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2016 is the 46th year of the Earth Day movement! At Steven Winter Associates, it’s a year-round celebration of our planet. Take a look into the SWAstainable lifestyles of our employees, and tell us about your commitment to ‘living green’ in the comment section. #EarthDay
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How do you commute to work? I live in Brooklyn and try and use almost every method of alternative transport available. I take the subway, or I ride the ferry, which picks me up a few blocks away from my apartment in Greenpoint. If I take the ferry, then I either bring my bike and ride the remainder of the distance, or I will roller blade. Sometimes I bike the full distance over the bridge.
How do you participate in office sustainability? I am the main person helping to orchestrate the waste management process here including education and coordination on recycling and composting. I’m a master composter, and this practice in particular is very important to me. I also recently took the zero waste business certification course and am considering certification.
What actions do you take at home to promote green living? I grow my own vegetables, avoid using plastic bottles, and try to eliminate waste whenever possible. Also, I air sealed my apartment wherever I had access.
What green behavior/initiative would you like to see become more mainstream? Composting and zero waste management. Also, the complete elimination of plastics (recycling just isn’t getting us where we need to be) and replacement with bio-based materials OR at least a more significant reduction in use. I think NYC should ban plastic bags, too.
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How do you commute to work? I ride the subway (6 train), and then walk about 15 min to office.  The physical activity helps re-energize after a day spent working on a computer.
How do you participate in office sustainability? Support SWA’s recycling and composting systems.
What actions do you take at home to promote green living? I use green laundry detergent and dish washer liquid, recycle, don’t use plastic forks, spoons etc. I turn off lights and AC when leaving home, and roll blinds down to reduce heat gain during the day.
What green behavior/initiative would you like to see become more mainstream? Reducing the use of plastic utensils/plates when eating in the office, and also eliminating plastic bags.
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How do you commute to work? I walk a whopping ½ mile to get to work. The trip time can swing wildly from 10 to 15 minutes depending on the weather outside.
How do you participate in office sustainability? We try hard to use passive day-lighting as much as possible, and help each other stay honest with recycling. Most of us walk or bike to work.
What actions do you take at home to promote green living? I am mostly vegetarian (“mostly” because sometimes you just need a burger), and I try to walk or use mass transit as much as possible.
What green behavior/initiative would you like to see become more mainstream? A lot of the food we’re used to eating has a massive life-cycle ecological footprint, especially commercially farmed meat. I would like to see a widespread embrace of minimizing (not eliminating) meat consumption—why not have a vegetarian alternative to a Big Mac that’s just as much a guilty pleasure?
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How do you commute to work? I drive my Prius to the train station, where I’m able to park for free because of our local ordinance for hybrid cars. I then take the train, and walk the remaining distance to work.
How do you participate in office sustainability? I try and help make our recycling rules as clear as possible, to avoid recyclables from going into the trash.
What actions do you take at home to promote green living? I recycle, have solar panels, and two hybrid cars.
What green behavior/initiative would you like to see become more mainstream? People understand MPG, the cost of gas, and how much they spend to drive their cars. I want them to have an equally clear understanding of what their home/apartment uses, and what to do about it if it’s too high.
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How do you commute to work? I take a bus from New Jersey into Port Authority Bus Station, and depending on the weather, ride the subway or walk to the office.
How do you participate in office sustainability? At the office, I turn off the lights when I am (and no one else is) no longer in the room, properly separate waste for recycling and composting, shut down my computer at the end of the day, keep printing to a minimum, and drink water using a reusable water bottle.
What actions do you take at home to promote green living? I take short showers, wash laundry with cold water, reuse towels in between washes, replaced all CFLs with LEDs, drink water with a reusable water bottle, and bike ride rather than drive when the weather is nice.
What green behavior/initiative would you like to see become more mainstream? More adoption of renewable energy and distributed generation, along with the phase out of fossil fuels and centralized power.
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