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Ayres Associates was coming up with pragmatic ways to save resources – and clients’ money – long before green became fashionable. Here are some of the ways we are being good stewards of resources on behalf of our clients:
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While Ayres Associates takes pride in making a big impact through designs that meet clients’ needs, we strive to minimize the impact our own operations have on the environment.
Ranked the 251st largest design consulting firm by ENR magazine, Ayres Associates not only incorporates environmentally responsible features into the designs it provides to clients, but also uses dozens of energy-saving and waste-reducing practices each workday to reduce the footprint of our offices. It just makes sense, not to mention cents.
Protecting and conserving water
Some of our offices have “stormwater neutral” parking areas, and native plants are used in landscaping. Inside, some of our major offices are equipped with low-flow (1.3 gallon) toilets.
Reducing electricity use
Our architects have built plenty of natural lighting into our Midwest office designs. Window tinting is used to control solar gain in some of our Midwest and Southeast offices.
Electricity use is minimized by shutting down electronics at night, and our Denver office has a lights-out day once a month from late spring through early fall. The following equipment is used to reduce electricity use daily in various offices:
- Natural lighting sensors
- Sensory entry/exit light switches
- Energy efficient appliances
- Fluorescent bulbs
The use of personal heaters, fans, coffeemakers, stereos, and other electronics is discouraged in our corporate headquarters.
Efficiency on the road
We keep our fleet of vehicles efficient through the following measures:
- Regular tire pressure and air filter checks
- Annual tune-ups
- Removal of unnecessary items to reduce fuel use
Reusing, recycling, and keeping things clean
We’ve begun removing foam cups and plastic utensils from our offices and encouraging employees to use their own non-disposable plates, bowls, glasses, water bottles, and utensils for lunch breaks.
We’re using the following items in various offices to maintain a working environment that is both clean and green:
- Green-seal-certified cleaning products
- Microfiber dust cloths
- Cleaning rags instead of disposable toweling
- Plants to improve indoor air quality
And of course we are controlling printing costs by using print preview, print range, double-sided, and black and white printing features. We use recycled paper and reuse scrap paper as note pads. We recycle cans, batteries, plastics 1 through 7, and other recyclables.
Our practices are reflected in our membership in the Green Business Bureau, which has certified Ayres Associates' largest offices at its Platinum level. Just click on the Green Business Bureau logo at the bottom of this page to learn more.
A lot of companies are painting themselves green these days. Ayres Associates is green inside and out.
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