Green Business Partnership
Final Report
Kirkland Town Library
Spring 2019
Theme by SlidesCarnival
Organizational Commitment:
Environmental Policy
The structure and language of the policy comes from research of the Green Business Partnership Environmental Policy Template, and the public libraries’ policies of Kalamazoo, Middleton, Northbrook, and Wheaton. The Trustees of the Kirkland Town Library are reviewing this policy for approval at their meeting in April 2019.
Organizational Commitment:
Sample Signage
Organizational Commitment: Green Team
Organizational Commitment: Employee Engagement
Source: GBP Employee Survey
Organizational Commitment: Celebrations
Events Encouraging Patrons to Reuse:
Events Encouraging Patrons to Engage Sustainable Resources:
We gave out tree saplings to patrons when they checked out an item on Earth Day, as communicated in the poster to the left.
Energy Audit
The NYSERDA Small Business Energy Audit only offers lighting assessments/incentives, as explained in the above email. However, we have already converted our lighting to LEDs, so the NYSERDA energy audit would not be beneficial.
Energy: Lighting
We utilize task lighting, like this lamp, in the reading room and at the help desk.
We utilize occupancy sensors like this one in our staff office, director’s office, and teen room.
Energy: Heating and Cooling
The children’s section of the library relies on fan ventilation in addition to AC to reduce energy usage.
We have window blinds on our south-facing windows to reduce solar heat gain.
The library’s heating system operates according to our programmable thermostats like this one, which is located in our staff office.
Energy: Appliances
All of our computers are on sleep/standby mode after a period of non-use, and do not utilize screensavers.
We use power strips around the library to “control ‘phantom’ plug loads from equipment.”
Energy: Performance Metrics
Energy Usage 2016
Energy Usage 2017
The reduced electricity usage from 2016 to 2017 was due to the installation of LED bulbs in late 2016.
Materials Management Waste and Recycling: Waste Audit
We conducted our waste audit on March 6-8, 2019.
This is a sample of the form we used to conduct the audit.
Materials Management Waste and Recycling:
Reuse and Recycling
Our recycling bins, like this one, are clearly labeled and list the items that can be recycled in them.
We recycle our ink cartridges using the above program.
Materials Management Waste and Recycling: Paper & Office Supplies
We use half- and quarter-sheet page setups to reduce our paper usage.
We use Google Drive and Gmail to lessen our paper consumption in employee communications.
Materials Management Waste and Recycling:
Kitchen
Staff bring their own reusable dishware and use this sink to clean it.
The above email went out to staff to encourage more sustainable alternatives to buying plastic water bottles.
Materials Management Waste and Recycling:
Performance Metrics
Materials Management Green Purchasing: Stationery & Office Supplies
We use a (reusable) whiteboard calendar to organize patron events. This reduces our paper consumption.
Materials Management Green Purchasing:
Green Cleaning & Personal Care Products
Our toilet paper is made with “100% recycled fiber,” and has several sustainable certifications, as pictured on the label above.
Our soap is not antibacterial, and its packaging is made of recycled content.
Materials Management Green Purchasing: Electronics
We operate on this virtual server, WorkFlows (instead of a traditional one) to foster sustainability.
We have adopted this phase-in plan to ensure that we purchase sustainably in the long-term.
Materials Management Green Purchasing: Packaging
Patrons can check out books in reusable bags like these, to eliminate the need for plastic bags.
We eliminated the use of plastic bigs last year; this was one of the posters advertising the transition.
Materials Management Green Purchasing: Low VOC & Non-toxic Products
We have adopted the following plan to address instances in which high VOC and toxic products may otherwise have been used.
Transportation: Employee Commuting &
Performance Metrics
Two thirds of our staff have a weekly total commute of five miles or less.
Staff Survey
100% of our staff agreed to the statement:
“I consider myself to be an environmentally conscious person.”
Land Use
Our loading dock, shown left, is constantly kept clean and free of litter.
We collect rainwater through this apparatus (shown right) to water our garden.
Water
We have developed the following phase-in plan for water-conserving appliances.
Goals for 2019: