Green Star, Inc.

The Alaska Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employs approximately 600 people in 23 locations throughout Alaska. About 250 of these employees work for the regional office located on Tudor Road in Anchorage. The U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Biological Science Center is also housed in the Tudor Road office and consists of about 70 permanent and term employees. Both USFWS and USGS-ABSC are agencies within the U.S. Department of the Interior and are tasked with conserving biological resources and providing scientific information about those resources.

In 1995, the Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Interior directed all DOI agencies in Alaska to participate in the Green Star program. A dedicated group of USFWS and USGS-ABSC employees established an organized, clean, and effective recycling program at the Tudor Road office, receiving their first Green Star Award in August 1996. They have maintained their award every year since then, and they have expanded their efforts to include more than 20 field offices.

USFWS/USGS-ABSC has a very strong internal Green Star program. In fact, some newer employees were surprised to learn of Green Star outside of USFWS/USGS-ABSC; they thought it was a USFWS program! The USFWS/USGS-ABSC Green Star program is run by a volunteer committee of 10 people; both agencies have representatives on the committee, and committee members come from various disciplines and ranks within the agencies. The committee’s chair is approved to spend 10% of his or her official work time on recycling, waste reduction, and pollution prevention issues. Green Star coordination duties are written into the position description of the committee chair, and are included as part of that employee’s performance evaluation. As a result, Green Star has high visibility throughout both agencies.

Each month, USFWS and USGS-ABSC employees recycle ~3,500 pounds of materials from the Tudor Road office, including office paper, mixed paper, newspaper, magazines, corrugated cardboard, glass, and aluminum. The agencies estimate that they recover 90-95% of the cardboard waste generated at the Tudor Road office. Field offices -- from Kotzebue to Ketchikan, Adak to Tok -- also contribute towards waste reduction. More than 80% of the field offices recycle aluminum cans, often through support of community can drives. About 66% of the field offices recycle office paper, 50% recycle cardboard, and 27% recycle newspaper.

In addition, most USFWS/USGS-ABSC offices return toner cartridges to manufacturers for recharging, and three offices in Anchorage and Soldotna are participants in the Special Olympics toner cartridge drive. Other waste reduction activities include: duplex printing and copying whenever possible, reusing boxes and other packing materials, and recycling or reusing oil from cars, boats, and other vehicles (oil can be reused for heating in some communities).

Each year, USFWS and USGS-ABSC offices in Anchorage hold a clean-up week. The USFWS/USGS-ABSC Green Star team coordinates this effort between divisions and between agencies in order to provide employees an opportunity to clean their offices, weed out files, and go through storage areas. During the 2001 clean-up week, USFWS and USGS-ABSC employees in the Tudor Road office recycled 5,080 pounds of office and mixed paper, and 55 pounds of computer diskettes. Also during clean-up week, USFWS donated 166 computer components and other office electronics to local schools. The value of these donations was approximately $290,188. Throughout the year, USFWS offices across Alaska donate electronics to schools. In fiscal year 2001 (October 2000 to September 2001), the value of these USFWS donations totaled approximately $333,543.

In addition to recycling and waste reduction, both USFWS and USGS-ABSC are concerned with energy conservation. In the summer of 2001, the agencies formed an energy-conservation working group to develop practical energy conservation tips for use at the Tudor Road office, field offices, field camps, and in personal living situations. The committee assembled these tips into a web site, along with interesting energy-related facts and references for those seeking additional information. Though still under review, the intended goal is to implement many of these conservation ideas and increase employee awareness about energy conservation. Each agency will eventually install the web site on their internal network.

USFWS and USGS-ABSC have incorporated energy conservation, waste reduction, and pollution prevention into purchasing, leasing, and contracting actions. For example, the standard office paper purchased by these agencies has 30% post-consumer material; new appliances and electronics have ENERGY STAR&Mac226; labels; and the agencies purchase re-refined oil in lieu of virgin motor oil.

The USFWS/USGS-ABSC Green Star team issues a quarterly newsletter addressing pollution prevention and waste reduction issues. The newsletter is distributed electronically to all USFWS and USGS-ABSC employees throughout the state. The team also developed a USFWS/USGS-ABSC Green Star web page with a mission statement, policies, news, and links. Intended for use by agency employees, the web page is located on each agency’s respective internal network and is jointly updated.

In an effort to improve the quality of their recycling efforts and reduce contamination at the Tudor Road office, the Green Star team designed and constructed more than 100 new recycling bin signs this year. These colorful signs are interactive; each sign has touchable examples of what can be put in each type of recycle bin and illustrate common contamination problems. This year the USFWS/USGS-ABSC Green Star team sponsored classes for interested staff in Anchorage and Fairbanks to participate in during lunch hours. Through readings and discussion, these courses encourage participants to explore their values and attitudes towards pollution prevention, the earth, and its resources. More than 30 employees have participated in these courses so far. The Green Star team is also involved in revising and updating USFWS and USGS-ABSC recycling and paper use policies and is working within the agencies to identify and address common sources of waste.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service http://alaska.fws.gov
U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Biological Science Center http://www.absc.usgs.gov


	U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, ALASKA REGION (600 full-time employees) U.S.G.S., ALASKA BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE CENTER (70 full-time employees) 1011 E. Tudor Road Anchorage, AK 99503 Contact: Sharon Seim Sharon_seim@fws.gov (907) 786-3337 Award Date: May 1996 Green Business Success Story The Alaska Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employs approximately 600 people in 23 locations throughout Alaska. About 250 of these employees work for the regional office located on Tudor Road in Anchorage. The U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Biological Science Center is also housed in the Tudor Road office and consists of about 70 permanent and term employees. Both USFWS and USGS-ABSC are agencies within the U.S. Department of the Interior and are tasked with conserving biological resources and providing scientific information about those resources. In 1995, the Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Interior directed all DOI agencies in Alaska to participate in the Green Star program. A dedicated group of USFWS and USGS-ABSC employees established an organized, clean, and effective recycling program at the Tudor Road office, receiving their first Green Star Award in August 1996. They have maintained their award every year since then, and they have expanded their efforts to include more than 20 field offices. USFWS/USGS-ABSC has a very strong internal Green Star program. In fact, some newer employees were surprised to learn of Green Star outside of USFWS/USGS-ABSC; they thought it was a USFWS program! The USFWS/USGS-ABSC Green Star program is run by a volunteer committee of 10 people; both agencies have representatives on the committee, and committee members come from various disciplines and ranks within the agencies. The committee’s chair is approved to spend 10% of his or her official work time on recycling, waste reduction, and pollution prevention issues. Green Star coordination duties are written into the position description of the committee chair, and are included as part of that employee’s performance evaluation. As a result, Green Star has high visibility throughout both agencies. Each month, USFWS and USGS-ABSC employees recycle ~3,500 pounds of materials from the Tudor Road office, including office paper, mixed paper, newspaper, magazines, corrugated cardboard, glass, and aluminum. The agencies estimate that they recover 90-95% of the cardboard waste generated at the Tudor Road office. Field offices -- from Kotzebue to Ketchikan, Adak to Tok -- also contribute towards waste reduction. More than 80% of the field offices recycle aluminum cans, often through support of community can drives. About 66% of the field offices recycle office paper, 50% recycle cardboard, and 27% recycle newspaper. In addition, most USFWS/USGS-ABSC offices return toner cartridges to manufacturers for recharging, and three offices in Anchorage and Soldotna are participants in the Special Olympics toner cartridge drive. Other waste reduction activities include: duplex printing and copying whenever possible, reusing boxes and other packing materials, and recycling or reusing oil from cars, boats, and other vehicles (oil can be reused for heating in some communities). Each year, USFWS and USGS-ABSC offices in Anchorage hold a clean-up week. The USFWS/USGS-ABSC Green Star team coordinates this effort between divisions and between agencies in order to provide employees an opportunity to clean their offices, weed out files, and go through storage areas. During the 2001 clean-up week, USFWS and USGS-ABSC employees in the Tudor Road office recycled 5,080 pounds of office and mixed paper, and 55 pounds of computer diskettes. Also during clean-up week, USFWS donated 166 computer components and other office electronics to local schools. The value of these donations was approximately $290,188. Throughout the year, USFWS offices across Alaska donate electronics to schools. In fiscal year 2001 (October 2000 to September 2001), the value of these USFWS donations totaled approximately $333,543. In addition to recycling and waste reduction, both USFWS and USGS-ABSC are concerned with energy conservation. In the summer of 2001, the agencies formed an energy-conservation working group to develop practical energy conservation tips for use at the Tudor Road office, field offices, field camps, and in personal living situations. The committee assembled these tips into a web site, along with interesting energy-related facts and references for those seeking additional information. Though still under review, the intended goal is to implement many of these conservation ideas and increase employee awareness about energy conservation. Each agency will eventually install the web site on their internal network. USFWS and USGS-ABSC have incorporated energy conservation, waste reduction, and pollution prevention into purchasing, leasing, and contracting actions. For example, the standard office paper purchased by these agencies has 30% post-consumer material; new appliances and electronics have ENERGY STAR&Mac226; labels; and the agencies purchase re-refined oil in lieu of virgin motor oil. The USFWS/USGS-ABSC Green Star team issues a quarterly newsletter addressing pollution prevention and waste reduction issues. The newsletter is distributed electronically to all USFWS and USGS-ABSC employees throughout the state. The team also developed a USFWS/USGS-ABSC Green Star web page with a mission statement, policies, news, and links. Intended for use by agency employees, the web page is located on each agency’s respective internal network and is jointly updated. In an effort to improve the quality of their recycling efforts and reduce contamination at the Tudor Road office, the Green Star team designed and constructed more than 100 new recycling bin signs this year. These colorful signs are interactive; each sign has touchable examples of what can be put in each type of recycle bin and illustrate common contamination problems. This year the USFWS/USGS-ABSC Green Star team sponsored classes for interested staff in Anchorage and Fairbanks to participate in during lunch hours. Through readings and discussion, these courses encourage participants to explore their values and attitudes towards pollution prevention, the earth, and its resources. More than 30 employees have participated in these courses so far. The Green Star team is also involved in revising and updating USFWS and USGS-ABSC recycling and paper use policies and is working within the agencies to identify and address common sources of waste. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service http://alaska.fws.gov U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Biological Science Center http://www.absc.usgs.gov