When you visit our studio, there are a few things you likely won’t find around our workspace or conference rooms – items such as plastic water bottles, paper plates, or disposable cutlery. The absence of these single-use items is intentional. As a business committed to sustainability, we strive to make the most environmentally aware choices when it comes to our design work, material selection, and our day-to-day operations.
As we know from the EcoChallenge, the cumulative effect of many small choices is powerful and impactful, and for Hennebery Eddy, they’ve resulted in our Gold certification as a Sustainability at Work business, a designation awarded by the City of Portland. We first applied for the three-year certification in 2014 and successfully completed the re-certification process in October. The Sustainability at Work program awards points for 50 different criteria in the categories of Reduce/Reuse/Recycle, Employee Engagement, Transportation, Energy, Water, and Community Engagement, as well as additional “actions” organizations can self-report. Bronze, Silver, and Gold designations are made based on the total points accrued from all categories.
Beyond the criteria outlined by the City of Portland Sustainability at Work program, at Hennebery Eddy we embrace the following business practices that contribute to a healthier environment:
- An organized “net positive committee” of employees facilitates and implements on-going sustainability efforts and education within the firm
- 100% of our design staff are LEED accredited
- Became a JUST™ organization through the International Living Future Institute
- A net-positive design approach is one of our core areas of expertise
- Participate in NWEI’s EcoChallenge; for the last four years, we have finished in the top 10 teams out of more than 600
- Offer employees a secure, sheltered bike storage room with shower
- Our vendor food policy prohibits “box lunches” and encourages family-style meals without the use of paper plates and other disposable serving items
- Offer a robust in-office composting program in addition to recycling
- Transitioning much of our technology hardware to energy-efficient models
We are proud to be a Gold Sustainability at Work company and hope that our certification will inspire other organizations to participate in the program.