Green initiatives spread across industries

Corporate environmental efforts are not limited to certain industries.

Financial services firm BKD LLP's Learning & Development department has taken several steps to reduce its material usage and carbon footprint.

First on the docket, according to department Director Eileen Wollenburg, was going paperless with all meeting agendas and training manuals used in the company's education sessions. She said the move saves nearly 1,100 reams of paper each year.

"It also helps with information access," she added. "If someone is out with a client, no one wants to haul around a huge manual. But with the material on our intranet, they can pull that up and look at whatever they need."

Additionally, Wollenburg's department looks to consolidate corporate trips. For example, an employee who makes three trips a year from Houston to St. Louis for training now could complete all the training in one trip - and car pool with others.

"We want to be able to shrink that carbon footprint and the amount of travel we're doing, and yet they're still getting the same training," she said. "Plus, they're more productive and can network more."

The decision to go green, Wollenburg said, is part of the companywide Pledge for Sustainability. That pledge also is reflected in the company's new headquarters, being built by Kansas City developer Opus Northwest at the corner of St. Louis Street and John Q. Hammons Parkway. The firm is seeking Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Silver certification for the facility, which is slated to tentively open Aug. 31.

Physical changes

While BKD is making internal changes to reflect the green nature of its new building, Elliott Lodging is making an old building newer and greener.

The Springfield company reopened the former Hampton Inn East, 222 N. Ingram Mill Road, earlier this month as Greenstay Hotel & Suites. Owner Gordon Elliott bought the hotel for an undisclosed amount June 1, and he spent about $100,000 renovating the facility with a variety of internally designed green features.

"We've been working on conservation for a long time, trying to implement amenities that are both environmentally friendly and cost-efficient," Elliott said, adding that the Greenstay flag is not a national brand, but a name he created to emphasize the hotel's focus.

One of the most effective conservation features, while not one of the most glamorous, is the toilets. Elliott said installing dual-flush toilets in every Greenstay room has cut water and sewer bills in half to roughly $1,000 a month. The toilet systems cost $10,000 to install.

Arvest Bank also is going the green construction route with its new bank facility at National Avenue and Chestnut Expressway in Springfield.

The company held a "green-breaking" July 15 for the facility, plans for which include dual-flush toilets, rainwater-capture systems for toilets and irrigation, motion-sensor light systems and white roofs to reduce heat absorption.

The Greenstay hotel also utilizes recycling efforts, compact fluorescent light bulbs and air-conditioning systems that turn off when patrons are not in the room - an idea Elliott said also is in use at his Candlewood Suites properties.

Award-winning efforts

Another veteran Ozarks hotelier is being recognized for green efforts.

Myer Hotels, which operates five Branson hotels, was one of five businesses to receive the city of Branson's first Green Initiative Award, given to companies with ongoing recycling and energy conservation efforts. The other winners are Hollister R-V School District, Tantone Industries Inc., Mazzio's Italian Eatery and Cooper Creek Resort.

Meanwhile, three of Myer Hotels' Comfort Inn properties - Branson Meadows, Thousand Hills and West - are among the first 15 to be Certified Green by the Missouri Hotel & Lodging Association.

Vice President of Operations Gail Myer said that being environmental stewards is not new for his company; for example, he began conserving water more than a decade ago by installing low-flow shower heads and water aerators in sinks.

He said one of the more popular energy-saving programs is the hotels' towel-reuse program. Multiple-day customers can reuse their towels by simply hanging them on the towel bar, letting cleaning staff know not to replace them.

"You have a substantial number of people interested in saving energy, and that program saves water, it reduces phosphates with less detergent usage, and because you're not heating as much water, it saves electricity," Myer said.

He also noted that the company's recycling efforts provide a source of revenue to Tantone Industries, a Taney County nonprofit that provides jobs for developmentally disabled adults. Tantone collects Myer properties' aluminum cans and recyclable paper and cardboard to sell to local recyclers.[[In-content Ad]]