CleanTech WebLog

The “Green Team” at leading Silicon Valley law firm, Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati (WSGR), was formed 10 years ago as a grassroots, volunteer effort by a group of environmentally-minded employees. Over time, the Green Team expanded its efforts and earlier this year WSGR decided to meet the ABA-EPA Law Office Climate Challenge. Over the years, the firm has undertaken a wide range of initiatives. We met with Community Affairs Manager, Gail McFall and with Green Team member, Marie Larsen, to discuss WSGR’s motivations, challenges and accomplishments in greening their business.

Paper Use Triggers Look at All Solid Waste
Initially, these employees were motivated by a concern for the huge quantity of paper being used on daily basis. One recent study estimated that the average attorney uses between 20,000 and 100,000 sheets of paper per year (not counting additional copying and printing done for clients at outside locations such as trial sites). At the high end of the range, this amounts to about a half-ton a year per attorney. The lifecycle of a half-ton of office paper from its production through to disposal generates CO2 emissions of roughly 4.5 – 5.5 tons, depending on whether the waste paper is recycled. On top of that, paper production also uses water and produces waste water. So, it’s not surprising that excess paper use compelled this group of well-meaning employees to take action.

The team members started with a range of programs to reduce paper waste, including double-sided printing and conversion of some paper-based communications to electronic form. Over time, they expanded their waste perspective to encompass other solid waste such as cafeteria waste and e-waste (including batteries, DVDs, CDs and, of course, electronic equipment). Now, they run an annual e-waste pick-up of electronics that employees bring from home and offer a coffee discount to employees who use their own mugs at in-house cafes. And they continually educate employees about recycling.

Clean Tech Practice Area Nudges the Firm Forward
It wasn’t until the firm took on the ABA-EPA Climate Challenge, that significant resources were applied to sustainability initiatives. Partners involved in the rapidly growing Clean Technology and Renewable Energy industry are particularly sensitive to issues of sustainability. Along with members of the Green Team, this provided the impetus for the firm’s rise to the Climate Challenge. WSGR stepped up to all four areas of the challenge: 1) Office Paper Management purchase and use practices, 2) WasteWise use and disposal practices, 3) Green Power Purchases of renewable energy and 4) EPA Energy Star Guidelines for energy efficiency. The Climate Challenge impelled the firm to undertake additional projects including a lighting retrofit and green power purchases. And they made the Climate Challenge part of the official job responsibilities of community affairs manager, Gail McFall.

Organic Growth
From the initial focus in the Palo Alto, California office, the Green Team has expanded to include members from other locations. Its scope has grown from paper waste to other types of solid waste, to environmentally preferred purchasing of recycled office and cafeteria products and green cleaning products. Employee education efforts have broadened to encompass an annual Earth Day event with outside vendor participation and a speaker series. WSGR retrofitted lighting, replacing HID fixtures with induction fluorescents, and bought green power from their municipal utility. The Human Resources department recently initiated an alternative commute incentive program for employees operated by RideSpring (described in my post of 12/18/07).

Amping It Up
After being at it for 10 years, on what appears to have been a shoestring budget and solely volunteer efforts, they have accomplished a lot. However, it seems to have taken partner buy-in to the Climate Challenge to move efforts to the next level. Now, aside from “doing the right thing,” WSGR is achieving cost savings, particularly from reductions in energy use.

The ABA-EPA Climate Challenge was conceived as a 2-year pilot program slated to end in March 2009. I asked Daniel Eisenberg, an attorney at Beveridge and Diamond and head of the program for the ABA, what it would take to continue the program beyond its pilot period. There are no plans to discontinue the program. In fact, Eisenberg says “we have seen a major uptick in enrollment since January of 2008, to the point where we are getting seven or eight enrollments every two weeks or so.” I hope to see many more firms follow in the steps of WSGR, Morrison & Foerster, Nixon Peabody and others who have stepped up to the challenge.

KJ and I talked recently with Cecily Joseph, Director of Corporate Responsibility for Symantec.   We wanted to understand the steps a very large organization had followed to create a sustainability program and culture.   Symantec, one of the world’s largest security software companies, signed the UN Global Compact in 2006.  That membership became a catalyst for Symantec’s fledgling corporate responsibility program.    Several themes emerged in our conversation, some of which we are hearing repeated as we talk to people in other organizations who have implemented sustainability strategies.

Executive sponsorship is critical to success

Environmental policy was of specific interest to John Thompson, Chairman and Chief Executive of Symantec.  We’ve found with other companies that this interest and support from a top executive is a key success factor.  Cecily Joseph indicated that Thompson’s prioritization has made it much easier to create visibility within the company for her team.   In 2005, Joseph, who had come to Symantec through the Veritas merger, formed Symantec’s Environmental Stewardship Council.  The council was made up of VP’s from various functions in the company, such as Facilities, Supply Chain, IT and Product Development.  They meet regularly to discuss potential and existing projects.   The council quickly put together a platform and chose some projects that would get Symantec started, and now meet regularly with executives to communicate progress. 

Customer perspectives create impetus, and solving a customer problem helps drive internal commitment

Conversations between executives and customers revealed customer concerns about environmental issues, such as energy efficiency, and the need for products that addressed these issues.  This provided a market opportunity for Symantec’s storage products, which provide energy savings and a tangible return on investment.  It also allowed Joseph to drive home the message to the management team that these business needs were going to drive the market, and getting behind sustainability would pay dividends in revenue returns and in customer loyalty.

It’s a challenge to get broad involvement and support, and to coordinate grass roots activities

Even today, Joseph says, after two years of visible, successful programs, many departments still don’t understand what her team is doing, so communication remains a high priority.  This is especially true when responding to customer RFP’s, which are typically done in the business unit or geographical region.  Carbon reporting is also done independently, by region.   There are many “green” activities going on throughout the company, but not all are managed or budgeted centrally, so advantages of scale aren’t always realized.   Budget is also an issue, as Symantec, like others, doesn’t have a fund earmarked for “green” activities.    Projects are sponsored and funded departmentally.

Membership in an outside entity with standards creates momentum and catalyzes activity

Symantec’s endorsement of the UN Global Compact created a catalyst within the company to start looking carefully at processes and policies in an effort to lower their carbon footprint, and begin the journey towards reporting and transparency.Cecily Joseph is very enthusiastic about her role, the Environmental Stewardship council, and what they’ve accomplished so far.  She’s run into some obstacles, of course.  It’s been difficult to establish a voice, and obtain a seat at the table where strategic business decisions are being made; executives tend to have specific interests in an area, which means that support drops off for the lower priority, but still important projects.  It can be difficult to choose the highest impact endeavors, and stay focused when there are so many opportunities. Reporting and transparency have their own set of complexities, and stakeholders.  But ultimately, it’s a process, she says, and it takes time.   

Symantec will publish its first comprehensive corporate responsibility report in the summer of 2008, and has set a target of 15% reduction in greenhouse gases globally by 2012.

Amory Lovins, Rocky Mountain Institute founder and conservation guru, frequently comments about the low-hanging fruit available to companies through conservation. He says there’s so much of it that it “is mushing up around our ankles and spilling in over the tops of our waders while the tree pelts our heads with more fruit.”

Part 1 of this two-part post, described some of the great water conservation incentive programs available to Silicon Valley companies. There are also a number of ways to get paid for eating the low-hanging fruit of energy conservation. Some of these programs are so sweet that demand outstrips the budget allocated for the programs. So, businesses are well-advised to act now!

Energy Rebates
Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) and several municipally-owned utilities (like Silicon Valley Power in Santa Clara and the City of Palo Alto Utilities) provide a wide range of rebate programs for HVAC systems, lighting retrofits, food service equipment, commercial washing machine replacement, and LEED certification of new buildings, just to name a few. Check out the PG&E business rebates and incentives pages for some examples of these great programs.

Beyond Rebates
Beyond rebates, there are other significant incentives available through the utility companies. For example, owner incentives for energy-efficient new construction can reach as high as $500,000. PG&E will even customize incentives for an array of retrofits to existing buildings.

Demand response programs provide energy discounts and incentives in exchange for curtailing energy use during severe periods of peak demand. The PG&E Technical Assistance and Technology Incentive Programs provide free-of-charge engineering assistance on how to reduce energy demand and how best to participate in a demand response program. Unfortunately, PG&E is no longer accepting applications for the 2006-2008 TA/TI programs because the budget has been depleted. (The utility is applying for additional funds for the next program cycle which runs from 2009-2011.) You can still participate in demand response programs, you just don’t get the free engineering help until the next funding cycle kicks in.

Building Retro-Commissioning
Retrocommissioning, according to Facilities.net, is “an organized process that identifies facility performance objectives, a methodology for testing and verifying those objectives are achieved, and documentation of the process. …Retro-commissioning is performed on facilities that are already in operation…” PG&E has a monitoring-based commissioning program that is offered to members of Silicon Valley Leadership Group and Sustainable Silicon Valley and implemented in partnership with QuEST, an energy efficiency consulting firm. The program includes an energy audit, installation of building monitoring equipment, and a range of incentives for retrofit costs that cover up to 80% of the project costs. 40% of the PG&E incentive funds are disbursed right at the start of the project, before equipment is even installed. Immediate cost savings in the 10-15% are not uncommon, according to Michael Lechner of QuEST. (For a formal cost-benefit analysis of 224 commissioned buildings, see “The Cost-Effectiveness of Commissioning New and Existing Commercial Buildings.”) The PG&E/SVLG Monitoring-Based Commissioning incentive program is only available through 12/31/08, or until program funds are exhausted, whichever comes sooner.

Federal Tax Deductions for Energy Efficiency Upgrades
“The Energy Policy Act of 2005 created the Energy Efficient Commercial Buildings Deduction, which allows building owners to deduct the entire cost of a lighting or building upgrade in the year the equipment is placed in service, subject to a cap.” (http://www.lightingtaxdeduction.org/). This deduction is due to expire at the end of 2008, unless The Energy and Tax Extenders Act of 2008 (HR 6049), which extends the deduction for five more years, is signed into law. The House passed the law on 5/21/08 but President Bush has threatened to veto it. Act now to ensure that you can take advantage of the deduction!

For more information about energy tax incentives visit the Tax Incentives Assistance Project.

Even without rebates, incentives and tax deductions, you can still save on energy costs. But if you act now, you can get paid to eat that fruit!

How does sustainability become part of the culture of a company? One way is from the ground up—through programs like employee green teams. The other is from the top down–with commitment and involvement cascading through the ranks.

I read an interview recently with Gap’s Kindley Walsh-Lawlor that gave some good insight into how companies can engage their employees from the top down. Walsh-Lawlor runs the “ECO” sustainability initiative at Gap, Inc. The acronym stands for Energy conservation, Cotton or sustainable design, and Output or waste. These three categories capture activities across brands and departments, and provide a framework for communicating progress.

By using a meaningful acronym to describe the program, Gap has created a way to engage the company in the mission, and there’s a lesson here for other companies who want to create what I call a “sustainability sensibility”.

Many of the companies we see have multiple “green” initiatives taking place. Typically these initiatives have been started by employees who have a passion in a particular area, but they aren’t connected to business objectives, or even to other departmental efforts. They aren’t aligned in a way that has the greatest possible impact for the company, and they aren’t necessarily aligned with business goals.

Gap seems to have cracked the code on creating this alignment, but as Walsh-Lawlor was quick to point out in the interview, they’ve been at it for years.

So for those of you who haven’t been at it for years, and haven’t yet developed a comprehensive strategy, there are some lessons to be taken from Gap’s work:

• The creation of a meme that is meaningful, memorable and catchy creates recognition and acceptance.
• Identification of broad categories can encapsulate (and tie together) many activities across departments within the company.
• Categories can be used to develop a standard methodology for communications—all information about sustainability can be framed within these groupings.
• Opportunities for ownership and accountability at any level creates wide participation in the initiative.

Walsh-Lawlor closed the interview by expressing the importance of helping employees set priorities for sustainability programs from a business perspective. She said, “That’s another great way of integrating sustainability into the DNA of the company.” I couldn’t agree more.

Last Wednesday, I attended a great workshop put on by Sustainable Silicon Valley on the topic of “Green Teams: Employees Making a Difference.” Speakers from eBay, Genentech, BJG Architecture + Engineering and Gunn High School described the work being done predominantly by “green team” volunteers within their organizations. I was truly impressed with the passion, commitment and growth of their teams. At the same time, all that effort, coordination, passion and fun is often missing significant corporate sponsorship in the form of resources and budget. The result can be that green teams end up focusing on consciousness-raising among employees and on activities that make an important — but relatively small — impact on the carbon footprints and financial success (!) of companies.

Wouldn’t it be great if the senior executive teams would do more to nourish and cultivate these efforts? Integrate some stretch environmental and corporate responsibility goals into the overall business goals of the company. Allocate some resources. Incorporate environmental performance measures into the performance objectives of key managers.

Executives can either run to the front of the parade or get swept along by their employees. Leadership, vision and resources could really accelerate the positive impact of these teams. This would enable companies to reap the rewards* much sooner than by staffing these green initiatives with an underfunded, volunteer force.
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* Companies can benefit from “going green” by reducing costs (through more efficient use of resources), increasing revenue (with new products to address emerging needs), doing a better job attracting and retaining employees, mitigating risks and better managing their corporate reputations.