the amount of paper used is a personal choice. I will always go for the two-sided print job when the option is there and I hope others make this choice as well. In our office we have a printer that can do this so there is no excuse to not opt for two-sided. In some of the units they also have printers that can do this but not all units have this option. It would be worth the Ranch ensuring that every site has a printer capable of two-sided printing. Unfortunately misprints are a hazard of the job…I hate when I run through a large print job only to find out there’s a mistake and it has to be re-printed. Again, how this is handled is an individual choice. I hope everyone will save whatever can be saved from the original document and only replace what is needed. As for the rest of the wasted paper…lets all have a moment of silence. I promised that I would have to share something a co-worker of mine said regarding recycling…I won’t mention any names but you know who you are. She said she used to buy her water in water bottles but not to worry…she recycled them (thankfully she no longer uses water bottles). She’s also said a similar thing about misprints…like it doesn’t make a difference on the waste because it’s being recycled. Don’t worry Kermit, I set her straight! It’s always better to reduce first because although recycling is a better option than trashing it, the process still uses energy. Just so we’re clear people…avoid use altogether first…reduce THEN recycle. Now, can I get a drum roll please while I prepare to announce what kind of paper we use.... We use recycled paper…can I get a holla’! In addition, the paper company is supported by Rainforest Alliance and the World Wildlife Federation. They also make an annual donation to the WWF from the sale of its products. As for going paperless…we’re unfortunately like most organizations and hold a lot of comfort in that paper copy. We have paper copies of EVERYTHING and it’s something the Ranch needs to work on. We have taken baby steps but still have far to go. A couple of us have started to email out certain paperwork to our Directors and Unit Managers. This is because we know they check their emails regularly. As for the rest of the employees, email usage isn’t what it should be. So although we talk about sending some letters via email off to our employees, we won’t actually do it until they start using their emails. So we print off letters like it’s going out of style, and of course we make a copy for their file…and there’s also the envelope…it’s horrible. My HR team and I have discussed ways to get the employees using their emails and hopefully we’ll come up with a solution soon so we can eliminate a lot of the paper that’s generated. We also send out birthday cards each month to our aging employees…we really need to start sending e-cards ‘cause this is such a waste. We are also in the process of researching some enterprise systems to store all our data which will cut back on huge amounts of paper. The Ranch has a couple of separate online programs to store some data but there is still a lot that ends up in those archaic bins they call file cabinets. For example, we still print off resumes and do our evaluations on paper forms. These are things that could be incorporated into an enterprise system so everything is stored and available to review/update online. To sum up, we do need to catch up to the new millennium and although we’re working on it, it’s still far from being up and running. Conserving energy, gas, and all the rest Let’s start with light bulbs. Each residential unit buys their own light bulbs so they are each responsible for the types of light bulbs they use. As for in the office buildings; we use the more efficient compact fluorescent bulbs. And at the end of the day, it’s lights off. There’s a level of individual responsibility to remember to turn off lights when leaving but for the most part it’s not an issue. For our computers, we use flat screen monitors and we all have the capability to use the energy efficient settings on our computer. Again, it’s up to the individual to use those settings. Examples include using sleep mode rather than screen savers and shutting down rather than logging off. As we update our appliances in our various sites we are making the change to high efficiency appliances. These HE appliances use approximately 70% less water, which is huge. And as we replace windows and build new sites we are switching to triple pane argon gas filled windows. These keep the summer heat and winter cold out, and will save approximately 10% on energy. On the other hand…why do we blast the A/C in the summer? We all freeze and complain about how cold we are so we really should have more modest settings. On to gas, anyone who lives in Regina has probably seen the Ranch vans driving around. Our Ranch vans can seat up to 15 people and it’s always better for the environment to travel in packs. In addition, some of the homes will opt out for public transit when going to school or other locations and will even ride bikes or walk when possible. Of course this depends on the location of the group home as well as the weather…this is Canada after all and winters can be nasty! So many programs…so many projects Ranch Ehrlo Society has a wide variety of programs and they each do their own thing to contribute. My choosing to blog about going green has really opened my eyes to everything the Ranch does that I really had no idea about before. And I’m sure there’s still much more I don’t know so again, I encourage comments. I’ll sum up a few more things that many of the group homes do for the community and environment. To start, a lot of the units have gardens or planters outside. And a lot of them also compost. We have a unit that will pick up garbage for a donation and dispose of it properly. A lot of the units also participate in community projects to clean up garbage in the neighbourhood and clean up graffiti. And to add to that, some have even assisted in enhancing green spaces by planting trees. Getting the residents involved in these projects teaches them a valuable lesson about the environment and it’s something they should be extremely proud of. To sum everything up, I think there’s a lot that the Ranch does to be proud of. We do a lot as an agency in efforts to go green however some things come down to the individual so we each need to do our part as well. I hope this blog and my last blog will help give everyone the tools to start making changes if they haven’t already. I think the biggest sin is our paper waste which is common in the office environment but that’s no excuse. We need to keep moving forward in minimizing and eliminating paper waste. Other than that, hats off to the Ranch for a job well done!