Put your money where your mouth is…one of my favourite expressions to walk the talk, be the change you seek in the world, and generally get epic stuff done.
Often at we search high and low to look for some bright spots in the world…those rare individuals that take our free-range message to heart and incorporate it into the very fibre of their being. Sometimes in the search, we miss what’s in front of our faces. Specifically, in a cubicle right around the corner where we found a fellow Infrastructure colleagues doing just that.
Janet Hall has the lucky task of shopping for a living (amongst many other things). Before you get all Carrie Sex-And-The-City jealous, this usually involves signs, office furniture and the other sundries of hospital space planning. It turns out that purchasing is one of the best places to get all green and mighty. Rather than using the same-old-same-old, Janet started using a purveyor of fine used office furniture in an effort to be green (and save our organization many lovely dollars in the process). Sidenote, doesn’t “purveyor” sound so much better than “vendor” or “seller”? The products she found are in the same range as the same-olds, so they meet all of our standards, and then some.
Janet shared…
“I believe UHN spends approximately $1.2 million a year (figures estimated) on furniture – by using used furniture we could save as much as 75%.
As an example – I recently installed 7 cubicles that would normally cost us $21,000 if we purchased them new – I paid $5,565 for the same product (well, actually a little better quality than what we normally purchase).”
And it’s not just furniture that has our green seal of approval. She’s also got her eye on energy…
“My desk light is on a sensor that turns off when I’m not at my desk. For teams like ours – we’re always in and out but we don’t always turn off when we leave the office during the day, so this is a great option.”
These are just 2 examples of how Janet shows her commitment to saving resources while doing her job, which makes her job all the more meaningful and affecting.
And speaking of expressions, another favourite clarifies the difference between being involved and being committed. It’s a lot like eggs and ham. The chicken’s involved…the pig is committed.
Lisa
P.S. Wanna see who else is greening at UHN? We have a page for that
Talkin' Trash With UHN 