Socially Responsible Practices:
Sustainability is central to GMRI's mission. We are working to cultivate a deeper understanding of the Gulf of Maine ecosystem in order to maintain the health of both the environment and the communities that depend on its resources. In addition, we are thoughtful about our own daily environmental and social impacts.
GMRI's lab was constructed with energy efficient building systems in 2005. At the time, our HVAC system was state of the art. Our labs have an energy recovery unit that captures the heat before the air is exhausted out of the building. Everything is automated and scheduled and we can tweak settings for individual rooms and time of day.
We had an energy audit done in 2009, and found no low-hanging fruit. The upgrades that Efficiency Maine normally suggests to organizations did not apply, as we already had them all in place, e.g. light bulbs are CFLs, all lighting is controlled for individual spaces, common areas such as restrooms have motion sensor lighting, we have low-flow toilets. We did invest about $10,000 in upgrades based on the energy audit results. We added a separate heating/cooling calendar for our learning center space so settings could be programmed based on use. We also made programming tweaks, such as adjusting air flow into the building based on occupancy levels.
We had a Green Challenge contest among staff in 2009, and went ahead with several low-cost suggestions, including a "clean out your desk day" to restock our supply closet.
We have a participatory leadership culture, where all staff members have input on our direction. Several employees bicycle or walk to work, some telecommute on a regular basis, and many drive fuel efficient vehicles. We use phone and videoconferencing frequently.
There are single-sort recycling containers throughout the building and we use recycled paper products. Digital files and email are emphasized over paper files, and our printers/copiers print double sided. We use rechargeable batteries when possible. In our organizational publications, we are moving to more electronic communications and most of our print materials are produced on recycled paper with vegetable-based inks.
We use caterers who use local ingredients, and our welcoming lunchroom space encourages our staff to bring their own lunches and take breaks together. We have also had winter CSA shares dropped off at our building this year for a group of staff members who are shareholders.
Our cleaning service uses environmentally friendly products, and our lawn care company uses less toxic products to avoid runoff on our waterfront site.
We currently have a pier reconstruction project happening on our site, and our contractor will be able to save many of the old materials for recycling.
Most importantly, we take the effects of our decisions into account and always look for ways to have a positive impact.
