Technology

Technology eco-consciousness

Agencies are finding creative ways of reducing their impact on the environment

By Nancy Doucette

Part one of this series, which appeared in the December 2008 issue of Rough Notes, provided an overview of the environmental, social, and fiscal benefits of “e-cycling.” In this second part of a three-part series, we will learn how four marketing agencies of the month are incorporating eco-awareness into their business practices.

“People want to be aligned with good corporate citizens,” says Steve Appel, vice president of corporate development for Gregory & Appel Insurance, based in Indianapolis, Indiana. As part of its definition of good corporate citizenship, the agency has “gone green” in a number of areas that positively impact employees, clients, and the community.

The 125-year-old agency opened its first office in downtown Indianapolis in May 1884 and has remained in the downtown area ever since. In 2006, the agency moved for the 10th time into an historic building that was the original factory for HCS Motor Cars, the second company founded by legendary Hoosier automaker Harry Stutz, who created the Stutz Bearcat.

After Gregory & Appel acquired the property, they embarked on an 18-month complete building restoration project that gave the agency the opportunity to ensure that they renovated their 30,000 square feet of space using post-consumer, recycled material.

One of the more unusual recycled materials that the agency used was old radiators rescued from the building. They were cleaned, refinished and designed into the center of the tabletop and as the legs for the agency’s boardroom table.

Steve Appel says that his cousin Dan, who is the agency president, leads by example with respect to energy conservation. In 2008, for instance, he bought a fuel-efficient Vespa scooter for his daily commute in warmer weather months to reduce fuel consumption.

Internally, electronic scanning has helped reduce the amount of paper the agency stores. But for the paper that still arrives at people’s desks, once it has been processed, it goes into a paper recycling bin that sits at each employee’s desk.

Appel says the agency has begun offering policies on CD to various commercial clients. “Some clients who share our environmental goals are happy about that,” he notes. “Others are just happy to replace a big binder full of policy information on their bookshelves.”

When it’s time to get feedback from the 107-person staff, Appel says that all of the agency’s survey efforts are done electronically.

And in keeping with the agency’s effort to use less paper, invitations to client or company outings are also handled via e-mail. “They’re easier to track as well,” Appel says.

“Even our NCAA office pool is on our intranet,” he says with a smile.

With more than 100 desktops, multiple monitors and a fleet of laptops, Gregory & Appel donates its outdated technology to Virtual Scavenger, a local charity that refurbishes and makes equipment available to individuals who cannot afford to buy a computer. Success stories at the Virtual Scavenger Web site tell of individuals rebuilding their lives by being able to work from home on computers they acquired from Virtual Scavenger.

In 2008, Gregory & Appel was named one of the top five best places to work in Indiana. “Everyone here is environmentally conscious and is proud of the efforts we make as a company to be green and good corporate citizens. We think that contributed to our receiving this honor,” Appel concludes.

Thinking green

When Hoffman Brown Company, based in Sherman Oaks, California, was preparing to move to its new location in late 2007, the agency formed various committees to ensure that the move went smoothly, says Susan Contreras who is executive assistant to Steve Brown, the agency president.

One of the committees was the green committee. “Moving into a new space, we wanted to do things a new way,” she explains. Early on, the committee suggested that all 45 employees add a tag line at the bottom of their e-mail signature block. It reads: “Hoffman Brown is a proud supporter of our environment. Please join us in thinking green before printing this e-mail.”

“A lot of times, people do things without thinking—like printing e-mails,” Contreras notes.

When Rough Notes first met Steve Brown, he was one of the honorees for The Rough Notes Company Community Service Award. A core value of the agency is philanthropic giving. So when Hoffman Brown ramped up its green initiative, the agency’s employee council naturally looked for charities that could benefit from technology equipment that the agency no longer needed.

Cell Phones for Soldiers is one such organization. They send the old cell phones to a recycler that in turn pays Cell Phones for Soldiers enough to provide an hour of talk time for soldiers overseas. Contreras points out that the Cell Phones for Soldiers Web site (www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com/index.html) provides all of the information that an organization needs to begin donating old cell phones to this worthwhile cause.

Hoffman Brown has also donated old cell phones to a local battered women’s shelter.

The agency scrubs the hard drives of old computers before they are donated to a local nonprofit that refurbishes them and forwards them to neighboring schools. Hoffman Brown also gave some computers to area summer and holiday camps for children.

“Our employees are great about bringing green thinking to us, but by Hoffman Brown keeping it in our company culture, it radiates out,” Contreras says.

Joining the movement

Once Mike Heffernan, president/CEO of Heffernan Insurance Brokers, headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, finished reading Paul Hawken’s Blessed Unrest, he was ready to engage his agency in what Hawken refers to as “the largest movement in world”—environmental protection and social justice.

Spearheading the green initiative for the 325-person, multi-location agency is Jen Mahoney, executive assistant to the CEO. “Not only is being green good for the environment, it’s good for how our company is perceived,” she says. “This is a good way for us to distinguish ourselves.”

Mahoney collaborates on this project with Tonja Cabatana, assistant vice president of operations. “Jen is the ‘big picture’ person for our green initiative,” Cabatana explains. “I’m more involved with implemen-tation because I work with all of our vendors. We want to get more green supplies into our offices.

“Even before we implemented our green initiative, Heffernan was eco-conscious,” Cabatana continues. “We’ve always gravitated to eco-friendly products when there’s a choice, and it’s not cost prohibitive.”

Case in point: “We’ve been using eco-friendly fluorescent tubes for our overhead lighting for some time,” she adds. “The fabric in our cubicles is an eco-friendly natural fiber. We’re also choosing Energy Star appliances.”

The agency took advantage of the free energy audit offered by PG&E, the local gas and electric utility provider. Among the factors that the audit revealed was that task lighting at each desk would reduce the amount of overhead light needed.

Cabatana says colleagues also offer “green” ideas. For instance, one employee pointed out that solar film on the windows would make the heating and cooling system more effective and efficient and that rebates for the film might be available.

She adds that the agency’s HVAC vendor recommended that digital thermostats replace the few remaining mercury thermostats in order to regulate the office temperature more accurately.

Heffernan rewards all employees who participate in a carpool 75% of the time with a $25 gas card each month. Mahoney says the Walnut Creek location is also investigating the possibility of getting a hybrid or electric vehicle to keep on site for producers to use for appointments. “Producers can carpool to the office, and then check out the hybrid vehicle for meetings or sales calls,” she explains.

This year, the agency’s Owner’s Weekend was held at a Napa Valley green resort. Guests are provided complimentary cruiser bikes to get around the resort and ride into the nearby town. Guest rooms are furnished with natural, sustainably farmed and recycled materials.

“Our next big project will be our office products,” Cabatana reports. “That’s where we can make a big impact. We’ll compare the green options to what we’ve been using. We’ll also take a look at kitchen supplies to see what post-consumer supplies we can get. Additionally, we want to be sure our janitorial service is using supplies that are as environmentally friendly as possible.”

Going forward, Mahoney says, Heffernan will be hiring a green consultant to assist the agency in incorporating more environmental awareness into its business practices.

Making a difference

“About two years ago, we upgraded almost all of our desktop computers at the same time,” reports Lew Kachulis, president of Gilbert’s Insurance Agency, based in Sharon, Pennsylvania. “That’s not the recommended way of doing it from a budgetary standpoint,” he quips.

The suggestion to do an across-the-board upgrade came from the computer consulting firm that handles the IT for Gilbert’s. The firm’s evaluation of Gilbert’s network revealed some potential security issues that couldn’t be properly resolved on outdated technology.

Kachulis says that outsourcing the agency’s IT has proven to be a wise decision. He knew the owners of the consulting firm so he had the trust and confidence in their integrity that is essential to a relationship of this nature.

About a year ago, Mike Biastro, an employee of the consulting firm, was placed at Gilbert’s for 32 hours a week. Kachulis says Biastro is included in some of the management meetings to provide the IT perspective.

Biastro’s presence in the agency, combined with monthly meetings with several others from the consulting firm, round out the agency’s technology services. “The creative solutions they’ve provided Gilbert’s have been wonderful,” Kachulis says. “I doubt we would have received that level of expertise if we tried to hire an IT professional on staff.”

When the consulting firm recommended that Gilbert’s replace its desktop computers, Biastro had the hard drives “zeroed out” so no information was on them. In some instances, the hard drive was replaced.

Kachulis contacted Keystone Blind Association, which offers programs to maintain and increase independence for blind persons. The association was more than happy to receive 20 computers, even if they were several years old, he says.

And so…

During our conversations with each of these marketing agencies of the month, their representatives pointed out that the steps they’re taking aren’t huge steps. What is significant, though, is that these agencies have decided to reduce their impact on the environment in innovative ways, and in the process they have found ways to benefit the community as well.