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Local Limelight: Weeklyish Articles Of Interest
Enviromax, Oregon’s First Carbon Neutral Landscape Company Through Bonneville Environmental Foundation
Enviromax Landscape and Design has announced their Green Initiatives for 2010. In honor of Earth Day, the Oregon Landscape installer highlights the changes they have made in an effort to take a green industry company “Green”.
Enviromax Landscape and Design has made some dramatic changes to the way they operate and the materials they choose to install in an effort to become a more sustainable business.
“Our company is based on creating natural landscapes and we wanted to make sure that we had a positive impact on the environment by doing so”, said Mack Sutphin, Owner of Enviromax. “We believe that you can build a beautiful landscape in an environmentally sensitive and sustainable manner, and do it well”.
That is exactly what Mack and his partner, Adam Wagner, have done with the company. Their efforts have saved them money and reduced their impact on the environment.
First they started with the basics – purchasing renewable energy, implementing a greater recycling program, and reducing their waste. They stopped using chemical pesticides and fertilizers, opting for an organic solution instead, and eliminated pesticide use all together. In an effort to conserve fuel and resources, they implemented a 4-day work week, working 10 hours a day. This allows them to reduce the number of trips made to and from a job site, and has resulted in faster installations. They also switched the fuel in their trucks to B99 Biofuel, purchased directly across the street from their office in Tigard.
Sutphin and Wagner did not feel that this was enough. The two worked with Debra Taevs from the Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center to become a Certified EcoBiz. This program is specifically geared toward the landscape and automotive industries and are described on the PPRC website as “a certification that recognizes landscape design, installation and maintenance service contractors that reach the highest standards in environmental protection.” The goal of the program is to prevent and minimize pollution generated by small businesses in Oregon.
One of the goals that Enviromax set for the year was to become Carbon neutral. “We can not install our landscapes without the use of heavy equipment, so we wanted to ensure that we accounted for that use”, said Adam Wagner.
The team contacted the Bonneville Environmental Foundation to see if they had any programs in place for Landscape installers. Working with the BEF, Enviromax determined how much energy they used during the year, as well as how much CO2 they produced. They then purchased offsets from BEF to become Carbon neutral not only for their operations, but for the job installations as well.
Enviromax Landscape and Design is the first landscape company in Oregon to become Carbon Neutral through the Bonneville Environmental Foundation.
Enviromax plans on passing some of these green options directly on to their clients. Starting immediately, all proposals will include and eco-option. When clients are presented with a proposal from Enviromax, there will be a section that highlights alternative materials that are more sustainable.
Enviromax Landscape and Design believes that it is their responsibility to create residential landscapes in a way that has a positive impact on the environment, both locally and globally. The steps they have taken show how much they stand behind that belief.
Although these steps have an impact on the planet, they do not seem to have had an impact on the quality of work that Enviromax produces, proving that going green is a viable option for Oregon Landscape Companies.
For more information on Enviromax and their Green landscape initiatives, visit their web page at www.enviromaxlandscape.com.
Written by Enviromax Landscape and Design
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