EMBRACING BEST PRACTICES TESTING TECHNOLOGIES IN THE REAL WORLD
Change can be difficult to achieve at scale, but individ-
ual actions can make a difference. Our employees are
embracing and sharing sustainable practices office to
office. Just a few examples this year include: TRC’s Oakland office has been testing new energy
efficiency technologies in the real world. Working with
funding from the California Energy Commission and
the US Department of Energy’s Building Technologies
Office (BTO), TRC’s Advanced Energy team is support-
ing strategic research and development investments
that spur the advancement of energy efficient building
technologies that can dramatically improve the energy
performance of commercial buildings, saving money
and helping create jobs.
■ ■ Irvine, CA eliminated disposable cups
■ ■ New Providence, NJ discontinued the use of bottled
water for internal meetings and field use. Instead, each
employee is provided with a TRC-branded reusable
water bottle that can be easily filled by water coolers in
the office
Says Abhijeet Pande, TRC Vice President for
Research and Technology Commercialization,
plastic coffee stir sticks
“Projects like these have given us a unique
opportunity through the installation of emerging
■ ■ Baton Rouge, LA uses eco-friendly office products like
dish soap, bamboo sponges and dish brushes, kitchen- technologies like advanced wireless automated
ware & utensils, and recycled paper towels
window shades in our own office, to engage our
employees in testing solutions first hand to move
■ ■ The Greenville, SC office recycles Keurig K-Cups pods
the theoretical into real world applications. Our
through the Grounds to Grow On™ recycling program.
Other offices, like Lowell MA, have transitions to bean-
colleagues are proud to contribute to these efforts
to-cup coffee system resulting in less packaging waste that innovate and advance the industry.”
■ ■ Madison, WI and Lakewood, CO have phased out
and donating coffee grounds to a local community
garden.
■ ■ Brookfield, WI reduces food waste by getting a head
count for meetings to know how much food is needed
beforehand
■ ■ The NYC office holds sustainable potlucks to increase
awareness about food sustainability
■ ■ Woburn, MA began using recycled paper towels that
are compliance with USEPA CPG standards and is
looking to add other products that comply with
these guidelines.
32
2018 Sustainability Report
TRC’s Oakland office has also undertaken a number of
sustainability initiatives such as reducing or eliminating
the use of electric lighting during most work hours by
taking advantage of natural daylighting throughout the
office and using a coffee maker that eschews single use
pods and instead uses whole bean coffee beans that
are ground and brewed on demand.