Greenrock’s Green Office initiative is continuing to generate interest with presentations to or discussions with six companies in the last few months, and interest expressed by four more.  Validus Re, Catlin (which was also a lead sponsor of Earth Hour Bermuda), Friesenbruch-Meyer and Coldwell Banker have all taken steps to make their offices more environmentally friendly. Bendell Design, the Bermuda National Trust, Partner Re, Rego-Sotheby’s and the Accountant General’s office have asked for Greenrock’s support to start thinking about a ‘greener’ office.

Calculating baselines and setting targets is important in business, and is just as critical when trying to change the culture of an office. The Green Office project encourages companies to establish baselines for areas of consumption, such as paper use, electricity use and water use. Improvement over time can then be measured against these baselines.

Awareness can be raised by setting short-term goals and implementing fun challenges. For example, challenge the staff to collect and count all the water bottles used in the office during one week and follow that with a week of trying to reduce that number by a specified percentage. Or perhaps have a week in which everyone in the office makes an extra effort to reduce paper usage. Like a successful diet or fitness program, measuring small improvements initially and celebrating success is important.

‘Going green’ often used to involve spending money on more expensive products. However, companies getting involved in the Green Office initiative have been delighted to hear that being more environmentally aware these days frequently means saving money. For example, reducing the purchase of expensive bottled water and replacing it with water coolers (ideally dehumidifier water coolers) and durable glassware can represent a considerable saving. Companies can pass some of this on to employees, and celebrate a change in company culture, by handing out branded, high-quality water bottles for use in the office.

The Greenrock team also discusses putting the emphasis on reduction and reuse, rather than on ways to recycle. Bermuda is in a uniquely difficult position when it comes to recycling: we are too small for an economically viable recycling plant for most kinds of containers or products, and therefore recycling involves shipping our waste off the island, using more fossil fuel in the process. Reducing paper use is often an easy one – just set photocopiers and printers to print double-sided. And it can be very effective to communicate to the office just how much paper is usually used in a month! Businesses can also encourage their employees to think about reducing traffic, pollution and fuel use through car pooling.

Another goal of the Green Office project is to establish a baseline for the whole business sector by conducting a survey of office behavior and attitudes to discover what actually happens in offices on the island. The team is also working with the Green Office Advisory Panel on a ‘green’ rating for Bermuda’s offices (and homes). Finally, as interest increases, we are starting to look at whether we can bring together the tenants of multi-tenant buildings, such as the Waterfront, to work with their landlords on projects which affect them all, such as grey-water recycling, renewable energy sources, and saving power on emergency and external lighting.

A few final thoughts on why local companies should ‘go green’: it’s nice to feel good about contributing to the health of our island and our planet, and it’s possible to save money with environmentally friendly practices, but these are not the only reasons to consider creating a green corporate culture. Bermuda is running out of capacity at the incinerator and for electricity generation – shouldn’t businesses move now to reduce their dependence on these before the Government increases charges or mandates change? Also, consider this as a flexibility exercise for the company – finding ways to change habits and behaviours is a valuable skill for any business in any environment (economic or environmental)!

If you would like to participate in this project or learn more about it, email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   or call 747-7625.