Someone once told me, “We don’t own this planet; we borrow it from our children.” That struck a chord. It’s why I, and CBSF, are so devoted to green initiatives. Wherever possible, we seek to take the environmentally friendly route in our professional efforts. Some examples:

• Wherever possible and both within our own facilities and in our designs, we take advantage of natural light. By designing with indirect and natural lighting, we reduce the call for electrical fixtures.

• In our standard gondola shelving lines, the recycled content in the steel we use in our projects ranges (depending on vendor) from 27% to 72%.

• In our standard gondola shelving lines, we only use hardboard backs that are made from 100% wood-fibre content.

• We recycle all of our off-cut steel, we minimize the off-cuts of both our steel and our wood, and we recycle all of those projects.

• All of our steel paint lines use powder-coating technology that eliminates emissions and hazardous waste water.

• All CBSF facilities have replaced outdated lighting fixtures, increasing light output while reducing energy costs.

• All CBSF sites recycle corrugated, paper, plastic, light bulbs and outdated computers.

• Every CBSF site employs an environmental coordinator to ensure compliance and reporting, and to oversee employee training.

• CBSF conducts an environmental, health and safety review of all chemicals employed in every facility, including those used by contractors and on-site janitors.

Beyond these professional efforts, I’m an ardent supporter of the work of Earth Rangers, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating children about the importance of protecting biodiversity and adopting more sustainable behaviours.

This association inspires me on two different levels: on a business level, I like that their leading-edge initiatives that are tested in their Innovation Centre Earth Rangers are going to help propel my company to be a leading-edge vendor to my customers. On a personal level, the fact that they’re educating our children on these critical subjects means a lot to me. It’s a great feeling as a business owner to have had the opportunity to make a difference.

Going green doesn’t have to negatively impact your bottom line. Business owners should take all of this very seriously. We are, after all, the greatest consumers of raw materials and resources — so why shouldn’t we do it with a little more intelligence?