Keeping Austin Green and Clean

“It’s not enough to talk the talk, you have to walk the walk too.” Page employees in the Austin office decided to prove through tangible actions the firm is a good corporate citizen. Their efforts were recently rewarded with a Platinum Level Austin Green Business Leader certification.

Austin Green Business Leaders help protect the environment, save money, and make the city a more livable place. This aligns with Page’s own brand promise to create design that makes lives better. With nearly 100 suggested ways of improving Green Business Leaders’ roles in Austin, there are multiple opportunities for employees to own part of the process too.

The employee-driven initiative was led by a volunteer Austin Green Team, which was inspired by the firmwide Integrative Sustainability Committee. They documented all existing green practices and submitted them to the city for review, identified new opportunities and have initiated some already. This team includes employees who don’t professionally specialize in Sustainability but have a passion for it.

Project Architect America Alva explained that building owner and prime tenant Silicon Labs “is also a Platinum member and they extended many of their programs to us such as recycling batteries and e-waste.” The office collaborated with Silicon Labs on sustainable practices when planning their recently completed remodel and again on the application for Austin Green Business Leader certification.

Employees have voluntarily initiated a Community Supported Agriculture program and established the Page office as a drop-off location; they also have organized an initial composting program for coffee grounds until a building-wide resource is implemented.

The news of the Platinum certification was announced at an office-wide meeting and celebrated with a cleanup project in conjunction with Keep Austin Beautiful as part of Earth Month. Plans are currently underway to host a speaker from a local environmental organization to educate staff on related initiatives.

Congratulations to the members of the Austin Green Team and the whole office for collaborating to achieve this certification!