Congratulations to the crew at Engine 23 for outstanding Job Site Recycling!

If you've been receiving this newsletter and/or have visited our website, you already know that CIR has made a commitment to making incremental changes towards becoming a more sustainable company, and you've read about some of the things that we're doing and have already done to meet our sustainability goals. However, what you may not know is why teaming up with PUSH Buffalo on their green housing rehabilitation demonstration project at 10 Winter Street is so important to us.

Congratulations to the crew at NRG Dunkirk for outstanding Job Site Recycling!

CIR recently increased our commitment to the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) by becoming a Copper Level Sustaining Member. The IES is the entity that sets the Lighting Recommended Practices which includes, but is not limited to, the recommendation of footcandle levels.

Congratulations to the crew at Forestville Schools for outstanding Job Site Recycling!

The Little Valley Job Site, lead by Subforeman Ken Lindquist, was selected as the December winner of our Job Site Recycling Incentive Program. Ken was assisted by Apprentice Electrician Paul Sasso.

Congratulations to the crew at 2410 North Forest for outstanding Job Site Recycling!

Congratulations Gary Arcadi for Outstanding Job Site Recycling!

I'm very happy to say that on August 14th, I received the LEED Green Associate credential. . . I've also been working closely with Craig Bongiovanni, one of our project managers, at properly positioning CIR to successfully market and assist our customers at attaining the various financial incentives available for making electrical energy efficiency upgrades.

Congratulations to the crew at Forestville Schools for outstanding Job Site Recycling!

Part of CIR's plan to be a more sustainable company is by encouraging employees to become LEED Accredited Professionals (AP). The US Green Building Council's (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System is considered the national standard for green building, and is becoming increasingly popular within the construction industry because of the energy savings and other benefits to building owners. In fact, many colleges and government agencies are requiring that all new building projects attain LEED certification at some level.

Congratulations to the crew at Lyndonville High School for outstanding Job Site Recycling!

It's July, and for many of us the New Year's resolutions we were so diligent about in January have long since been forgotten. However, I have high hopes that many of us have taken some of those simple steps to living a greener lifestyle, and they're only forgotten because they've become a part of our routine. To that end, I thought some of you may be interested in how I'm doing with the "green goals" I shared with you in January.

Congratulations to the crew at Lyndonville High School for outstanding Job Site Recycling!

I announced in February that we were starting a company-wide job site recycling program, and I'm happy to say that although we got off to a bit of a bumpy start, it's going well!

Congratulations to the crew at Candlewood Suites for outstanding Job Site Recycling!

Have you taken the pledge? As part of the Buffalo-Niagara Earth Day 2009 Initiative, CIR has pledged to encourage all of our employees to carpool, bike, walk or take public transportation to work on Earth Day, this coming Wednesday, April 22nd, to help demonstrate WNY's commitment to going green.

As Sustainability Coordinator at CIR, I have been invited to participate in a panel discussion on green marketing. The event, which will be held at the Millennium Hotel on April 27th, is being hosted by the Buffalo Niagara Sales & Marketing Executives (BNSME) as a part of their monthly dinner meeting series.

I'm very excited to announce that CIR is kicking off our new job site recycling program this month. Our plan is to ensure that as much as possible of the waste materials from our job sites is recycled rather than ending up in landfills.

Since we're still early in the New Year and many of us are still working diligently on our resolutions, I thought I'd follow up on last month's newsletter and talk about some of the things I've done and plan to do to live greener. My top two are among the easiest things that everyone can do and make a noticeable difference at the same time.

Having a greener holiday follows the same principles as living a greener life; Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Just in case you're fresh out of ideas how to reduce, reuse and recycle your way to a greener holiday season, we've jotted down some ideas of how to green your holiday décor, parties and gifts. When you're done greening your holiday, check out our list of green New Year's resolutions and be green all year long!

CIR recently added a recycling bin for beverage containers. Someone had been returning pop bottles and cans with the deposits on them for quite some time, but we noticed an increasing number of plastic bottles that ended up in the trash instead of being recycled. We’ve been filling that 15-gallon bin that holds about 50-60 plastic bottles an average of every three weeks, which means we’ll save nearly 1,000 plastic bottles from going to the landfill each year. On the ‘Reduce’ and ‘Reuse’ side, we keep water pitchers in the fridge and have a coffee maker complete with coffee and the related supplies in our kitchen. For anyone that forgets their favorite cup or coffee mug, we give out CIR cups and insulated mugs from time to time.

In our effort to increase our paperless operations, CIR recently purchased an invoice scanner system. Every invoice that we receive will be scanned into the system, and an electronic copy will then be sent to the prospective project manager for approval. Currently, every vendor has to submit invoices in duplicate so that hard copies can be given to each project manager for approval. Once it’s up and running, this system will eliminate the need for duplicate invoice copies and save approximately 1500 sheets of paper from being used every month while increasing office efficiency. CIR also utilizes other electronic services that not only save paper, but have other added benefits.

Last summer CIR started a facility paper recycling program. Everyone in the office has their own separate paper bin to ensure the maximum amount of paper gets recycled. Rather than just putting the paper out every week for collection by the city, someone from the office takes it to the bin at St. Anthony’s Church down the street so that they can earn money for recycling. In addition to paper recycling, we’re trying to reduce the amount of paper we use by encouraging everyone to print double-sided whenever possible and increase paperless operations.

With the growing concern for the environment and global climate change, CIR has been trying to do our part as a company and make changes to reduce our environmental impact. Of course we offer our customers the most up-to-date and efficient lighting, controls and systems technologies to help them reduce their energy consumption and related costs, which is where we can make the greatest positive impact on the environment. But CIR is also taking steps to reduce our own environmental impact.