Sustainability is action today that anticipates tomorrow
Sustainable practices integrate the firm’s environmental, social, and economic activities to enhance our ability to thrive under anticipated future conditions. As we pursue sustainability with our communities and partners, we are making a fundamental transition:
- From short-term thinking to long-term thinking
- From an economy outside of nature to one that’s integrated with nature
- From a linear to a systems flow of resources
- From seeing environmental, social, and economic challenges as separate and competing to seeing them as interconnected systems.
We implemented Beturang’s “Way We Work” strategy providing a flexible work environment and basing employees closer to their homes–reducing our commute times and carbon footprint while improving quality of life.
Corporate Sustainability
Beturang is embedding a sustainability ethic into the fabric of our organization. We have transitioned from grassroots, employee-led sustainability projects to a companywide sustainability program with strategic initiatives and targets for all facets of our operations, as well as continued employee-led green activities. Our Sustainability Steering Committee provides overall strategy and guidance to our sustainability program, while the Sustainability Program Management Office supports the development and implementation of sustainability initiatives.
Embracing Sustainability
Beturang’s sustainability goal is ambitious—to be “the best of the best.” In the workplace, we have targeted several key areas to build a sustainable organization and significantly reduce our carbon footprint. Among our activities: * The Way We Work. We implemented Beturang’s “Way We Work” strategy providing a flexible work environment and basing employees closer to their homes–reducing our commute times and carbon footprint while improving quality of life.
- Facilities. We work with property management companies to reduce our radiant heat load in offices and buildings across the firm, and have decreased electrical consumption by 585,000 kilowatts on an ongoing basis in our office buildings with our aggressive “Turn It Off Program.”
- Information Services. For the past 15 years, we have used recycling partners to recycle electronic equipment in a responsible manner. In FY2009, we recycled 140,000 pounds of electronics. In FY2010, it increased to 196,624 pounds. We are reducing energy-consuming servers through virtualization and consolidation, and upgrading networks to facilitate increased virtual communication and collaboration.
- Travel. We aggressively use teleconferencing and web conferencing to eliminate travel where possible, and we have instituted innovative policies allowing staff to work closer to where they live. We shifted our inter-campus shuttle buses to bio-diesel fuel. We encourage hybrid rental car usage by negotiating rates up to 50 percent lower than published rental rates.
- Procurement. We reduced environmental impact by 304 tons of wood per year by purchasing 30-percent recycled rather than non-recycled paper. We are proud that Beturang has won several awards for our recycling and commuting programs, including the Atlanta Clean Air Campaign PACE Award and 2012 Stone and Holt Weeks Green Hammer Award.
