Active Trans: The greenest office in Chicago?

As you may imagine, Active Trans tries to be as eco-conscious as possible in carrying out our daily operations. And while good intentions can influence behavior on a certain level, there's nothing like a challenge to help bring a group of people on board with new practices. 

For the second consecutive year, Active Trans has joined the Chicago Green Office Challenge (GOC) to help reduce our carbon footprint and become better stewards of our resources. 

Here's a short description of the program from the GOC website:

A strategy of the Chicago Climate Action Plan, the Green Office Challenge helps participants achieve strategies that reduce energy use, waste, and water use, and provides an exciting way for businesses to make Chicago a greener place to live and work.

Last year, Active Trans received a Tenant Excellence award from the challenge; this year we're aiming for the top spot. The challenge consists of 50 different criteria in which offices can make an impact. 

While Active Trans has always scored nearly perfect in the alternative transportation categories, we're actively working to improve other areas, like reducing consumption of paper and electricity. 

Indeed, it's not enough for offices to simply screw in some CFLs and call themselves green; real behavior change requires a comprehensive strategy. 

To add your office to the Green Office Challenge, visit www.greenofficechallenge.org.

Kevin Dekkinga, Office Manager

PS: Look for our new composting program at this year's MB Financial Bank Bike the Drive!