Portland's Crave Catering Receives the "RecycleWorks" Award
 
City of Portland, Oregon
Office of Sustainable Development
Awarded Portland's Crave Catering The RecycleWorks for the Food Service category June 2008
RecycleWorks Award-winners
Businesses going above and beyond recycling!
What does it take to be a RecycleWorks Award-winner?
Beyond Recycling
Greening your business is about using resources intelligently and creatively. Doing so can create a better work environment for your employees and help you provide better services to your customers.
This brief checklist of ideas will help your business conserve energy, water, time and natural resources. Contact the organizations listed below for more information, or ask a Recycle at Work Recycling Specialist at 503.823.7037.
Buy green power
- PGE and Pacific Power offer the option to purchase renewable energy. A phone call to PGE at 503.228.6322 or Pacific Power at 1.888.221.7070 is all it takes to make the switch.
Drive less, drive smart
For free assistance implementing the suggestions below, or for information on tax incentives available to your business, contact Dan Bower from the Portland Office of Transportation at 503.823.5667.
- Support employee use of public transit. Contact TriMet at 503.962.7670 or www.tri-met.org to learn more about their Commute Options Program.
- Organize a carpool. Contact TriMet or visit www.carpoolmatchNW.org to get started.
- Support employee bicycling. Contact the City of Portland Bike Program at 503.823.7671 or www.pdxtrans.org for resources and ideas.
- Provide a subsidy to employees who walk, bicycle, carpool, or take public transportation to work.
- Locate new stores or facilities in places that can be conveniently reached by public transportation.
- Consolidate and reduce business-related travel.
- Make sure company vehicles are properly tuned and running on correct tire pressure.
- Buy high mileage vehicles such as hybrid gasoline-electric, for company use.
Conserve water
- Conserve water with the help of the Water Bureau's BIG conservation program (Business, Industry and Government). Call 503.823.4527 or visit www.portlandonline.com/osd for information.
Build green
- If you are remodeling, building or retrofitting facilities, investigate ways to save energy and prevent waste. The City of Portland's Green Building Program can get you started. Grants may be available. Call 503.823.5431 or visit www.portlandonline.com/osd.
Use less energy
- When upgrading power-consuming devices, look for ENERGY STAR rated products. These will almost always save you money over the life of the product.
- Get help financing energy improvements from the State of Oregon's Energy Loan Program, offering highly competitive rates. Call 800.221.8035 or visit http://egov.oregon.gov/ENERGY/LOANS/index.shtml for more information.
- The State offers a Business Energy Tax Credit for purchases of energy-efficient equipment. Call 800.221.8035 for more information.
- Get answers to your energy-related questions at the Energy Ideas Clearinghouse, available at no cost to Northwest businesses. Call the hotline at 800.872.3568 or visit www.energyideas.org.
- Visit the US Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star website at www.energystar.gov/smallbiz or call 888.782.7937 for a checklist of ways to conserve power.
- Have an energy audit conducted. The Energy Trust of Oregon has an energy expert available to examine your building and make recommendations on opportunities to cut energy bills. Call 877.510.6800 or visit www.energytrust.org for more information.
Reduce your runoff
- Minimize the rainfall that flows from your roof and property into storm drains, carrying wastes like oil and tar into Portland's rivers. The City's Bureau of Environmental Services offers incentives to businesses taking a stand and reducing their runoff. Call the City at 503.823.5610.
Go even further
- The Oregon Natural Step Network offers a systematic and business-friendly method for achieving sustainability. Visit www.ortns.org or call 503.241.1140.
- Businesses for Social Responsibility offers resources for integrating environmental and social ethics into business practices. Visit www.bsr.org or call 415.984.3200.
- The Northwest Earth Institute offers training in sustainability principles to businesses and community groups. Visit www.nwei.org or call 503.227.2807.
- The Master Recycler Program offers training that covers waste reduction, recycling processes, alternatives to hazardous cleaners, composting and green building. Classes are taught by professionals from the public and private sector. For more information visit www.masterrecycler.org or call 503.823.7530.
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