Have I taken my employment at APTech Group and Sustainability
too far? I know Mother’s Day was last
Sunday but all week I thought about this question. I guess a blog is a great place to have a reality
check.
My daughters and I celebrated a Green Mother’s
Day, Sustainable Mothers Day, Eco Friendly Mother’s Day whatever you would like
to call it. We wrapped up 20 LED light
bulbs in recycled newspaper and gave them to my wife first thing in the morning
on Sunday. Of course I am kidding. But kids -- if you are reading this that
would be a great Father’s Day gift.
Here is what we actually did for Mother’s Day:
- We gave Mom a live plant
from a local nursery that she could plant.
- The girls made a memo pad
from leftover birthday wrapping paper that had a thought on each piece of
paper that made them smile about their Mom.
- We took some pictures but
did not print them out. We just sent them to her work computer as screen
savers.
- The girls made several
homemade gift cards: 20 minute massage; Help plant new flowers; Free car
wash -- and my least favorite gift that was slipped in without my
approval: Will make Dad clean the
bathroom for a month.
- My daughter who researched
the “Green” event said we could not travel anywhere or turn on an
electronic device for the day.
- The traditional Mother’s Day
gift -- breakfast in bed. No paper
products were used except for a homemade card.
Although, the lack of computer and other electronics was
very hard on my wife and I, we both agreed it was a very rewarding Mother’s Day
2012. In fact, both kids have become “Greener”
through this process. They turn off lights and are aware that Dad saying he
does not want to air condition the neighborhood really means something now.
Again, I will ask: Do I take sustainability too far? A worse
condition would be to suffer from a “Green Fatigue" – which would result
in tuning out the Green messages due to their ubiquity. The truth is that every
single thing we do every day has an impact on the planet -- good or bad. The
good news is that as an individual you have the power to control most of your
choices and, therefore, the impact you create: from where you live to what you
buy, eat, and use to light your home to where and how you celebrate Mother’s
Day, to how you shop and how you run your business, you can have global impact.
The good news is: I do not suffer from Green Fatigue. In
fact, I want to spread the word to the water treatment world that APTech Group has
the technology and products to help companies and organizations reach
Sustainability goals that will only get tougher. If you are using Solids water treatment
products now, go to the
carbon footprint reduction calculator on our EnduroSolv
website and enter the required information then go tell someone! Post it on
your company website, tell your sustainability office or Environmental
person.
For example, a 1000 ton system can generate this kind of
Carbon Dioxide savings:
Transport fuel savings: 826 lbs of
CO2 per year
Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) savings: 1,776
lbs of CO2 per year
Plastic used reduced: 1,084 lbs of
CO2 per year
Total Savings: 3,686 lbs of CO2 per year
These savings are comparable to leaving your car in the
garage for 173 days and walking or taking public transportation.
Too much sustainability? Too much is never enough!
Posted on behalf of Marc Beller
