California Center for Sustainable Energy

Green your Office

CCSE stands by its mission. We ensure our daily work practices are sustainable. Here are just a few things CCSE is doing to green our world:

1. Our website is now hosted by AISO.net, the only data center in the United States 100% powered by solar panels.
   

2. Computers are logged off at night with monitors turned off. Monitors are also set to power down after a few minutes of not being used.

   
   
3. Energy-efficient lighting is installed throughout the office, including occupancy sensors in all offices and common area rooms.

   

4. Recycling bins are located at all work stations as well as in all common-use-areas, such as break and copy rooms. Recycling bins are located at the front entry to the building for all incoming visitors and employees.
   
   
   
5. Small compost bins are located at each coffee machine so CCSE employees take used coffee grounds for composting.
   
   
   
6. Plastic bag dispensers are located in the employee break room and Energy Resource Center ( ERC) kitchen for recycling. CCSE employees take turns disposing of them at proper recycle locations, such as grocery stores.
   
   
   
7. Employees are strongly encouraged to print double-sided when possible to reduce the amount of paper being used. Signs are posted at each office printer as helpful reminders.
   
   
   
8. The use of disposable plastic utensils in the employee break room has drastically been reduced. Each employee has been provided with plates and coffee cups to discourage unnecessary waste. Employees are also encouraged to bring reusable silverware and a bowl or cup from home to limit the use of disposable cutlery. Limited disposables are available for visitors.
   
   
   
9. Biodegradable, eco-friendly cleaning products are used in the break room and ERC.
   
   
   
10. From recycled copy paper and paper towels to recycled letterhead and company envelopes, CCSE uses recycled paper products whenever possible.
    
    
    
11. A door stopper/foam noodle is used to allow the front doors to remain unlocked without having to prop the door open to keep in heat/cold and not waste heating and air conditioning.
    
    
    
12. Employees participate in CCSE-organized community events like beach clean-ups and healthy air walks.
13. In an effort to encourage staff to be more green and build a sustainable culture, the Green Team created a reward-based game throughout the office called Green Recognition. Green Recognition provides a forum for staff to recognize co-workers efforts to be sustainable. Employees write small notes on reused, scrap paper about their colleagues' green behavior and place it in one of the green recognition stations. During each staff meeting, the green recognitions are announced and a winner is chosen. The winner gets to keep Gizmo the Green Thing at his/her desk for a month until the next staff meeting. A CCSE employee made Gizmo out of an old, recycled t-shirt.
    
    
    
14. In keeping with our mission, whenever possible, CCSE utilizes vendors that have environmental statements and implement green practices. Please see the list of green vendors we work with below.
15. Printing companies that want to work with CCSE are required to be FSC certified, use soy-based ink and print on recycled paper. CCSE marketing staff tour each printers' facilites to ensure their practices are sustainable.
    
    
    
16. The elimination of printed notebooks for board meetings helped to save a huge amount of paper. Only the board agenda is printed for distribution at board meetings with all other materials forwarded to board members electronically.
17. Thanks to Sanyo's generous donation of a charging station, CCSE uses Eneloop recyclable and rechargeable batteries instead of disposable batteries.
18. CCSE recycles batteries, toner and electronics such as monitors, old computers, cell phones and laptops.
    
    
    
19. CCSE recycles all ink cartridges to help cut down on the manufacturing of new cartridges.
20. Annual Reports are offered online instead of being printed. This saves reams of paper and gallons of ink.
21. Because transportation is the largest contributing factor to CCSE's carbon footprint, the Green Team has implemented a monthly, celebratory lunch to honors staff memebers who carpool, utilize public transportaiton, or bike/walk to work.
22. CCSE has switched to using a water filtration system to supply drinking water to staff and visitors. By moving away from the previous bottled water systems, the water doesn't have to be transported to CCSE. Water is filtered on site.

    

23. CCSE offers staff healthier snacks in the breakroom that are made from organic ingredients. Many of the snack options are vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, non-gmos, trans fat-free, and have no additives or preservatives.

CCSE's Energy Resource Center (open to the public) is currently implementing the following green practices:

1. Recycling and other green signs are posted all over the ERC kitchen to encourage workshop attendees to recycle and compost.
   
   
   
2. Bins for recycling and composting are available and clearly marked to ensure the proper disposal of waste items.
3. All cutlery and dishes are biodegradable. Food vendors are encouraged to serve food in reusable containers. 
   
   
   
4. Eco-friendly cleaning products are used in the ERC kitchen.
5. Workshop food is often ordered from Organics To Go, which delivers organic meals and snacks.
6. The ERC is retrofitted with energy efficient lighting.
   
   
7. Workshops are paperless. Presentations are no longer printed out for each attendee, and CCSE literature is available on an individual basis.
8. The sink in the ERC kitchen is outfitted with a reverse osmosis water purifier that eliminates the need to provide bottled water to visitors and at workshops.