It’s no secret that it is more important than ever for us all to do our part in protecting our planet. And here at Vitality, we have implemented several initiatives to leave our mark (or hopefully lack thereof!). In honor of Earth Day, we’re excited to share how Vitality is doing its part to protect the Earth.
As you may know, Vitality moved into a new office building along the beautiful Chicago River last summer – and we’ve made some big changes! During the concepting and design of the new space, sustainability was front of mind. First and foremost, we chose the building itself for a variety of reasons, including its LEED certification and its proximity to major transportation hubs, which encourages employees to use public transit when commuting to the office. When it came to actually move, it wasn’t “out with the old, in with the new” – we actually repurposed several pieces of furniture from our old office and worked with our former building management to re-home other furniture that we didn’t take with us. When purchasing new items, we specifically chose higher-grade commercial monitors and furniture with longer lifespans so we wouldn’t have to replace them as often.
We added several Earth-friendly touches to the office redesign as well. We chose lighting designed to work automatic sensors, so we are not wasting electricity. We also increased the number of water stations around the office to ensure that no one is more than 100 feet from a water station. This encourages employees to use a reusable water bottle to refill as needed.
Additionally, we improved our recycling program. Not only do we have several recycling bins around the office, but we also added composting bins in our eating areas! This allows our employees an earth-friendly alternative to throwing away their leftover food. And to take it one step further, we switched all our disposable kitchen products, such as cups and plates, into compostable options AND have partnered with a catering company that provides all compostable plates and cutlery for our lunches – even the packaging for the cutlery! And when there is extra food leftover from lunch, we encourage employees to take it home…in compostable boxes, of course! We have placed signs near the composting and recycling bins to make it clear what can be placed where so we can all take full advantage of these initiatives. And we can’t forget about all the coffee that is consumed in our office. We now participate in the recycling program with Nespresso to recycle our aluminum pods!
While there is always room for improvement to reduce our carbon footprint, here at Vitality we are constantly making strides to do our part. With everyone’s help, we can continue to make Earth a healthier place for everyone.
