Green Economy and The Sign Depot Workspace

How Do You Define Green Economy?

That was the question that Sustainable Waterloo Region asked via twitter

best practices for both your company & your surroundings #GreenEconomy

As you can see my answer my answer earned me a spot at their forum.

The forum was held at CIGI.  As many of you know The Centre For International Governance Innovation is a prestigious “Think Tank” located here in Waterloo Region.  The Sign Depot has worked with CIGI on several signage projects over the years, and I was looking forward to see their completed building.  Being invited by Sustainable Waterloo Region made me think more in depth about how The Sign Depot functions and what green initiatives we have in place.

Keeping It green

When Sustainable Waterloo Region’s Mike Morrice spoke about how many local business, including Quarry Integrated Communications set goals as a company and were able to get others companies such as Mercedes Corporation (another company we work closely with) on board,I began to jot down ideas about how Sign Depot as a company is working to be earth-friendly.

Location is everything

First off we are located in a re-purposed building.  Our building situated at Charles St. and Borden Ave. in Kitchener was originally home to the Doon Twines Rope Company.   The initial move it took some adjusting to the building and its quirks, but we feel the brick and morter showroom fits in quite nicely with the look of our sandblasted wood signs.

Making It last a lifetime

Our sandblasted custom signs are made from western red cedar, known for its rot resistance.  Signs made from cedar require little maintenance other than the occasional fresh coat of paint every 7-10 years.  The longevity of wood signs make it a great choice for those who try to keep items out of the landfill.

Let there be light

In recent years there has been a real change in the way signs are lit.  In our more recent projects, Beertown and The Rustic Lofts LED lights were featured as a replacement for marquee sign bulbs.  This is not the only use for LEDs when it comes to sign lighting.  We have used them in several projects.  The Frugal Decorator and The Purple Room are a couple examples of how halo lighting can be achieved through the use of LEDs

Keep in house, hospitable

Inside our work-space there are many things we strive to achieve while still keeping this business sign company on track.  It wasn’t until the temperature hit 32 degrees Celsius that our air conditioning was turned on.  Utilities are often not thought of when talking about Green Economy issues, as was brought up at the forum.  Finding ways to create your products while still thinking of the environment are often brought up in staff discussions.

Some other ways we have chose to green up the company are

• reuse of our sandblast grit
• recycling of substrates deemed no longer useable
• shredding paper to use as packing supplies
• using materials for other projects altogether

Craig Haney asked the attendees to “Think about your circle of influence” and use it to bring environmental issues to the forefront.  I hope this post has done that.

Now I am turning the question towards you, the reader of this post.  What green initiatives have you implemented as an individual and/or as a business?