Posts Tagged ‘PardeeGreen’

April Fuels on April Fools

Thursday, March 24th, 2011

Our friends over at ECO of WNC have a great campaign launching on April 1st. They are asking everyone to join them on April 1, 2011 in carpooling, walking, biking, telecommuting or, just staying at home. Here at Pardee we are participating too.

They are devoting this day to learning how to improve the way we get to work or organize our shopping and other expeditions. Here are their transportation recommendations:

Carpooling

  • The benefits are many. For those of us who drive every day, we will save money in gas and in the wear and tear of our vehicle.
  • By sharing a ride, we endure less stress and keep Henderson County’s air cleaner.
  • We can email or call our coworkers or neighbors or school associates to say that we want to carpool. We can also organize a carpool through our employer, neighborhood association, local food shop or coffee shop.

Walking

  • If possible, let’s walk. It improves blood pressure, reduces joint pressure and the risk of stroke, and keep excess weight at bay. We will also get a better night’s sleep, fell more relaxed, and have a better memory. Walking will keep us strong and fit and give us an opportunity to meditate, enjoy our surroundings and connect with our bodies.

Bicycling

  • Riding a bike to work or to run errands will produce NO air pollution – it is the most energy efficient form of transportation. It will save  money, improve your health, and it is fun. Possibly we may even get to our destination faster than if we drive but certainly we will be able to park more easily and cheaply.
  • Let’s select a route, consider a bike buddy, wear a helmet, and tell our supervisor that we will be biking to work on April 1.
  • Employers, please note: people who cycle to work regularly are more productive and take less sickleave.

Telecommuting

  • Working from home saves energy. We won’t be using a gasburning vehicle to get to work or following a dress code. Our schedule will be flexible enough to make and keep personal appointments. As parents we’ll feel good about being available for our kids if there’s a medical or other emergency.

Driving Less

  • For things like errands, shopping, buying groceries, or getting together with friends, let’s plan ahead. We can telephone a store to make sure it stocks what we need. We can ride with friends, combining and consolidating our errands. April 1 will be a good day to try out our local bus system the Apple Valley Transit.

Sign up to do your part on April Fuels Day!

Earth Day 2010 Festival

Thursday, April 22nd, 2010

To celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day, Pardee Hospital is sponsoring the ECO Earth Day Festival.

It will include an outdoor solar stage featuring local musicians, storytellers and performance artists, workshops on sustainable gardening and green energy, a water festival, art projects and a green Olympics for kids, a greenway hike, a student short film festival, recycling of household batteries, tree planting, and much more.

WHEN: Saturday, April 24 from 10-6

WHERE: Large field at Blue Ridge Community College campus. Rain contingency: BRCC Technology Building

WHAT: Daytime activities, exhibits and events for people of all ages plus a benefit concert on Saturday night featuring Balsam Range and Shannon Whitworth and band at the Blue Ridge Conference Hall. Daytime program is free event with donations accepted. The evening concert is a ticketed event.

It is important to Pardee Hospital to operated our healthcare facility in a way that ensures that we significantly improve the collective impact of human and environmental health.

Pardee is now composting.

Monday, February 1st, 2010

Typical industrial composting center

Compost is rich soil that is made from yard and kitchen waste. It is comprised from a mixture of green or nitrogen containing material and brown or carbon containing material. Pardee Hospital Nutrition Services has their food waste sent to Crowell Farms for composting. Composting is inexpensive and easy to do at home. Go to http://www.hendersoncountync.org/solidwaste for more information.

-CJP

Trees, Paper and Being Green

Thursday, January 21st, 2010

Today, I got to hear a seminar called “The Green Side of Printing.” Paper is not seen as a very environmentally friendly industry, but  I learned differently today.  The paper industry has taken giant steps to being green. Since 1990, they have decreased their carbon footprint by using 90% less chemicals and water, 80% less paper waste, 90% less solvents which has led to 95% less damage to the environment.  For every tree they cut down, they plant anywhere from 2 – 4 trees to replace it.  One paper company even bought part of a Brazilian rain forest that had been destroyed just to replant and restore it. There are more trees today in the US than there was 100 years ago.  Even with all these good things the paper companies do, illegal logging and mismanagement of forests are still occurring throughout the world.   Each year mainly because of the demand for cheap paper. The US government passed a law in May 2008 that bans the sale or trade of ALL illegally harvested wood and forest products domestic or foreign.

Within the last year we have stepped up our efforts to be enviromentaly friendly here at Pardee.  You may have seen our PardeeGreen logo on the website or printed materials.  In the majority of our printed pieces, we use a paper that is a 100% recycled and manufacted using biogas energy. This paper is FSC certified, meaning the paper we use can be traced back to the forest where the trees were cut and to know that our paper was not from illegally harvested trees. Their goal is to protect endangered forests and the indigenous people and animals that live in those forests. This is one of our small changes for the enviroment.  Next time you see one of our pieces, look for the PardeeGreen and the FSC logos.   kj

What is PardeeGreen anyway?

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

Pardee is a charter member of Practice Greenhealth.  Practice Greenhealth is a nonprofit organization founded on the principals of positive environmental stewardship.  As a member of Practice Greenhealth, we are committed to the virtual elimination of mercury, overall waste reductions, minimizing the use of toxic substances and the design, construction and operation of healthcare facilities that significantly improve the collective impact of human and environmental health.

The other aspect of this initiative is evident in all of our decision making  for the hospital. After all, we consider ourselves the community’s hospital, so whenever we print marketing pieces they are FSC certified 100% recycled. We recycle cans, bottles, internal papers and pretty much everything else that we can get our hands on.

If you have any recommendations or ideas, let us know. We have some interesting projects in the works, stay tuned.

-R