Goin', Goin', Goin'... Green!

 

That’s right! We’re goin’ green - we’re eating our veggies and we’re loving it! Well, at least some of us are. But that’s another story. What we mean is we’re goin’ eco-friendly. Can’t believe we haven’t done this sooner, but we’ve now got a loose green “plan” that will evolve as we proceed, and here are our basic goals and accomplishments. Check back to see how we’re doing!

 

Short-term goals:

Implement the several “green” measures that can be done as quickly as possible, including:

  • Reduce printing on office paper and recycle that which is printed
    • We are Mac-based and are awaiting the issuance of a (Snow Leopard) Mac version of GreenPrint software, which automatically helps eliminate printing unwanted pages (you know those annoying last pages with just a URL, banner ad, logo, or legal jargon). See the “Green” section of our Resources page for more info.
    • We purchased a new printer that can automatically duplex so that we can print on both sides of office paper. (Check!)
    • We have our new recycling bin that will let us recycle office paper. (Check!)
  • Reduce fine art paper waste and recycle fine art paper (Check!)
    • We have purchased software, and manually make necessary adjustments, to help us reduce waste when printing our giclées.
    • Our recycler takes our scrap fine art paper (actually, it’s cotton) which we currently create a bunch of! By recycling all of our paper, we have virtually no trash, other than occasional food waste or food packaging.
  • Change all future office supplies purchases to “green” sources (Check!)
    • We’ve found so many wonderful sources of green office supplies on the net. See the “Green” section of our Resources page for more info.
  • Reconsider all marketing to reduce what we throw into the world (Check!)
    • We gave our marketing materials a full overhaul, eliminating what was unnecessary and reducing and “greening” what was.
    • All marketing materials have been switched over to “green” sources. We have found an awesome “green” printer, and all future marketing materials, from cards to brochures to flyers, will be printed with vegetable-based inks on 100% recycled paper.
    • We also use plastic bags to hold certain brochures, and those have now been changed to cellulose bags which are 100% biodegradable.
    • In addition to printing everything “green” with better inks and paper, we tried to focus on less waste overall. So our brochure has gotten smaller, we will no longer automatically send out many of the things we used to (e.g. price lists that go stale, printed order forms that nobody uses, etc.), those that must still go out will be printed smaller and double-sided, and we are designing flyers and brochures to be sent out without envelopes. This will also reduce the amount of fuel used in shipping our marketing materials.
  • Draft a “green” mission statement. (Check!) In fact, here it is:
  • It is part of our mission at MP Artworks to make a positive impact on the environment by implementing responsible practices for the conservation of energy and natural resources and the reduction of waste. We commit ourselves to the adoption of cost neutral or cost-saving measures to prevent pollution and minimize our overall environmental impact. We seek to educate our employees, our clients and our community on environmental responsibility, and to foster an understanding of the importance of making environmentally responsible decisions. We resolve to become a model for environmental stewardship throughout our industry and the world.

Intermediate-term goals: (In the works!)

  • We would like to become a certified Green Partner in our local county’s Green Business Partnership. This is not some “where’s the application, let me pay my fee and sign up” club; rather, it’s an arduous application process that reviews all aspects of your business’s environmental stewardship, such as solid waste disposal, water consumption, and energy conservation, and includes an on-site inspection. Our goal is to be certified by summer 2008.
  • We must begin focusing on our entire production process to reduce or eliminate waste, purchase more environmentally friendly materials for our art products, and consider the “green” status of our materials vendors.

Long-term goal:

To become carbon neutral. Ultimately, we would like to own our own studio that is built LEED certified and be able to be carbon neutral through a mixture of efficient operations and carbon offset credits.

 
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