06 May Austin Green Business Leaders Spotlight: House + Earth
With the company philosophy – “For the home you live in – and the home you live on” – it’s no surprise that House + Earth, a locally owned and operated green building materials store, was the first to achieve a Platinum level of recognition in the Austin Green Business Leaders program. The company earned 92 out of a possible 150 points on their scorecard with some of the following strategies for greening their business:
Energy: House + Earth has incorporated several energy efficiency tactics that include replacement of all indoor incandescent bulbs with T12 fluorescents and magnetic ballasts, setting programmable thermostats to 66 – 70 degrees in the winter and 74 – 78 degrees in the summer, and purchasing an Energy Star refrigerator and dishwasher for the employees’ kitchen area.
Resource Mgmt.: The store has an environmentally preferable purchasing policy, purchased reusable glasses and dishes to use at events onsite, and provides composting bins in the employee kitchen for food waste. In addition, all of the retail displays at House + Earth were constructed out of damaged shipping pallets.
Transportation: Rather than jump in the car to commute to business-related meetings, employees at House + Earth use Webex to meet with suppliers and customers. To encourage employees to bike to work, a secure bike rack is provided onsite.
Water: To conserve water, House + Earth installed faucet aerators, low-flow toilets and urinals, and checks regularly for leaks to make any necessary repairs right away. Furthermore, the store has signs posted around sink areas to promote water conservation with employees.
Healthy Workplace: House + Earth uses non-toxic biodegradable cleaning products and runs a HEPA filter at the store to protect indoor air quality. In addition, the store features artwork by local artists and employees.
Communications: House + Earth has a written policy that recognizes sustainability as a core value of the company’s culture. In addition, the store’s blog and e-newsletter feature stories to help customers be more sustainable in the purchases they make for home improvements.
Community Giving:The company donates time and materials in several ways. Employees have volunteered for a Lady Bird Lake Clean-up day, as well as several projects for Hill Country Conservancy. House + Earth has also been a proud sponsor of the Cheti Program, 1 House At A Time, and the sustainable design program at the Art Institute of Austin.
A notable sustainability strategy that House + Earth highlighted on their scorecard is the store’s way of regularly giving back to the community by hosting a variety of educational events and fundraisers in their store. While these types of events are a great way to support worthy organizations around town, they are also an effective form of marketing for House + Earth, which doesn’t have an extensive budget for advertising. Principal Scott Kuryak notes, “Every time we have an event, we get like-minded people into the store and get great word of mouth about what we do.”
The Austin Green Business Leaders program was attractive to House + Earth for several reasons. First, the scorecard proved to be a valuable but free educational resource, with easy, inexpensive tips that big companies and small home-grown businesses alike can implement to be more sustainable. In addition, meeting the network of other Green Business Leaders has been helpful to House + Earth in learning about sustainability strategies that have been effectively used by others. But most importantly, “It’s the right thing to do. We only have one livable planet in the universe, so we should all do things to protect
it” says Kuryak.
Interested in joining Austin Green Business Leaders? Go to: www.austintexas.gov/department/austin-green-business-leaders
For more information about House + Earth, visit them online at: www.houseandearth.com
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