VSP is “going green.” We’ve all heard about the effects of global warming on the environment, and the negative impact that businesses (and specifically buildings) can have. According to the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), 12 percent of the water used, 30 percent of the greenhouse gases produced, 65 percent of waste output and 70 percent of electricity consumption in the U.S. comes from buildings.
We’re doing our part by earning the USGBC’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design platinum level certification. When completed, VSP will be one of only a handful of buildings in California with this certification.
Our ultimate goal is to be more environmentally conscious and operate our buildings more efficiently. This also supports our ongoing focus of maintaining competitive administrative costs to allow more patients access to affordable vision care. Since September 2007 we’ve taken many steps to accomplish this, including:
- Installing low-flow plumbing fixtures and water meters, and reducing our landscape watering by 50 percent.
- Giving each employee a permanent water and coffee cup to eliminate the nearly 767,000 Styrofoam cups used on campus each year.
- Installing automatic paper towel dispensers in restrooms.
- Implementing energy upgrades and processes to monitor and reduce our energy use and carbon emissions.
- Replacing large trash cans with smaller ones that clip onto recycling receptacles, encouraging employees to recycle more.
- Using more products made of recycled materials.
We’re excited about these changes and how we can positively impact the environment. Please share your ideas with us and what you’re doing to “go green.”
See much more