Clean Green Horizons is focused on helping restaurants take steps to achieve a cleaner, greener future together with THE CLEANGREEN™ Certification Program.

What does it mean to be Green?
Rock groups like the Rolling Stones, events like the Super Bowl and the Oscars, and a growing number of fortune 500 companies have set carbon neutrality as a goal.  They have recognized the need to take action to express corporate social responsibility, and are calculating their carbon footprint. By taking this step they are defining the business as usual reality of their current situation. When positive actions are taken it can be measured as a reduction in the carbon footprint. Enabling a measurable, step by step, approach to going green.  

What can my business do to take the first step?

Clean Green Horizons can help your company to demonstrate its environmental leadership through a simple 3 step process:

• A questionnaire audit of your business's activities such as energy usage and composition, number of employees  is  completed by our CleanGreen™Certified technician.  This means measuring the amount of greenhouse gases you are producing in your daily business operations.  From this information a baseline cleangreen number is obtained as a starting point to measure your carbon emission reduction efforts over time. 
• Offer FREE consulting to identify abatement measures to increase energy efficiency and lower the greenhouse gas emissions used when conducting your business. By reducing your energy usage and waste this will ultimately lower the cost of doing business. 
• Sell you carbons offsets to neutralize your carbon footprint. CleanGreen™ carbon offsets fund clean energy and carbon reduction projects all over the world and are verified to the highest international standards.  

 

NOTE: Before staring a going green program it is our opinion you should measure you carbon footprint.  If you start abatement measures before the baseline measurement is taken those actions will not show as a reduction.

Here are a few tips for you to consider to begin to decrease the carbon footprint of your business, every little bit makes a difference. Our FREE consulting will include details on how you can achieve some of these steps with little change to your current operations.

1. Buy Only What You Need

Plain and simple-don't over purchase. However, when buying items that you use daily or in large quantities, consider buying in bulk. You will save money and packaging. 

2. Recycle, Recycle, Recycle!

Recycle, reuse, and properly dispose of all materials. But, recycling is not just limited to the cans, glass, and paper we go though everyday. Even food waste is organic and is great for composting. 

Don't forget the last step in the recycling loop: buy recycled! In order for recycling to be sustainable, we need to purchase and use recycled-content materials. Look for and purchase post-consumer recycled content packaging and products whenever possible. Biodegradable to-go containers are not as pricey as they once were.

3. Upgrade Your Light Bulbs

When your incandescent light bulbs burn out, replace them with energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) CFLs use 2/3 less energy than traditional incandescent light bulbs and last 10 times longer. Making this upgrade saves you money and saves energy.

4. Keep Your Gadgets Green

Electronics become outdated very quickly. To insure you are responsible with your gadgets, practice the following:

• Resist the urge to upgrade every time a "newer" or "cooler" gadget comes out. Reduce at the source-you save money and the time (and frustration) to learn how to operate and program the new gadget!
• Donate working electronics to charities or school programs that resell or refurbish them.
• Refill or recycle your ink jet or toner cartridges
• Close the recycling loop and buy recycled, post-consumer content paper for your printer. Most local office supply stores, such as Staples, offer a growing selection of environmentally friendly papers.

5. Conserve Every Drop

Despite the fact that 70% of the world is covered by water, you should conserve all that you can. Be efficient with your use of water. Not only will this help save our local water supply, it will also lower your bill! 

6. Adjust Your Thermostat

A few degrees difference in temperature can make all the difference in both your energy savings and your financial savings. In the summer, raise your thermostat two degrees. In the winter, lower your thermostat two degrees. You'll not likely notice the difference in temperature, but you'll sure notice the benefit when your utility bill arrives! Use a ceiling fan to cool off a room or house. It consumes about the same amount of energy as a 60-watt bulb (about 98% less energy than most air conditioners).

7. Save the Trees

Pay your bills on line, saving paper, time, and postage. As the price of paper cards and postage increases, consider emailing e-cards instead of mailing them out. Email documents and information instead of printing and mailing them. Whenever possible, save documents on your computer or on a disk instead of as a print copy in your filing cabinet.

8. Overall Around the Business

Use cloth napkins instead of paper napkins; they can be used repeatedly and thrown in with your weekly load of towels; or when using paper napkins, buy recycled materials.