Earth Day 2008 coincidentally falls about half a year since SWA's 50/50 celebration commemorating 50 years of changing the built environment. One of the focuses of 50/50 was to push ourselves as design professionals to look at the impact we have upon a practice and a world that is becoming more and more environmentally aware. Our own Houston offic's retreat a few months later further pushed the theme of environmental awareness, strategic impact, and overall sustainability from multiple fronts. How do we in our services generate and champion the ideas of sustainability that brings value to not only our clients, but also the greater community and future generations? How do we as an office manifest our "green" values by holding ourselves accountable in terms of sustainability? How do we as individuals begin reinforcing a budding cultural mentality that what we do and how we live and our attitudes towards our natural environment all have eventually tangible effects on the way we continue to live in the future?Earth Day is a moment to take pulse of our efforts so far; its a time to see how much we have done, and to generate enthusiasm to take on the much more we can still do! Finally, it is simply a moment to reflect on the notion that our actions do have consequences, through often a series of small steps (and some large ones) towards a more promising ... or daunting ... future.
SWA is in the process of developing a system similar to LEED, but one that is more geared towards the field of landscape architecture. This is a work in progress, and the points below are only the tip of the iceberg. The full matrix exists on our servers, so if you have any ideas, please take a look and add to it.A. DESIGN PROCESS
1. Identify overall project sustainable design goals
2. Seek out team members and consultants who have experience with sustainable design
3. Identify local sustainable design resources
4. Make site design and features adaptable for potential future uses of site
5. Identify desired life span of design and components and design to meet that timeline accordingly
B. SUSTAINABLE SITES
C. NEIGHBORHOOD PATTERN & DESIGN
D. ENERGY & WATER CONSUMPTION
E. MATERIALS & RESOURCES
F. ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY-AIR
G. ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY-HYDROLOGY
H. ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY-SOIL
I. ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY-VEGETATION
J. MAINTENANCE & COMISSIONING
There is a saying that the trip of 10,000 miles begins with one step. Be they small steps as being more mindful of turning off lights when not in use, or big steps like those possible in our upcoming office renovations, SWA Houston has shown that it is serious about holding ourselves accountable to the ideas and motivations of sustainability and environmental awareness. Without doubt it is a work in progress, and our ideal goals are far from being met (or for that matter even clearly articulated). But there is an energy of earnesty perceptible throughout the office. We are opening up our minds and fertile imaginations to the possibilities of "green" working and "green" living. We are learning through doing, discovering some ways are better than others. This process of transition we are now taking is helping us form our beliefs about the value of sustainability and to test them through actions. Actions like the following, which although individually small, hopefully generate momentum and push off towards an eventual goal of being a leading example of a sustainable practice in our field.
SWA Houston uses only non-toxic and biodegradable cleaning products. These non-petroleum based cleansing agents are derived from only natural ingredients, posing much less harm to the environment both in their method of production and their potential contamination of our water supply. To find out more information about the products we currently use, visit Green Works Cleaners and Seventh Generation.
Since February, a small group of individuals (Thanks! Matt, Christina, Kelly, & Alex) have put in true efforts in dealing directly with one of the most obvious environmental concerns of the office, that of the loss of potentially recyclable waste products. By sharing the responsibility of recycling the on average 400 plastic bottles a week this office generates, we lower are carbon footprint through a more responsible attitude towards the waste we produce. We could always use more help!
The best way to deal with the recycling problem ultimately resides in the attitudes towards the waste we potentially produce. In short, there would be no need to recycle plastic bottles if we didn't use them to begin with. SWA Houston is looking into the feasibility of providing soft drinks through a soda fountain and/or discontinuing bottled water (and improving the existing water filter and containers we have) ... your input as an office is important; let your ideas be known. SWA Houston is also looking into switching trash services that integrate recycling into our regular trash service. This way, recycling becomes even more easier and hopefully more popular. We all realize that most often recycling is ONLY done when it is convenient.
The part of trash that many people often overlook is simply the bags that we use to collect it with and eventually also gets disposed of along with the actual trash into landfills. The conventionally produced petroleum-based trash bags create the same concern as do the tons of petroleum-based plastic bottles. The plastic in bottles, and probably in the trash bags too BEGIN decomposing about after 700 years in a landfill, and take approximately 4000 years to fully decompose. Say what?!! SWA Houston now uses 100% recycled content trash bags.
We go through TONS (literally) of paper. Most of it, being the paper we produce our work on, which luckily can be recycled through the existing trash service we use. However, as an office we also use a great amount of paper in terms of paper kitchen towels and toilet paper. In being mindful of both the reality of this necessary use vut striving towards ideals of lowering our environmental impact, SWA Houston is now using 90% recycled content paper towels and 20% recycled content toilet paper. Every wipe helps. Remember that its not all about recycling though, the first step is simply reducing (or reusing) that which we use. Do you really need that huge wad of paper towels to get the job done?
Thanks to the Front Office, we are encouraging the notion of waste reduction through the relationships we have with vendors who provide the countless things we need to function. Here, namely in our catering choices, Maribel where possible, requests that the numerous meals we order from outside the office to be prepared using the least amount of packaging possible. This cuts down on the ridiculous amount of superfluous paper and plastic supplies that more often than not, don't even get used and our consequently chucked into the trash can. This request also eventually plays into our choice to patronize only vendors who also share this concern towards waste reduction. Ultimately, we as consumers play the most important role in changing the way businesses operate.Regarding the use of "disposables", everyone should realize that new sets of cutlery have been purchased and the cleaning ladies wash these everyday. Please think about this the next time you use a disposable plastic spoon to stir your coffee ... eventhough you think that putting it on the countertop for someone else to use again (which they don't) negates the environmental harm it creates (or the health harm it creates as those plastic molecules melt INTO your coffee).
Coffee, coffee, coffee! Even with our first cup of coffee of the day, we can take active steps towards environmental awareness and a more sustainable future for us and the global community as a whole. SWA Houston currently purchased Rainforest Alliance coffees and Numi Teas, both of whom take real steps towards sustainability in the markets and communities they affect. Again, as consumers, we have the power to create market trends. Let us know about products you've come across that we should be using as well! 
Did anyone notice the new energy saving compact flourescents that now light the entry canopy? Here is an building upgrade that not only makes environmental sense but long term business sense as well in its ability to enormously out perform conventional incandescent lights in terms of the light generated versus power used. The Front Office is in the process of switching out all other incandescents in the office as they burn out (which most likely will be very soon since they are incandescents). Also, it seems there is some research into actually switching even our electricity providers to some one like Green Mountain, who generate electricity through renewable resources like wind and solar.
Do you know you can print double sided documents by sending those 100 page city oridnances PDFs to the copier, instantaneously cutting in half both paper usage, ink usage, and eventual paper waste?!! 1. Go to "File", then "Print". 2. Choose the Canon 500 printer. 3. Click on "Properties". 4. On the "Finishing" tab, under "Print Style", choose "2-sided printing".
The average Americans loses about 8 months of his or her life in opening up junk mail. SWA Houston now proactively calls companies who send junk mail to be removed off their mailing lists and does the same with junk faxes. We have better things to do!
A quick count of the miles the Houston SWA office flies in a year, doing what we do with clients on the other side of the world, clocks in at a staggering 1.5 MILLION miles a year. By the way that is ONLY about three round trip "flights" to the Moon! Air travel is a business reality in the work we do, but the question we must ask if sustainability is really important to us is how do we mitigate this "necessary evil"? That's where "carbon offsets" come in. A short web query found one organization that offers a credit that would "offset" the 1.5 millions miles ... total additional costs approximately $3000 (plus you get a nifty "portable bike". Thats a significant chunk of change, but what's that percentage in relation to the cost of purchasing those 1.5 million flown miles? What do you guys think about this?Also, we want to know what can the office do to encourage employees to find alternative methods to travel to work. Traveling by car is a reality in Houston, but because many people live either close to the office or close to each other, is car-pooling a method? What do you gusy think of some sort of incentive for car-pooling, like free lunches and the sort. Kirksey in their green office "benefits" offers a "free lunch" for every 5 days of car-pooling. Would this work here at SWA? Tell us!
The SWA Houston Green Wall has been part of everyone's daily ritual being right in our kitchen. With every trip to the bathroom or cup of coffee is a chance to glance at the plethora of news, ideas, and products on the wall. The Green [W]all (still wondering to replace the fallen "W" or not, as "Green All" has a nice ring to it as well!) is a testament to variety of ideas and the sheer creativity of this office. From articles about personal "trash challenges" to hip new eateries in Houston that sport eco-conscious (and fashion-conscious) furniture, the Green Wall is a tapestry of ideas coming from folks in the office, showcasing the richness of perspectives on what is "green". Let this be YOUR wall guys; it is a space for any viewpoint on "green"!
SWA Houston in our strive to open our minds and learn more about what our impact can be, has started a lecture / "lunch and learn" series of speakers that come into our office and speak to us about their passions towards sustainability, however they define it as. This diverse variety of viewpoints will only enrich our imaginations with the issues at hand and the possibilities that can be envisioned. Our kick off presentation brought Avi Katz of Katz's Coffee and Monica Pope of T'afia's to our office, opening our eyes as citizens of both our immediate and local community and citizens of a global community to the concepts of "free trade" vendors and local grown food markets. Along with delicious coffees and foods, they shared with us a balancing vision that pushed both a personal commitment to environmental / community sustainability and the necessities of running a business at profit.SWA Houston will look forward to currently four more speakers in the upcoming months, David Batts who will share with us an innovative pavement water harvesting technology, David Crossley, a well known local smart growth advocate, who will bring his views on sustainable urban growth in the Houston area, Lee Bookout, who will bring information about the implementation of green roof technologies, and most recently added to the docket, Brian Malarkey of Kirksey Architects, who was pivotal in that firm's impressive shift towards being a more "green" office.
What would a green future be like? And what will SWA's position in creating that future and being part of it be? The 50/50 anniversay celebrated 50 years of innovative design that stood at the forefront of landscape architecture. Any conservative prognostication of the nature of the next 50 years of landscape architecture would include serious considerations on the growing impact of humanity upon the places ... the planet ... we call home. For 50 years, SWA has designed amazing places ... maybe part of the next 50 years is developing an intimate knowledge that good design not only creates good places, but also preserves them for many many generations to come. That is the heart of sustainability. And if that is heart that beats in this practice, the 100/100 celebration is bound to be a very "green" one.
