News & Updates

Earth Day is Here!

Earth Day is here! See how we’re helping the planet.

We Make It Easy!

Here at The Visual Pak Companies we’re helping the planet one day at a time by focusing on our sustainability efforts.

In honor of Earth Day, here are some our sustainability facts about us and 10 simple tips to share with your co-workers!

OUR SUSTAINABILITY FACTS:

COORDINATION & MGMT: Dedicated regulatory and environmental specialists on-site

ELECTRICITY: Switched to Environmentally friendly lighting in multiple plant and office locations.

ABF: Reduction of 62,000 kWH (saving over 125,000 kWh annually)

VPW: Reduction of 35,000 kWh (savings in excess of 75,00 kWh)

CORRUGATE:  The Visual Pak Companies recycle over one million pounds of corrugate packaging material every month which is equal to saving in excess of 10,000 tress* monthly

PLASTIC:  The Visual Pak Companies recycle 100% of all plastic waste

ZERO WASTE TO LANDFILL: We are committed to eliminating waste, not just treating it. We have multiple facilities that are zero waste to landfill.

* Every ton of recycled paper saves about 17 trees. Source: Purdue Research Foundation and US Environmental Protection Agency 1996

 

10 Ways to Reduce Energy Consumption at the Office

1. Turn off the Lights at the end of the day. To conserve electricity, create an office policy to ensure all the lights in your office are turned off, including lights in bathrooms, kitchen areas, and meeting rooms.
2. Think Green, Reduce Printing: Now-a-days everything is done digitally which is awesome for the environment. However, there are still ways to promote green practices in your digital efforts. For example, when sending e-mails, adding a line in your footers or signature lines with your version of the commonly used phrase “Please consider the environment prior to printing this e-mail.”
3. Use power strips for older electronics and home offices.Power strips are an easy way to reduce the “always on” power for older devices built before 2008. Devices built after 2008 use very little “always on” power.
4. Turn off appliance not in use. Unplug your monitor before you head home from the office.com says that if you have a desktop computer, powering down the monitor and putting the CPU to sleep if you’ll be away for more than 20 minutes and to power down completely if you’ll be away for more than two hours.
5. Take the Stairs. Try to take the stairs every time, especially if you have the time and you’re not on an upper floor. Avoid taking the elevator by yourself, to conserve energy. Always choose manual doors over electronically operated ones, if possible.
6. Minimize Air Conditioner Use. Avoid turning on the air conditioner or heater when weather is pleasant, open windows to get some fresh air. If that is not possible at your workplace, setting the thermostat at optimum level during summer and winter will save energy and keep everyone comfortable. The Earth Day Network Energy Center recommends setting the indoor temperature to 70 degrees or less in the winter and aim for 75 degrees or more in the summer. Every extra degree will make a difference on your utility bill too. It’s a win-win!
7. Replace any lamps over your desk or cube with ENERGY STAR light bulbs.By replacing just one regular incandescent light bulb with an ENERGY STAR light bulb would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 66 pounds.
8. Use cloth towels rather than paper towels at work.The average person uses 2,400 – 3,000 paper towels at work, in a given year. One roll of paper towels is responsible for 25 pounds of CO2, thus contributing to global warming.
9. Recycle all of your paper waste.This includes reusing paper that you’ve only used one side of or that printer sheet that prints out of the printer saying whose print out it is.
10. Recycle your old cell phones, printers, laptops and other electronics.Unfortunately, only 20-25% of electronics are disposed of properly, leaving 75% winding up in a landfill. But aside from winding up in a landfill, when you don’t dispose of your phone or computer properly, your data (email, social security numbers, passwords, photos) doesn’t get disposed of properly either and could put you at risk for identity theft, blackmail or forgery. You can find a recycler here  (http://e-stewards.org/find-a-recycler/) or go a step further and have you company become certified.

Happy Earth Day!

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