Viridis Strategy Group is a relatively small service business, and our overall environmental footprint is petite. Nevertheless, we take every step we can to minimize carbon emissions, to reduce our consumption of materials, to recycle, and to act consciously about ways to live more lightly, as individuals and as a company.

Travel: Viridis staff travel extensively on behalf of our clients, and travel-related greenhouse gas emissions constitute our biggest impact. We also commute to our offices, which are located in three cities on the East Coast of the U.S and in Sydney, Austrailia. To the extent possible, we work with clients and each other using teleconferencing, video-conferencing, real-time electronic document sharing, and email. In addition to minimizing emissions, this saves costs and general human wear and tear. When travel is required, we prioritize rail over air or auto whenever time and client needs permit. While our commuting situation is not ideal, with several of us needing to drive our cars to work most days, some staff arrive by foot, bicycle, or public transportation.

Viridis seeks to minimize its commuting-related footprint. To support this goal, Viridis offers employees a pre-tax withholding option for public transportation expenses. All staff are encouraged to telecommute when not required to be in the office or on client location, and we take frequent advantage of this option. We track and offset all company travel (see below).

Energy: Viridis minimizes energy consumption wherever we have control over it. As small tenants and sub-tenants, we neither purchase nor manage the energy use in the buildings our offices occupy, nor are any of our spaces sub-metered. Thus it is difficult for us to measure and have a discernible impact on our biggest category of non-travel energy consumption. Nevertheless, we approach the issue on an assumed basis; we assume that everything we do to cut energy use makes a difference whether or not we can easily track it. To this end, we purchase ENERGY STAR-rated computers and printers and fully utilize their energy management features. When ENERGY STAR-rated options are not available, we select energy-efficient equipment and appliances. For smaller, battery-powered office devices, such as wireless keyboards and mice, we use rechargeable batteries whenever possible. In the Boston and Washington, D.C. offices our overhead lights are on motion-detection systems, and the company as a whole is scrupulous about turning off lights and devices at night.

Carbon Offsets: Viridis purchases carbon offsets from TerraPass for all company-related travel, including commuting, as well as Viridis office energy use. Managing Partner George Favaloro is co-founder and board member of TerraPass, which is why we feel confident in the quality of these offsets.

Paper Procurement: Viridis buys paper products (office paper, file folders, legal pads, etc.) made with the highest available percentage of recycled content (in most cases this is 100% recycled). In addition, Viridis seeks to buy paper products certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. We don’t print e-mails or documents unless urgently necessary, and we make extensive use of on-line shared file storage. When we do print, we use duplex printing and multi-image per-page printing. To save ink, we use color printing only for presentation documents; otherwise we print in black-and-white draft mode.

Recycling: Viridis recycles 100% of our office paper and spent printer cartridges. We also recycle 100% of the aluminum cans, plastic bottles, and other containers that are brought into our office spaces. In Washington, D.C., where our landlord provides recycling as required by the City, recycling is as simple as walking down the hall. In Waltham, MA, where the majority of our staff is located, a staff member bags up the accumulated items and take them to a local transfer station, as a personal volunteer effort. Of course, the easiest and greenest approach is to avoid using disposable materials in the first place, and the Viridis staff is dedicated to this habit and philosophy.

Website: Viridis hosts its website at a carbon free hosting facility that utilizes 100% renewable energy sources for primary as well as backup power.

Other Initiatives: We make sure that our offices with kitchens provide filtered tap water, and we compost in our Waltham office. More broadly, we foster an enlightened and encouraging atmosphere in which any member of our company can propose or model any new idea that could further minimize the environmental impact of our daily operations. We practice mindfulness and we talk to each other frequently about how to live and work more lightly on the earth. We believe that an informed and flexible approach, along with the commitments described above, is the most realistic and responsible policy toward the environment for a service company of our size. We will reevaluate our policies in light of emerging technologies and thinking as we renew leases, take on new challenges, and grow larger.