The Toll Men

Financial Benefits of Environmental Responsibility

Up until approximately 6 months ago, I was of the impression
that being conscious of the environment was strictly for the
benefit of the environment itself, and that I would derive
nothing from it; the ultimate beneficiary of any recycling/waste
reduction would be future generations, and the greater effect of
my efforts would occur long after I was gone.

Thanks to Dr. Anthony Watanabe and my work as the web developer
for the Toronto Regional Green Building
Festival website, I have come to the realization that there
are reasons beyond the ecological benefits mentioned above.

In speaking with Anthony, I noticed that he uses the word
“sustainability” and the phrase “sustainable growth” quite
frequently when describing his business. He even went so far as
to conceive the Sustainable
Business Resource Centre (SBRC), a network of for-profit and
not-for-profit businesses whose collective mission is to grow
while maintaining a sense of social responsibility and ensuring
that they use the minimal amount of environmental resources

It was in speaking to the owners of the other members at the
SBRC launch party that I discovered the direct financial
benefits of sustainable growth:

Lower energy/utility bills. By using energy-efficient
appliances and renewable sources of energy (e.g. solar),
consumption of energy resources decreases and, in turn, utility
costs decrease.

Increased productivity. A cleaner office environment will
keep employees happier and consequentially more productive.

Government rebates and incentives. Depending on where you
live, there may be municipal, provincial/state-wide, or federal
incentives designed to reward environmental responsibility.

For example, Natural Resources Canada offers an ongoing series of
rebates and incentives for both homeowners and businesses.

Another site worth checking out if you’re interested in rebates
and incentives is http://incentivesandrebates.ca.

Lower costs on goods, both in the short and long term.
Reduced use of goods and recycling provide an increased supply
of goods as well as a decreased demand for said goods. Simple
economic theory teaches us that this increased supply and/or
decreased demand leads to lower costs for goods.

Ways To Go Green and Save Money

Some of these ways may seem obvious, but bear repeating in order
to ensure that as many of us as possible are contributing to our
own sustainable growth:

Purchase energy-efficient products for use in the office.
Look for consumption ratings on products that make use of hydro
and gas. Another positive sign that a product is energy
efficient is the Energy Star logo.

Don’t print/photocopy unless absolutely necessary. I’ve
seen many people print non-necessary documents, web pages, and
even personal pictures on the office printer and distribute them
to friends and colleagues.

A good rule of thumb when it pertains to paperwork is, “if you
don’t need a permanent record of it, don’t print it.”

Turn off all electrical devices and adjust the thermostat to
match the outside conditions when no one is in the office.
If you don’t want to adjust your thermostat manually, consider
investing in an electronic programmable thermostat. These
thermostats can be programmed within 10-15 minutes of
installation and very rarely need to be adjusted.

Choose environmentally responsible companies for your
commercial needs. Companies such as Diamond + Schmitt Architects Inc.
that show a commitment toward sustainable growth will help
ensure that your needs are met while making minimal use of
natural resources.

Transmit mass-consumption documents electronically where and
when possible. Besides being far less expensive to do so
than to mail out said documents, paper use is also
minimized.

Consider features for your fax line such as Call Screen and
Privacy Guard. Companies such as Primus offer features for any phone line that will
allow the owner of the line to filter out and eliminate needless
and unnecessary calls.

In the case of a fax line, activating filtering features will
allow you to block known mass fax senders from tying up your fax
line, shortening the lifespan of your fax, and wasting ink and
paper an on unsolicited commercial faxing. These features are
typically minimal in cost (usually no more than $5.00 per
feature per month) and can be considered a wise investment on
the basis of avoiding unsolicited commercial materials
alone.

These are just a few examples. If you examine your own business
environment, you will likely find many other ways to contribute
in a positive manner to both the environment and your company’s
bottom line.

On November 13th 2002, the Liberian owned tanker, The Prestige, ran into trouble in heavy weather off the coast of Galicia. The 240 metre single-hulled ship had burst one its tanks and was starting to leak oil. The ships Greek captain called the Spanish authorities for aid but instead of the expected tow-in he was told to steer away from the coast and head North West. Similar responses were sent out from Spanish and Portuguese coastal authorities who were keen to see the foundering tanker kept away from their shores. This ship got into serious trouble on the sixth day of drifting when a 40 ft section of the hull came away; she split in two that afternoon spilling a huge amount of her 85,000 m cargo of oil into the Atlantic 250km from the coast of Galicia. The Prestige sank entirely later that day in over 3000 metres of water starting Spain’s worst environmental disaster.

The decision to take the ship away from the coast was not a good one; by this time 5000 tons of fuel was already spilt and the strong westerly winds that are prevalent in the region at this time of year were already pushing a huge slick of oil towards the Galician coastline. Galicia is one of Spain’s most remote regions and the population is very much coast dwelling with a huge portion of the areas income coming from the sea - renowned as an extremely rich fishing ground, the area is also home to coral, sharks and thousands of seas birds. The oil hit Galicia in droves; thousands of acres of beach were covered in oil with thousands of dead puffins and razorbills (amongst other birds and fish) washed up on the regions shores. With the wreck still leaking 125 tons of its cargo everyday, the clean up operation would have to get under way swiftly. 6000 seaman and an estimated 2500 boats were stuck in port in the region which includes Vigo, Europe’s largest fishing port. The huge fishing industry was crippled overnight - and it wasn’t just the fishermen who were affected, distributors and vendors saw their livelihood shattered too.

The clean up operation was huge with a lot of volunteers lending their weight to the effort. Thousands of tons of oil were removed from beaches and aid was provided for hundreds of birds covered in the Prestige’s noxious cargo. Estimates reckon that the disaster could cost somewhere in the region of 5billion in the ten years following the spill. It was six months until the fishing fleets dropped their nets again and locals still maintain that old fishing spots they frequented before the disaster are now completely barren.

In the wake of the accident, huge international pressure has raised many questions about the safety level of oil tankers. 80% of the Prestige’s 77,000 ton cargo was lost from the ship and concerns about its safety were raised before the voyage. In the wake of the incident many have called for the ban of single-hulled tankers, the IMO (International Maritime Organisation) called for their phasing out to be brought forward and the European Commission did exactly that by moving the date forward from 2015 to 2005. Pressure has also come from within Spain about the governments handling of the crisis; it took almost a year for the Spanish authorities to finally tell the public exactly how much oil was spilt. Galician Environmental movement “Nunca Mais” (Galician for “Never Again”) felt the government tried to cover up the scale of the damage and exactly a year after the tragedy, they led a march in Santiago de Compostela under the banner “We continue to demand solutions and justice”.

The effects of the disaster not only affected the Galician coast - oil was washed up in Portugal, on the beaches of Normandy and even England’s south cast did not escape unscathed. Such is the quantity of oil contained in tankers that that a spill can have catastrophic affects - with thousands of single hulled tankers still in operation there are fears that we’re endangering our environment unnecessarily.