IU Foundation wins green award

The IU Foundation Green Team recently earned the “Sapling” certification from the IU Office of Sustainability for the team’s efforts to improve its office environment.
This is the third of four levels of certification given to offices that use environmentally sound techniques in the workplace. The IU Foundation’s Green Team is the first to earn this certification.

The IU Office of Sustainability started the certification program in August 2010 to provide steps for offices wanting to help make the University more sustainable.

The IU Foundation’s Green Team was created about seven years ago, before the Office of Sustainability was created, said Philippa Guthrie, IU Foundation vice president in general counsel.

“We felt that we could be more environmentally sound in our practices,” Guthrie said. “For example, we didn’t even have recycling. What we have done is look at pretty much everything we do and try and figure out a greener way to do it.”

To earn this designation, the Green Team met 20 criteria in areas such as education and outreach, resource use and recycling.

“Certain things would be we have recycling at everybody’s desk,” IU Foundation Stewardship Coordinator and Green Team Chair Aliza Pain said. “In our cleaning, we use green cleaning products. We reduce the amount of waste that we have by eliminating paper products.”

These actions were in addition to the 37 taken to achieve the first two levels of certification, the “Seed” and “Sprout.”

Of the 25 other green teams on campus, IU Foundation might have an easier time accomplishing the certifications, Guthrie said.

“To be fair, we are separate and smaller than IU,” Guthrie said. “It’s harder, I think, for their teams because they operate in a much bigger environment.”

For instance, if the Green Team wanted to enact change in the IU Foundation, they would address the senior management team that supports their suggestions, Guthrie said.

Pain said the IU Foundation Green Team is honored to earn this certification.

“We are excited and very humbled by the fact that our staff and our senior
management overall has given us this ability to put into place these things that are passionate to the people on the Green Team,” Pain said.

Some staff initially resisted the certification process, but in the end, the employees were supportive, Guthrie said.

The IU Foundation Green Team is not only interested in making its own office space more environmentally friendly, but it is also willing to help other teams, Pain said.

“We are here to help the IU community in the pursuit of making their work environment more green friendly,” she said. “We are there to support them and let people know that sometimes you may meet resistance, but your ideas about making the environment more green and environmentally friendly shouldn’t be pushed aside.”