How to green your research

Gathering data, protecting the planet

Editor's note: Sarah Browne is a research consultant based in Carmel, Calif.

It’s 1999. I'm in Phoenix on the first leg of our three-cities-in-three-days research trip, waiting for the rest of our six-member team to arrive at the focus group facility. Each rushes in, picks up a stack of discussion guides and sits down to watch. Lunch and dinner are delivered in Styrofoam containers. Later, I have my choice of Explorers and other SUVs to transport me back to the hotel.

The next day, we get up at dawn, fly to Chicago and follow the same drill. More hotel rooms, more cars, more discussion guides, more delivered meals. Then we head to Boston and do it all again. On Friday all six of us fly thousands of miles back to the West Coast.

Two weeks later, FedEx delivers my 15-pound research report to team members in several different cities. A week after that, I fly to these cities to present the study’s findings. Or they fly to me.

Sound familiar? Can you guess our environmental footprint for this single trip? Can you guess how many pounds of CO² we burned? How many gallons of gas? Or barrels of oil?

Using the carbon footprint calculator created by San Francisco-based greenhouse gas-reduction company TerraPass, I calculated our carbon footprint for the air travel, hotel and automobile usage for this single project:

Air travel: 24 flights (six team members x direct flights to three cities and back)
Hotel: 24 rooms
Cars: 12 cars (four x three cities)

Carbon emissions burned during one research trip: 17,538 pounds of CO², created by burning 901.42 gallons of gas or 46 barrels of oil

Thanks to new tools, technologies and a fresh green perspective, today we all know better. The writing is on the wall - and in our air, our oceans, our mountains and our cities. No longer should we rush naively ahead without considering sustainable practices for our businesses, our clients and our personal lives. Going green these days goes far beyond being good for our collective consciences; it’s also good for business. As research companies, we can actively take steps and create strategies to leave a lighter environmental footprint in the course of our data-gathering and invite our forward-thinking clients to join us.

Rather than giving in to the urge to atone for our decades of eco-sins by switching to hemp, let’s instead take a look at some tangible, effective and easy ways we can green the many facets of our market research.

Biggest environmental impact

If there is one place to start shifting from carbon-black to kelly green, it’s air travel. Adam Stein of TerraPass reports that, “Flying is probably your company’s biggest environmental impact, with business travel responsible for some 18 percent of carbon emissions worldwide.”

Agroforestry resource center Trees for the Future, Silver Spring, Md., - which, since 1989 has operated a tree donation program - notes that: A typical jet emits roughly one pound of carbon dioxide for each passenger-mile it travels. A round-trip between New York and Los Angeles creates about three tons of CO² per passenger - 400 tons or more for a typical, fully-loaded 737 aircraft.

When you consider that in an average year U.S. business travelers flew some 240 billion passenger-miles, according to data from the National Business Travel Association, we’re talking about planting a lot of donated Moringa “miracle trees” to zero-out those emissions.

These numbers don’t take into account private jets. For example, a Gulfstream 5 emits as much in one cross-country trip as one driver does in a year.

In fact, according to enviro-industry news source Greenbiz.com: “One of the dirty little secrets of business conferences, even eco-friendly ones, is that the environmental impacts of participants often negate any benefits resulting from the gathering itself.” The impacts come principally from the fuel used by planes, trains and automobiles, and from the solid waste and other emissions associated with the $175 billion business travel industry.

But even in these tumultuous travel times, there is a glimmer of green at the end of the tunnel. Some airlines have started taking responsibility by offering carbon offset programs to customers, recycling cabin waste, investing in alternative fuel research and optimizing flight routes. One of the simplest things we can do as road-warrior researchers is to be part of the solution by offsetting the carbon from our flights and supporting those companies who share our green goals.

Here are several easy ways to green your business travel:

• Fly direct if possible. The greatest emissions are at takeoff. And fly coach. Sorry! But less service means less waste.
• Reduce excess baggage. Now that many airlines are charging for even the first piece of luggage, this makes financial sense, too.
• Combine trips. Can you do stage-one fieldwork on the way to a conference? Or complete stage two on the way back?
• Book your flights on a greener airline. Airlines such as British Airways and Southwest are making an effort to be if not do-good-green, at least greener. Virgin Atlantic has experimented with biofuels. In February, one of its Boeing 747-400’s flew from London to Amsterdam carrying in one of its four fuel tanks a 20-percent mix of biofuel derived from coconut and babassu oil. That may not sound like much, and the green-bashers went ballistic, but it is the first time a commercial aircraft has flown any distance using renewable energy.
• Use buses, trains or shuttles to the airport and hotels.
• Consider alternative forms of travel such as a train or ferry. Traveling by rail contributes less per passenger mile to greenhouse gas emissions than either cars or airplanes. According to U.S. Department of Energy data, that makes Amtrak 17 percent more efficient than domestic airline travel and 21 percent more efficient than auto travel on a per-passenger-mile basis. In fact, passenger railroads emit only a miniscule 0.2 percent of the travel industry’s total greenhouse gases. No surprise then that even in Europe, where a superior rail system has long been fully embraced, travel by train has been sharply up since 2006.
• Stay at a hotel near the facility, near the client. Walk.
• Rent a fuel-efficient car. Always choose the smallest car for your needs. Green driving doesn’t have to stop when you leave your Prius in the driveway. Between outrageous gas prices and the increasing availability of hybrids and fuel-efficient cars, today it makes more sense to tap into green programs like those created by Enterprise and Hertz. Both companies are offering more choices, and Enterprise has launched a carbon offset program for customers.
• Stay at a green (or greener) hotel. With more than 2.6 million hotel rooms rented in the United States daily - and with the average hotel purchasing more products in one week than 100 families typically buy in one year, staying sustainable should be a top priority. Green lodging choices use renewable resources when possible, make good use of nonrenewable resources and are committed to reusing and recycling.

The good news is that hotels around the globe are becoming increasingly green, even eco-chic and business-friendly, while balancing environmental protection and social responsibility. Chains such as Marriott, Kimpton, Fairmont and Sheraton plus countless independents have aggressively reduced energy use and costs through the use of compact fluorescent light bulbs, water-saving devices like dual-flushing toilets and even energy-control guest cards. Some have switched to more eco-friendly TVs with LCD technology, which can be up to a third more efficient than plasma TVs. Nearly every property posts cards in bathrooms, allowing us to choose to use fewer towels or sheet changes.

For 24/7 idea generators, InterContinental Hotels Group is going even farther, inviting customers to participate in its innovation hotel project. Brainstormers may want to contribute ideas, suggestions or feedback on how the company can create more sustainable hotels.

Sustainable travel experts are now compiling and rating hotels, motels and other lodging based on greenability. Look for travel Web site Expedia’s new Global Baseline for Sustainable Tourism Criteria list, coming in October 2008.

Washington, D.C.-based environmental certification organization Green Seal has partnered with Green Globe, an environmental awareness project of the World Travel and Tourism Council, to certify U.S. hotels. Hotels that meet the standards can display both the Green Seal and Green Globe logos.

• Be a green travel evangelist for your clients. Make a list of green hotels for your clients and colleagues to use when planning a project trip. Toronto-based Fairmont Hotels & Resorts now uses wind power for check-in computers. This switch will result in a greenhouse gas reduction of almost 100 tons over the next year. The luxe hotel group Leading Hotels of the World, New York, has created its Leading Green Initiative which works in tandem with Sustainable Travel International of Boulder, Colo., to let you carbon-offset your hotel room.
• Be a good green hotel guest, whether you’re in a green hotel or not. Ask the staff not to change your sheets and towels every day. Whenever you leave your room, turn off all energy sources: the lights, radio, TV, and heating/cooling. Close the drapes. Participate in any recycling efforts the hotel promotes.

If the hotel provides complimentary newspapers, pass them along to someone else when you’re done or ask management whether they can be recycled. Don’t let the water run while brushing your teeth; take short showers. If you use the hotel fitness center, turn off exercise machines, saunas and other equipment when you are done. If the hotel already embraces green-hotel practices, thank the managers and employees and tell them you appreciate it.

For extra green points, travel with your own mini nightlight to avoid leaving lights on all night. Bring your own mug with you rather than relying on in-room disposables.

• Participate in a carbon-offset program designed to counterbalance the effects of your travel. For example, working with partner Expedia, TerraPass has created carbon offset bundles based on the distance you plan to fly - short, cross-country and international - to fund clean energy and carbon reduction projects. When you book your flight on Expedia, you simply add TerraPass carbon offsets.

Green your work life

Once you’re back on the job, here are 10 easy ways to green your work life:

1. Optimize the energy settings on your computer. Learn to love power strips. Computers are sneaky. “Standby” settings will continue to use power even when they’re not being used. So first, optimize your energy settings. Then either turn off the power strip or pull the plug when you’re done for the night.

2. Digitize anything and everything. We’re still using way too much paper. Europeans and Americans use six times as much paper as the world average. The paper industry’s total carbon footprint is estimated to be three times higher than the aviation industry. On Greenbiz.com, the European Environmental Paper Network’s Mandy Haggith said: “We are all very upset about the impact of people flying everywhere, but most of us haven’t calculated the impact of something like paper which we use every day.”

The European Environmental Paper Network’s newly launched Shrink campaign, which “addresses the madness of over-consumption of paper,” is working with 20 major European companies to help them reduce the amount of paper they are using. The site offers tips and tricks such as changing default margins, reducing font size and images or even using thinner paper. Shrink gives this example: By reducing the basis weight of ATM receipt paper, the Bank of America saved an estimated $500,000 each year, plus the added savings by cutting storage, handling and transportation and labor costs.

I added a signature line to my e-mails - “Before printing this e-mail, please consider the environment” - and was delighted to notice the line popping up on friends’ and colleagues’ e-mails a few days later. When you do use paper, look for a recycled paper with a high percentage of post-consumer content and the minimum of chlorine bleaching. Print on both sides of the paper. When shipping, re-use boxes and use shredded wastepaper, never Styrofoam popcorn. Find a greener office-machine provider, who will guide you through the new world of eco-friendly inks and carbon-neutral paper.

3. Green your commute. Too many of us are spending the average of 47 hours a year commuting in hellish rush-hour traffic. This adds up to 3.7 billion hours and 23 billion gallons of gas wasted in traffic each year. Not fun ever, but certainly less so with gas prices hovering at $4 per gallon. Investigate alternatives like carpooling, mass transit, company shuttles (thank you, Google and Yahoo) and the car-sharing service, Zipcar.

4. Work from home. Ten years ago, when I worked with Microsoft on its collaboration and communication tools, working from home - telecommuting - was virtually synonymous with calling in sick. Today, some 44 million Americans telecommute, and with the current gas prices, undoubtedly another couple million have joined this no longer-exclusive club. With instant messaging, videoconferencing and other innovative tools, shouldn’t working in your pajamas be in your future?

5. Use green materials. OfficeMax stores now feature TerraCycle’s innovative products fashioned from waste-stream materials like juice packages, plastic bottles and e-waste.

6. Green-design your workspace. Unclutter. Reclaim.

7. Green your lunch. Watch out for waste. Take-out equals mountain of packaging waste. Avoid disposable plates, napkins and utensils. Order and serve fair trade coffee.

8. Use green vendors and businesses. Companies from printers to designers to mechanics are going green these days, especially now that many counties are starting certification programs. We have one where I live in Monterey County which provides resources, strategies, audits and planning, along with the growing list of certified green businesses.

9. Green your company’s policies and practices. A recent Yale study of 1,000 adults indicated that 75 percent of Americans realize their own behavior can help reduce global warming, while an even more encouraging 81 percent believe it is their responsibility to do something about it. The study also found that an increasing number of Americans are expecting the business sector to play a strong role in tackling this issue.

Change courses are cropping up everywhere these days, from grassroots organizations like Freecycle.com to more comprehensive programs like the Cool Corporate Citizen Program. Developed by the Empowerment Institute, this three-part plan has helped more than 250,000 people reduce their environmental footprint by 25 percent and trained dozens of communities to implement this methodology.

10. Increase your use of digital tools. Where appropriate for your research project’s strategy, consider electronic technologies and methodologies rather than relying solely on face-to-face fieldwork.

Big stick

In the year 2008, we’re all pretty much operating on the honor system. With the exception of bans on plastic bags and Styrofoam bans, no one is wielding the big stick when it comes to the three Rs: reduce, reuse, recycle. But expect that fourth R - regulation - to show up soon. Corporate meeting planners and travel departments are already under new scrutiny and are scouring the world for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified destinations and conference centers. How soon will our clients require us to book only green research facilities, stay at green hotels and reimburse us only for fuel-efficient cars? When will we be told to zero out our travel or stay home?

Thankfully, every day we have an ever shinier toolkit of technological innovations to digitally speed us through the shifting research-scape as it takes on a greener hue. From WebEx to Ning to Kluster to AskSunday to Workamajig, Issuu and even the oddly trendy Twitter and Tumblr, there is no shortage of effective online solutions to aid in our quest to green our research and our planet.

How to green a research facility

How green are your favorite facilities? Before you book, ask. You may be surprised by all that the facilities, and their employees, are doing to create a greener research experience. For example, Candice Morrissey, qualitative manager at Luth Research in San Diego, reports that requests for information on what the company is doing to be green have increased dramatically since the beginning of this year.

Recycling is hot topic #1, surfacing so much that Luth actually instituted an interdepartmental paper reduction challenge, which employees are enthusiastically tackling. Not only does an effort like this unite the staff as social innovators, it allows a wide range of employees to voice, act and be aligned on their values. At Luth, the company maintenance manager is actually serving as change agent, suggesting the switch to biodegradable detergents and recycled paper goods. Bottles and cans are recycled and donated to a local Girl Scout troop.

Luth has even actively sought out organic restaurants, which, beyond satisfying client palates and buy-local mantras, also reduces packaging waste like Styrofoam. “One restaurant delivered the food on hemp plates,” says Morrissey, “along with a great, no-guilt dinner.” 

Other areas that are ripe for greening:

• Swag. Facilities and swag go hand in hand. How many logo-bearing tchotchkes like pens, Post-it Note pads, key chains or foam toys have you squirreled away in a drawer - or worse, dropped in the trash?     

Today, thankfully, there’s sustainable swag. At the recent Sustainable Brands 2008 Conference held in Monterey, Calif., a San Francisco company called Eco Imprints presented more than 100 eco-friendlier promotional products. On display was a host of items: vegetable-based bio-plastic name badges; recycled lanyards; 100-percent recycled laptop bags; eco-apparel made of hemp, organic cotton, bamboo blends and soy protein fibers; seeded paper goods; reusable water bottles; and desktop goodies made from corn.

• Ask the facility to avoid using disposable items like plastic or paper coffee cups. In 2006, the number of coffee cups used by Starbucks topped 2.3 billion, which equaled some 944,211 trees cut down, 36 million pounds of solid waste created and 569 million gallons of water wasted.
• Skip the bottled water. According to Web site FilterForGood.com, Americans send about 38 billion water bottles a year to landfills. Considering the 1.5 million barrels of oil needed to make those bottles, the environmental impact of plastic bottle waste is truly staggering. The site, sponsored by Brita and Nalgene, suggests filtered water plus a reusable bottle as a greener solution.
• Ask for local food choices, including sustainable seafood and fair trade coffee. Check out the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch guide on sustainable seafood. Even better: it’s now available in a new mobile “online pocket guide” format.
• See if the facility can donate leftover respondent or client food to local programs such as Food Runners.
• Ensure the facility offers in-room recycling of plastic, paper and bottles.
• Eliminate handouts. Offer information online, including profiles, discussion guides and contracts.
• Ask the facility for green hotel and car rental recommendations. A discount would be nice, too.