Green Resources
Recycle, Reimagine, Recreate!
In the spirit of this year’s convention theme, we’ve compiled resources and advice to help your organization adopt sustainable practice. On this page you’ll find tips to help you get started, specific information on eco-friendly options such as carpooling, green architecture, web resources, and links to environmentally related art endeavors in our host city, Seattle. Please send us your own eco tips and tools at leadership@artsusa.org.
Green audit
Do an environmental audit of your operations. Visit the Environmental Protection Agency Small Business Source Book on Environmental Auditing for more information.
Staff environmental planning group
Think of greening as a process—there are always new approaches and technologies that can be applied. Initiate an employee planning group to ensure that your organization is keeping up with environmental developments as well as meeting staff and stakeholder concerns.
Incentives
Think in terms of incentives and rewards instead of reprimands. If the environmentally friendly choice is the easiest, the rest will follow.
Green marketing and communications
Communicating your sustainability efforts to the public, staff, and artists will send the message that your organization is serious about environmental and social progress. Other organizations can then learn from your actions and stakeholders will have the opportunity to make suggestions or voice concerns.
Carpooling is one of the easiest ways for employees who don’t use public transportation to reduce carbon emissions. Carpooling can be organized within your organization or through your local transportation authority or carpool network.
Resources:
National network sites:
Bicycle schemes
Send a bicycle-friendly message by installing bicycle facilities such as racks and lockers, and make these known to visitors and employees alike. Offer a bicycle commuting safety course at work, financial incentives, or a scheme to help employees purchase bicycles. Most cities publish free cycling maps—make these available at work. An office bike club can keep you up-to-date with employee needs and encourage cycling participation through social events.
Resources:
- An Employer's Guide to Encouraging Bicycle Commuting
- The League of American Cyclists offers nationwide cycling classes, legal information, as well as general cycling resources.
- 1 World 2 Wheels features helpful information on getting started as a cycle commuter, including instructional videos and advice on purchasing and maintaining a bicycle.
Public transportation
Local transit authorities offer the best resources on promoting the use of public transportation. Many will offer employee benefits, such as tax deductions. These benefits are frequently carried over to the employer as well.
Conference calling
Travel for meetings and conferences can often be eliminated, which is great news in these financially troubled times. Try using web conferencing or conference calling instead of flying or driving to meetings.
Conference calling companies:
Carbon offsets
When travel is unavoidable, offsetting schemes are one way to help compensate for carbon emissions. Organizations that offer carbon offsets calculate your emissions and then suggest a corresponding charge.
Carbon offset companies:
Energy reduction
Reducing energy use should be the first step your organization takes to sustainable energy consumption. This can be done in small, common-sense steps, such as making it a policy to turn off lights and equipment when out of use or switching to energy-saving light bulbs. Next, investigate the source of your energy. Using green energy at work is usually as simple as switching to a new plan or service provider.
Resources:
- Energy Xchange provides information on implementing a landfill gas project.
- Green Power Network lists green energy options by state, as well as prices, and state policies.
- How to Green Your Electricity
- 9 Steps to Reduce Electricity Use
- One Billion Bulbs calculates the energy you save (in dollars and pounds of CO2) by switching from incandescent light bulbs to energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs.
Waste
Waste can be decreased by limiting the use of disposable materials and reusing and recycling whenever possible. This can be as simple as using scrap paper for internal printing, printing double-sided documents, and eliminating disposables such as plastic cutlery and polystyrene plates. Recycling receptacles should be plentiful and clearly labeled.
Resources:
Eco-Design
If you’re moving, renovating your current site, or building a new one, green architecture can substantially reduce the ecological footprint of your organization.
Resources:
- Green Step, a step-by-step guide to eco-design from The American Institute of Architects
- US Green Building Council lists courses, workshops, and general resources on green buildings.
Learn about the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts sustainable construction endeavors and the funding it attracted.
You can make art environmentally friendly: Environmental issues can be the topic of artworks, and the art itself, in materials as well as delivery. Below is a list of projects and organizations that either feature environmental art, or provide environmental resources specifically for artists and arts organizations.
Resources:
- The Cloudberry Dreams Partnership is a transnational endeavor to share ideas and explore new ways of interpreting wetlands through art and creativity.
- Ecoartspace promotes a diverse range of artworks that address global environmental issues.
- Free Soil is an international collaboration of artists, activists, researchers, and gardeners focusing in particular on critical, environmentally themed art.
- Greenmuseum.org features environmental artists and exhibitions on their website.
- Green Theaters provides simple steps that theaters can make to save resources and features theaters around that world that have incorporated sustainability into their operations.
- RE Imaginations is a growing collection of artwork dedicated to the beauty of renewable energy production.
- The South Florida Environmental Art Project supports ecoart and artists in South Florida through education, residency development, public policy research, and exhibition development.
- TRASHed is an ongoing art and education project that seeks to redefine the way we see trash and recycling.
- The Tree Hugger Project is a participatory environmental series of artworks designed to help us rediscover our relationship with nature.
A Metronatural city:
Our host city, Seattle, is renowned innovator in the arts and environmental sustainability located in a region of exceptional natural beauty. Here is a glimpse of some Pacific Northwest projects that have combined creativity with ecological themes and practice.
