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Happy Earth Day – Tips on Running an Eco-Friendly Business

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$200 billion productivity gains

$190 billion savings from reduced real estate, electric bills, absenteeism & employee turnover

100 hours per person not spent commuting

50 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions cut

276 million barrels of oil saved

1500 lives not lost in car accidents

$700B total estimated savings

…so says Inc Magazine about virtual companies. As a virtual agency since we were founded in 1998, PerkettPR is proud to spend every day contributing to the improvement of our environment. Not only do we reduce our agency’s carbon footprint – less gas, less real estate, lower electric bills, less emissions, etc. – but we improve the satisfaction of our employees as well, as their “commutes” allow for successful careers and happy home and personal lives. Being able to work a full day and still fit in time for dinner with the family, or an outdoor run before dark, provides PerkettPR employees with the opportunity to fulfill both career and personal aspirations. We’re proud of our positive culture from both an eco-friendly standpoint and an employee-happiness standpoint.

Like any smart company, we’re certainly always looking for ways to improve. Recently, several of our employees shared additional ways that they contribute to a green environment. Without further ado, here are our tips.

Easy Ways to Be an Eco-Friendly business:

  • Recycle paper products, e.g., mail, container boxes, etc.
  • Recycle ink/toner cartridges
  • Use only recycled paper
  • Re-use paper by printing on both sides – for internal documents
  • Use sleep mode on electronic devices to consume less energy when not in use. You can also turn off the power on your surge protector (energy saving practice)
  • Use CFL light bulbs
  • Use mobile phones or a VoIP provider (like Skype) as business lines to save on cost/use of energy
  • Be paperless whenever possible (e.g., review documents on computer screen instead of printing out, use email instead of paper delivery, keeping files on computers.)
  • Use a free conferencing and web meeting service for meetings, like client Powwownow, instead of traveling to meetings
  • Use a dry erase or chalk board to take notes instead of using Post-Its or order recycled Post-Its
  • Utilize instant messenger services versus phone calls to save energy; money
  • Promote the use of filters for tap water instead of buying costly (and damaging) water bottles.
  • Re-use file folders and boxes.
  • Cut down on personal newspaper or magazine delivery and use online options instead.
  • Purchase software online (SaaS) – save on packaging materials, costs, etc.
  • When ordering corporate-logo gear, order non-toxic products from US-based manufacturers, when possible. Safe and eco-friendly stainless still water bottles are made in China, but both Klean Kanteen and SIGG have fair-trade manufacturing environments.
  • Offer flexible work schedules (e.g. 3x day) or telecommuting to cut down on emissions, traffic caused by your employees’ commuting.
  • Offer incentives to take pubic transportation or to carpool if telecommuting is not an option.
  • Reduce (strive to eliminate) the use of disposable and toxic products and practices
    • Use stainless steel reusable water bottles and reusable travel mugs that don’t have a liner made with harmful BPA (if it doesn’t say it’s BPA-free, then it’s not) or other eco-friendly containers
    • Use VOC-free paint in the office, such as Benjamin Moore Aura.
    • Strike a “corporate discount” deal with a “green” dry cleaner.
    • Do not use non-biodegradable plastic bags (the type many grocery stores offer), instead use biodegradable bags as office trash liners and reusable bags for shopping

What are your tips for becoming a green business? What do you do around your office each day to contribute to a healthier Earth? Please share!

 

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Thank You For Supporting Our Virtual Clothing Drive for Rosie’s Place

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Thank you to everyone who supported our virtual clothing drive for Rosie’s Place in Boston. We received some generous monetary donations that we passed along today, and we were able to deliver about a dozen bags of clothing. We appreciate all the retweets and buzz – and hope that next time, we can turn even more of the awareness into action.

We were given a tour of Rosie’s – here’s our Whrrl story with more details on what Rosie’s Place does and who they help. Happy Holidays.

More stories at Rosie’s Place
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Please Join Us – PerkettPR’s Virtual Clothing Drive to Benefit Rosie’s Place

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UPDATE 12-10-09

We are on our last few days of collecting clothing and donations for Rosie’s Place in Boston. If you live in or around Boston, we will pick up your clothing donations over the weekend or on Monday, December 14. Please contact us via the email below or Susan at 781.267.8849 to coordinate time and location. In a time where donating money can be difficult, please consider looking through your closet this weekend instead. That old sweater you haven’t worn for five years might not mean much to you, but can brighten 2010 for a woman in need.

If you would like to donate monetarily, please use our ChipIn button below. We’ll be delivering a check and clothing to Rosie’s on Monday, December 14.

Thank you!

2009 has unarguably been a year of many ups and downs, not only here in New England, but across the globe.  In Massachusetts alone, we have witnessed the unemployment rate rise as high as 9.3% (October 2009) and my guess is that we all know at least one person who has been laid off this past year or been adversely affected by the struggling economy.  As the holidays approach this year, I asked myself and my employees “What can we do as an organization to help others who are less fortunate than us?” We may gripe about changes we’ve faced, but focusing on others who are facing even more challenging times can help us to keep perspective.

The answer came to us quickly. We could utilize our “virtual” expertise to benefit a local organization – bonding together to focus on helping others whose lives have been far more challenging than anything we’ve had to face. And so, we are thrilled to announce the kick off of our first-ever “PerkettPR Virtual Clothing Drive.”

PerkettPR has teamed up with Rosie’s Place – a local Boston shelter for women — to help raise clothing donations in our first – of what we hope will be annual – virtual clothing drive. Since 1974, Rosie’s Place has been an oasis of hope and nourishment for poor and homeless women. The mission of Rosie’s Place is to help women maintain their dignity, seek opportunity and find security in their lives. Rosie’s Place has evolved from providing meals and shelter to providing permanent solutions through advocacy, education and affordable housing. And with your generous clothing donation, we hope to make the holidays a little warmer at Rosie’s Place.

How You Can Help – Boston and Beyond
Please help us to share the warmth by donating new or gently used/clean winter items for women. Items can include hats, gloves, scarves, twin-sized blankets, etc. Take a look through your closets at what you no longer wear, or grab an extra gift during your holiday shopping. It’s easy to do and will make a huge difference to a woman in need.

You can either send items to us via UPS, or collect items at your office and the PerkettPR team will come pick them up the week of December 7th (for Boston-area companies). Simply email rosies@perkettpr.com to indicate your desire to donate and to coordinate details with our staff (shipment or pickup).

An alternate way to donate
You may also make a non-deductible monetary donation via the ChipIn widget below as an alternative method of participating in our drive. Every dollar counts and is very appreciated!

How Generous is Your Company?
If we receive a positive response, PerkettPR will name one company as “Most Giving” and feature them on our blog this December. So gather your colleagues, put a box at the front desk or in the lobby and start piling up that winter warmth.

Thank you in advance for helping us to help others.

Happy Holidays,

The PerkettPR Team