Indow Windows has been turned into an energy efficient office by being a happy partner with the City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability‘s Sustainability at Work Program.

Our involvement stems from our triple bottom line mission of benefiting the environment by reducing carbon emissions, building the community by partnering with local non-profits, investing in our employees, and growing the company so that it can do more of these good things. The Sustainability at Work Program has been a great way to work together as a team to focus on the environmental stewardship portion of our mission and to help be leaders in our community!

How did our energy efficient office attain a silver certification?

Our top achievements in our business practices have been :

  • Developing a laser window measurement system to minimize waste
  • Using the minimum amount of packaging necessary to transport and ship
  • Composting program at work
  • Developing 100% reusable and recyclable crating
  • Asking all vendors to minimize packaging and waste

How can your business be sustainable?

You do not need to develop new software or insulate your office in order to become sustainable (although encouraged)! Sustainability starts with each member of the team, and there are a few things many of us contribute every day to make this possible:

  • Employees are encouraged to bike to work (sheltered bike storage, bike repair kit available, etc)
  • Lighting is dimmed or turned off when adequate sunlight is available
  • Transit pass program is available to all employees
  • Thermostat is set to 68 degrees max for heating when space is occupied
  • Paper is printed on both sides
  • Paper, metal, plastic, and glass are recycled
  • Electronic devices are donated for reuse or recycled
  • Food and food-soiled papers are composted
  • And many more!

A big round of applause to the Indow Windows team for working together to get our Silver Certification. Now on to being gold! We have been working toward attaining our Gold Certificate, including getting Indow Windows in the office. Our earlier blog post told the story of getting this insulation in our office, and we are looking forward to wrapping up the next stages in certification. Wish us luck!