Green That Works - Profitably!

The Garden's partnerships across our region's business community are cultivating sustainable thinking and action in the workplace. Through workplace talks, participating in Green Business events and ongoing consulting relationships, we provide practical Green resources structured for use in large and small business environments.

EarthWays Center staff serve as Resource Advisors to the St. Louis Green Business Challenge, an initiative of the Regional Chamber and Growth Association. Over 100 RCGA-member businesses - from corporations to non-profits - have implemented internal policies and practices since the Challenge began in 2010. Case studies of participating company accomplishments share strategies to save energy, materials and money - in healthier working environments.

EarthWays Center is also partnering in 2011-2012 with St. Louis County Economic Council to support small business use of energy efficiency and other workplace-Greening options, through seminars hosted by local chambers of commerce. For more information, contact greenresources@mobot.org.  

 For workplace lunch-and-learns, club meetings or public events, EarthWays Center offers inspiring, interactive one-hour adult-audience presentations including Q&A and handouts. Fee: $100 (30 or fewer attendees) or $200 (more than 30 attendees).

Schedule by calling (314) 577-0246 or email greenresources@mobot.org. Choose from the following topics - or request a Green topic to meet your needs.

• Sustainability 101 - This overview of the what-and-why of green living covers energy efficiency, reducing-reusing-recycling and composting, water conservation, indoor air quality and avoiding "greenwashing." Participants will leave this lively talk feeling good about sustainable habits they already have - with practical ideas to grow greener!
• Business Greening - With a problem-solving emphasis for businesses, this presentation addresses owner and tenant options for building energy efficiency, recycling and waste reduction, green cleaning, environmentally preferable purchasing, and effectively marketing green practices.
• Growing Green! - Focused around gardening, America's most popular leisure activity, this colorful talk translates core principles of sustainability elegantly modeled by plants into practical, everyday human thinking and action.

The Garden's Green Team includes representatives from all Garden buildings and from our off-site locations Shaw Nature Reserve, the Butterfly House and Litzsinger Road Ecology Center. Meeting monthly, the Green Team works collectively to implement sustainable office operations throughout the Garden. The Green Team also hosts periodic lunch-and-learn and field trip opportunities, cultivating a broad sustainability knowledge base that Garden employees can apply in all working areas.

In 2010 the team's Green Today Greener Tomorrow campaign encouraged all employees to participate in waste reduction and energy saving practices. Then the Green Team assisted in rolling out the Garden's single stream recycling program, designing employee communications and signage and redistributing recycling and waste collection containers.  The most recent Turn it Off! campaign is advancing the Gardenwide goal of reducing our overall energy demand by 10% during 2011.  Energy efficiency strategies include new signage to remind employees to turn off lights and equipment that are not in use.  These efforts are engaging all staff and volunteers.