Alaska Pension Services provides a variety of financial planning and consulting services. The company also is committed to reducing waste in the workplace. Alaska Pension Services recycles office paper, newspaper, magazines, mixed paper, aluminum cans, toner cartridges, and phone books. Overall, approximately 230 pounds of paper were recycled last year. All materials are collected in a designated storage closet and each employee has a paper-recycling bin at their desk. Bins also are placed in high generation areas such as the copy machines, fax machine, and printers.
Alaska Pension Services purchases numerous recycled products, such as file folder, hanging folders, recycled certificate paper, desk calendars, mailing envelopes, and post-it notes.
After conducting a waste assessment of the office, the Green Team determined that paper use was the biggest challenge to overcome. Several paper conservation initiatives were undertaken, including printing drafts on both sides of a page or on the backs of one-sided used paper; reducing font size to fit more on a page; reusing payroll envelopes; implementing a computer timekeeping system to replace paper logs.
Other waste prevention efforts include donating old office chairs to a charity, using reusable dishware in the kitchen area, and reusing cardboard boxes for shipping. For these boxes, the company created a stamp with the message “This box is reused as part of our environmental commitment. Please continue to reuse.”
To reduce energy use, APS purchased “Hot Pots” for coffee rather than having the coffee machine warming coffee all day. The staff also shuts down computers at night and closes drapes in the summer to reduce heat gain.
To encourage and thank participants in recycling, the company created an office mascot, named GNARLY. Gnarly communicates ideas to the staff and clients. A bulletin board in the kitchen also offers Green Star and energy saving tips
Alaska Pension Services http://www.akpension.com
