Washington University’s Green Office program is a point-based, self-assessment checklist that enables offices to evaluate their current practices and set goals to be more sustainable moving forward. Recent participants include Mickey Croyle and the Radiation Safety Office (second floor) at the School of Medicine. They are the second office to receive a platinum level Green Office certification, which is the highest level possible! In addition to achieving perfect scores for sustainable practices in the categories of energy, purchasing, and awareness, the Radiation Safety Office received high marks in the waste, documents, and transportation categories. The office also received innovation points for taking used coffee grounds and loose tea home to compost and for revising the Radiation Safety Exam to reduce paper waste. Office members saved 728 exam pages from the printer in 2014.
Mickey was excited to hear about the certification. “It is awesome that small steps have contributed to reaching platinum,” she commented. “I was hoping we could move up to silver, but our efforts helped to reach an even higher level. We suggest everyone make small steps to become a more sustainable office.”
Green Office participants receive a reclaimed wood plaque and recognition on the Office of Sustainability website. We encourage offices across all campuses to follow the Radiation Safety Office’s lead and work toward platinum level certification in the coming months. To learn more about the certification process, click here.