Sustainable Duke Certifies Three New Green Workplaces

Three new Duke workplaces, Office of Internal Audits, Nicholas School of the Environment Marketing & Communications, and Medical Center Library & Archives have each earned the Duke Green Workplace Certification, bringing the total to 29 certified workplaces and over 450 staff working in certified workplaces at Duke.  The Green Workplace Certification recognizes work areas that formally assess how they are reducing their environmental footprint.The Office of Internal Audits completed 41 items out of 58 possible items on a checklist that measures workplace sustainability.  In addition to energy and water conservation measures, they ask staff to "Scan if you Can." Scanning and saving electronic file copies of documents rather than making paper copies whenever possible saves paper, file folders, labels and storage space.Nicholas School of the Environment Marketing & Communications achieved 45 out of 58 items on the certification checklist.  The office has a Keurig coffeemaker, for which they have invested in reusable filters and are composting the coffee grounds from each use.  They have set their computers to sleep and hibernate after short periods of time and staff turn off other electronics and peripherals that are not in use as well. The office also encourages staff and guests to utilize alternative transportation.Achieving 43 criteria on the Duke Green Workplace checklist, Medical Center Library & Archives has excelled in finding creative ways to incorporate sustainability into their procedures.  The group has consolidated delivery of library materials between campuses with the Triangle Research Library Network (Duke, UNC, NCSU, NCCU).  Public photocopiers in their areas provide the option of saving to a flash drive as opposed to printing and they have transitioned from print to electronic formats for journals (100%) and books (75%).  The Medical Center Library & Archives has also partnered with Better World Books to recycle books during a recent clean out.Duke's Office of Sustainability administers the Duke Green Workplace Certification, which begins when a representative from a work area attends the free "Leading for Environmental Sustainability" workshop. As part of the workshop, participants receive a checklist of sustainable practices ranging from double-sided printing to using eco-friendly dishwashing soap in a break room. A work area that can demonstrate it follows at least 40 of the checklist's 58 items can apply for certification and permission to post the Duke Green Workplace seal in its office and on materials.View a complete list of certified offices and the actions they completed to earn certification.