While many Metro Detroiters are pursuing the green lifestyle on an individual basis by recycling and reducing energy consumption, there are also many companies in the area with similar goals on a corporate level.
The AAA Michigan Headquarters, 1 Auto Club Drive in Dearborn, has implemented what it calls “Real Estate Services Sustainability Guidelines” in order to go green, according to chief engineer Brian Boggs. The guidelines, which encompass 17 major objectives, were established to “clearly define performance objectives as it pertains to waste stream, recycling and sustainable policy and to help our employees translate this policy into everyday actions.”
The guidelines, which apply not only to the Administrative Office Building but also to other facilities in the Auto Club Group footprint, include such initiatives as recycling plastics, paper, cardboard, metals and glass. In addition to this, it is their goal to ensure that vendors who contract with ACG use proper disposal procedures as well. This can include the proper disposal of inks, cartridges, acid and petroleum based products, as well as carpet tiles, wooden chipping pallets and fluorescent tube lamps.
Another area AAA makes an effort to be green is when it comes to using VOC and cleaning products. Whenever it is possible low-VOC adhesives, sealants and paints are to be used along with “low environmental impact cleaning products and procedures.”
The guidelines also state that when it comes to landscaping, the use of grasses and plantings that are indigenous to the local area are encouraged in planting beds. In order to save on energy, the guidelines state that programmable set back thermostats or their equivalent shall be used during unoccupied times.
Brian Boggs, who has worked at the headquarters since the summer of 1999, said that the company has always made it a priority to have green initiatives. “They didn’t put this on the list but we are using well water for irrigation purposes here at the main headquarters,” Boggs said. “AAA has always been a very progressive company and got on board with the green building theme from the beginning,” he said. “AAA has strived for green awareness at its main headquarters and at all its satellite operations across the Midwest.”
In addition, Boggs told GreeningDetroit.com, “I wish good fortune to companies such as yours in your endeavors to bring green awareness to the community for the purposes of protecting our environment.”
For more information about AAA Michigan, visit www.michigan.aaa.com.
Source: GreeningDetroit.com
Author: Jennifer Griffin, Contributing Writer and Public Relations, GreeningDetroit.com
