Farm Fresh
The air is cold and dry, the lights flicker uncomfortably. Your metal cart skids along the slippery floor, it’s back wheel get stuck as you try to push it. You reach for a package and find you can’t decipher any of the ingredients except for the fine print which says ’may contain traces of nuts’. Yup, you’re in a Read More »
2 Comments July 28, 2010 Green Tips
Choosing a Green Printer
In an effort to be more sustainable Omicron recently began to use Hemlock Printers for a variety of our custom print jobs. I had the opportunity to tour the 79,000 sq.ft. printing facility, located in Burnaby, BC. There I learned firsthand about their wide variety of FSC certified papers, the low VOC vegetable based inks they exclusively use and saw Read More »
2 Comments July 27, 2010 Resources
Yes the offsets are purchased. Customers can choose to add a 1-2% fee per print job which is then invested in recognized renewable and clean tech products. Hemlock themselves have managed their carbon footprint so that today they have reduced greenhouse gas emissions to 33% below their 2007 levels. Here are 10 green questions you can ask your printer (courtesy of Hemlock printing) 1. Are you FSC certified? 2. Do you have an environmental policy? 3. Have you implemented an environmental management system? 4. Do you use Isoproply Alcohol in the pressroom? 5. How do you engage your employees in sustainability? 6. Which materials do you recycle? 7. Are you tracking carbon emissions? If so do you have a mitigation strategy? 8. What environmental performance indicators are you tracking? 9. Does your company generate haszrdous waste? If so, how is it disposed of? 10. What measures have been taken to reduce VOCs in your process?
very cool! vegetable based inks- what happens when you want any other color than green??? Ha! great initiative and cool graphic presentation on their website. is carbon neutral mean they have changed their operations or just paid for the offsets to say they are?
Southeast False Creek - Net Zero Energy Building
The development on Southeast False Creek lands, the Olympic Village temporarily housed the world’s athletes and has permanently created the most sustainable development in Vancouver. How did they do it? As part of the LEED platinum community, the development boasts two truly unique features commissioned by the City of Vancouver. The first is the Net Zero Read More »
1 Comments July 20, 2010 Green Practice
Great article Ben, I had heard these buildings were efficient but didn't know the details - thanks for filling us in. I don't know if I would pay that much more though - $40,000 is pretty steep. Hopefully costs for these kind of systems will reduce over time.
In-Office Composting Program Launched
In keeping with Omicron’s commitment to sustainable operations, we are pleased to announce a new initiative at our Burrard Office: an in-office composting program! Beginning today, we will be using a service called Growing City to help us compost in our kitchen areas on both floors. We believe that the Growing City service is perfect for us Read More »
3 Comments April 28, 2010 o·vert Initiatives
Over the past 12 weeks Omicron has diverted almost one tonne of organic waste! That's equivalent to: - the weight of 2,571 apples - the weight of 51 pumpkins - the weight of 30 microwaves! Well done!
Robin
This makes me want to run to the next Farmer's Market. I really appreciate the way you "set the scene" so well in this article. When is your novel coming out?