Interview Story - Accomplishment

When I worked as a Specialist for Recology, Inc., I volunteered to become part of the Green Offices team, a group responsible for reducing the environmental impact of our 500-person company. At the time I joined the group, it had standardized using double-sided printing and added more recycling bins to each office.

I saw an opportunity to have a far greater environmental impact by applying my analytical thinking and process management skills.

First, I researched what other consulting companies were doing. Based on this research, I realized that we needed to conduct a “greenhouse gas audit” to collect the data that would determine which lines of business had the greatest effect on the environment. This information would need to come from each facility’s managers and administrative managers.

To get support for this initiative, I contacted the company’s director of operations to explain the project. After I assured her that regular work would not be harmed by this side project, I got the green light and a small budget for materials, and I recruited five other coworkers to support the project. Each person was responsible for reaching out to separate managers to collect the data.

We made great progress. First, we calculated the impact of our physical offices and presented these findings to our office managers. This presentation included issues such as water consumption, HVAC heating, and cooling systems, and the management of computer servers. Second, we calculated the impact of our collection fleet including emissions, fuel consumption, and maintenance.

Using this data, we developed a model to measure the impact of our business and calculate the impact of implementing specific changes. When the audit was finished, we used the model to evaluate what changes to implement on a cost-benefit basis. Using our small budget, we purchased carbon offset credits that cover the emissions of our collection fleet and computer servers.