One evening, a group of Imarcians found themselves bonding over their mutual love of reusable straws and Baggu. We all wanted to see positive changes happen at Imarc. Reduced waste, improved recycling, and a variety of healthy snack choices for employees. It was at this moment that “The Green Team” seed was planted. We realized that sustainability isn’t a buzz word or a bandwagon to jump on. Rather, it’s a responsibility we need to take.
"A great tenet of anyone who advocates for sustainability or recycling is their desire to make an impact – to strive for change and improvement. When a team of Imarcians self-organized to form the sustainability committee, I was thrilled and supportive. These are people showing leadership and caring, both within our small team and the larger world." – Dave Tufts, Imarc CTO/Managing Partner, Brainstormer of The Green Team
We started out by sorting our goals (from achievable to pipe dreams) of what we wanted to accomplish at Imarc.
Setting a baseline
To see where we were at, we spent a week collecting trash bins from our HQ and Shed locations. We sorted and weighed the waste to get an idea of how much we were throwing away on a weekly basis. Every individual desk and project room had its own trash barrel, so there was a lot to collect. The numbers were shocking. Our 50 employees were throwing away 137 pounds of trash a week!
A motion for change
Once we completed the audit, we drafted action items to reduce waste in the office. First, we removed all the excess trash bins under employee desks and in project rooms. Employees are now encouraged to stretch their legs and use the bin in the kitchen. We’ve found that it gives people more time to think about what they are throwing away, and consider if it can be recycled instead. This also helped us limited the number of plastic trash liners we use.
Doing our part in the community
We are always looking for ways to give back to the community. This past fall, we partnered with the Ocean Conservancy to organize beach clean-ups. We spent an afternoon at nearby Sandy Point Beach, and removed nearly 150lbs of trash! We’re eager to get back on the sand this spring and continue to clean the local beaches.
While we can’t force others to change their habits, we can help point them to better choices. We talked with some local restaurants and coffee shops about their rules for bringing reusable containers. We encourage people to bring a Tupperware with them when they go out to lunch, in case of leftovers. One of the coffee shops in town even has a discount if you bring your own cup!
We also noticed that many items in the Imarc kitchen were single-use. We’ve since started replacing these items with bamboo and compostable plates, napkins, and cutlery. We also have a recycling bin in the office for employees to bring in their used plastic shopping bags.
Where we are now
It’s now been eight months since the inception of The Green Team. We now have a recurring bi-weekly meeting and dedicated #sustainability slack channel that any Imarcian can join to share ideas. We continue to find ways that we can work together to make an impact.
With Earth Day this week, we had originally planned a number of engaging and hands-on activities for the community and our agency. Our plans may have shifted for now, but we have encouraged employees to take part in some small activities during the week. In time, we’ll come together and pick up where we left off!
