Another great—and practical—addition to this year’s conference came from AT&T. The company provided a charging station powered by wind and solar energy. This was a relief to many tweeters and bloggers who had the power they needed to make their posts accessible to everyone.

New this year, Herman Miller offered attendees a chance to nominate a 501c3 non-profit organization of their choice for the chance to win $25,000 worth of Herman Miller furniture. And today we’re pleased to announce Urban Prep Academies as the recipient.

Based in Chicago, Urban Prep operates a network of all-boys public schools including the country’s first charter high school for boys. Urban Prep’s mission is to provide a high-quality and comprehensive college-preparatory educational experience to young men that results in graduates succeeding in college.

Urban Prep Academies was selected at random from the entries submitted by conference delegates at our onsite mobile station. The new Herman Miller products will help Urban Prep Academies do its good works even better—and make a better world for all of us.

Fortune, together with its program partners, The Nature Conservancy, NRDC, and the Environmental Defense Fund, gathers, as it describes, “the smartest people we know” in sustainability from business, government, and NGOs.

Since 2009, Herman Miller has been a major sponsor of this dynamic event. We enjoy contributing to it, but we feel that we gain even more through the rich conversations and relationships we build there.

We’ll be live tweeting from the conference, so follow us @hermanmiller for real-time updates. Or you can also follow @brainstormgreen or search for hashtag #FortuneGreen to get an inside look into all of the discussions happening during the conference.

And, though it’s too late to join the conference in person, you can virtually participate in some of the sessions via video stream.

On its way to Saugatuck, Michigan, for a stop on its Electric Summer Roadster Tour, Tesla visited our Design Yard facility with its new Roadster.

Long-time admirers of our environmental goals and achievements, those at Tesla thought it would a neat experience to show us what they’re up to.

We’re so glad they did.

On a sunny Friday afternoon, several employees gathered in the parking lot to ogle, admire, and even test drive the Fusion Red beauty.

Some got a little carried away.

Even a local reporter joined the fun.

It’s unknown if anyone was able to validate the car’s ability to get from 0-60 mph in 3.7 seconds, but it looks like a few of them had fun trying.

Herman Miller is the first major contract furniture manufacturer to incorporate ecoScorecard into its product catalog. Its goal is to improve the time it takes to deliver environmental documentation to end users such as building owners, architects, designers, and product specifiers.

Like most of the business world, we see Herman Miller as a leader in sustainable business practices. It recognizes that ecoScorecard can help all manufacturers make the documentation process easier. In fact, the company is working with us to get other firms in the commercial interiors market to use the platform. And this isn’t about just Herman Miller or a competitive advantage. Its President and CEO, Brian Walker, and Environmental team all want the hassle of the documentation process to become a thing of the past for the entire building industry.

This summer and fall, we’ll be visiting architecture and design firms to share more information about the benefits of ecoScorecard. Send us an e-mail if you’d like to know more about these events.

The bees in the apiary on the east end of the property pollinate this landscape and help it to blossom each spring and summer. (Learn more about Herman Miller’s honey bees in this video, “Sweeter Solution.”)

Facing north, truck trailers are framed by a hillside designed to be left wild.

Just over the rise is a pond where geese congregate and a pair of resident swans call home. This landscape—in all its wildness—is not the result of a neglectful, uncaring owner. Instead it’s an example of how Herman Miller incorporates our environmental policy to provide green spaces around each of our facilities.

I’m sure many of us drive to and from work, hardly noticing the beauty of our surroundings. Personally, I enjoy taking a closer look at the residents we share this space with: Songbirds, bees, dragonflies, butterflies, ducks, geese, and swans—just to name a few—call this space home. We pass these neighbors every day to enter our workplace, which sits in the middle of their outdoor habitat.

Even the grass at this facility is special. Instead of the usual manicured lawns that adorn most commercial building grounds, Herman Miller has chosen a variety of buffalo grass, which requires less water than other grasses, and very little mowing. Every few years, we conduct a controlled burn, which helps the grass thrive the same way it would in a wild environment.

For much of the year, all around the GreenHouse the grounds bloom with a variety of wildflowers and provide habitat for a multitude of creatures. It’s one way we help create a better world around us.

At Herman Miller, sustainability has been part of our heritage since our founder, D.J. De Pree, said, “We will be a good steward of the environment.” That was 1953. Since then, we’ve innovated new ways of preserving and living with the natural environment. We’ve also helped found associations that help other companies do the same. These days, we remain committed to getting rid of the negatives–waste and contamination. But we don’t think that’s enough. As our CEO, Brian Walker, says, “The attitude we’ve adopted is to go beyond eliminating the negative to creating a positive. We’re constantly pushing ourselves to go beyond what is required.”

Check out our 2020 “Perfect Vision” goals to see what we’re aiming to accomplish. (We’ve already achieved one of them: 100% green energy.)

“So what” is that we were able to accomplish this goal due to the cost saving suggestions of our very own employees, rather than spending additional money.

Good business and sustainable business are accepted as one and the same and it’s deeply ingrained here at Herman Miller. Couple this with an environment where good ideas—no matter where they come from—are valued, and you have a cauldron of innovative and eco-friendly solutions.

There have been many ideas over the years that have helped Herman Miller save money and reach our 100% green energy goal. And there have been those that didn’t originally seem like a good idea, but have proven their worth and changed some of our own minds.

One example is the use of winding heaters on the big dust collector motors in our manufacturing facilities. (A winding heater uses the motor’s own internal wiring to keep it warm and avoid stress, which can occur by frequent stopping and starting during cold temperatures.) Roger Bosch, one of our master electricians, suggested using the winding heaters to help regulate the motors in the dust collectors. He figured Herman Miller could save operating expenses by having the option to turn off the motors when they weren’t in use. At first, some people were skeptical, but after closer evaluation the project was indeed a money saver. Energy manager Jerry Akers said the payback saved Herman Miller a “bucket load.” Overall, it’s estimated that the winding heaters will eventually help us save more than $52,000/year, nearly 700,000 kWh, and around 500 tons of carbon.

Not bad for a little people power, trust, and a penchant for sustainability.

Engage in Change is an effort established by a team of Herman Miller employees to engage coworkers in a way to create reusable grocery bags from Herman Miller’s scrap textile material. Another great benefit is that the project aligns with our environmental goals: Every time people use reusable bags rather than plastic, they are helping the environment.

Beginning in January, employees came together to sew and assemble reusable bags from scrap fabric—and to have a good time doing it. The project ran through April, in time to celebrate Earth Day. Over 80 volunteers sewed five bags to donate and were able to keep one bag for themselves. The sewing occurred at our GreenHouse facility—where our seating upholstery is done—and at the homes of our sewing-savvy coworkers. Volunteers made more than 500 bags over the course of the project, utilizing more than 500 yards of scrap fabric.

The bags were given to employees who participated in a company-sponsored Earth Day activity, such as the Adopt-a-Highway program or our annual Earth Day recycling event. A big thanks to all of those employees who helped make this project happen!

The award selection committee includes some of West Michigan’s strongest sustainability advocates: Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell; Marylu Dykstra, president of the West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum; Deb Steketee, executive director of Aquinas College’s Center for Sustainability; and Kelley Losey of Cascade Engineering/Quest.

Winners and nominees are being announced in the publication’s September 3, 2009, edition. Green Award winners will be honored as part of ActiveSite’s ArtPrize entry on September 24, from 5:00-7:00 p.m. at 40 Monroe Center in Grand Rapids.

By Marcia Davis

Just 0.3% of the world’s water can be used for drinking or farming.

While the world’s population tripled in the 20th century, the use of renewable water resources has grown six-fold. 

More than one out of six people lack access to safe drinking water and more than two out of six lack adequate sanitation.

Water withdrawals for irrigation represent 66% of the total withdrawals; the other 34% is used by domestic households (10%), industry (20%), or evaporated from reservoirs (4%). 

An alarming number of the world’s rivers in the main grain-growing areas no longer reach the sea, including the Indus, Rio Grande, Colorado, Murray-Darling, and Yellow rivers. 

Freshwater fish populations are in precipitous decline. Fish stocks in lakes and rivers have fallen roughly 30% since 1970.

Half the world’s wetlands, on one estimate, were drained, damaged, or destroyed in the 20th century.

Different foods require radically different amounts of water. To grow a kilogram of wheat requires around 1,000 liters; to produce a kilo of beef requires 15,000 liters of water.

Global climate change is exacerbating water scarcity problems around the world, yet few businesses and investors are paying attention to this growing financial threat, according to a report by Ceres and the Pacific Institute.

Mindy S. Lubber, president of Ceres, says, “The business community needs to wake up to the reality that water is becoming scarcer and will likely become even more so in many parts of the world due to climate change. It is critical that companies and investors boost their attention on this issue.”

The report suggests ways companies can evaluate and address water risks:

1) Measure the company’s water footprint (i.e., water use and wastewater discharge) throughout its entire value chain.

2) Assess physical, regulatory and reputational risks associated with its water footprint, and seek to align the evaluation with the company’s energy and climate risk assessments.

3) Integrate water issues into strategic business planning and governance structures.

4) Engage key stakeholders as a part of water risk assessment, long-term planning and implementation activities.

5) Disclose and communicate water performance and associated risks.

By Marcia Davis

References:
The World Water Council

Businessweek

World Health Organization

UNESCO

The Economist

Herman Miller provided an initial financial contribution for this experiment in permaculture, which was the vision of a small team of employees: Willie Beattie, Bob Beck, Carolyn Maalouf, and Thaddeus Owen. They were intrigued with the principles of permaculture and how they closely parallel principles that guide healthy organizations. They recruited volunteers from the Design Yard, turning grass into a cardboard-compost-woodchip-layered source of nutrients for plants.

The team thought the garden could provide other benefits, too, such as encouraging self-sufficiency, reinforcing what it means to be a corporate citizen, engaging employees in new ways of planting, and learning more about our relationship with the planet. Plus, a community garden is consistent with Herman Miller’s corporate values and the philosophy of nurturing and growing inherently expressed by the Design Yard facility.

Many employees have been able to take home the harvest. When the yield is high, vegetables are set out in baskets for people to take home for free, which also encourages people to eat local and organic fare. Herman Miller’s customers benefit, too, since our corporate catering service often picks fresh flowers to fill vases where we welcome guests.

By Marcia Davis

One of the best things coming out of the push toward sustainability is the increasing awareness that with a little effort, we can do a lot of good. Energy use in commercial buildings and manufacturing plants accounts for nearly half of energy consumption nationwide, so the workplace is a low-hanging fruit, in a way, even if your company doesn’t have any programs or policies in place. Here’s what you personally can do, starting today.

First, reduce what you use. The average worker uses 10,000 sheets of paper each year. Do as much work electronically as you can. If it’s necessary to print a document, then print it double-sided. Have your paycheck deposited electronically. Put a stop to junk mail addressed to former employees for free at ecologicalmail.org.

A painless way to reduce power use is to use your computer’s sleep mode. The faster it goes to sleep, the more virtuous you’re entitled to feel. (This saves bundles of money, too, when implementation is corporate wide.) Also, shut off your computer at the end of the day unless IT has an update planned, and unplug any adapters, which use energy even if they aren’t charging. And then there are the usual mantras, like “Turn off the lights!” and “Don’t stand there with the refrigerator door open!” Turns out our parents were right.

If you’re familiar with the environmental triumvirate (reduce, reuse, recycle), then you know what’s next. If you must use something, choose what you can use more than once. Coffee mugs, water bottles, even handkerchiefs (remember those?) are all fine choices.

Finally recycle as many materials as you can. Go to www.earth911.com to find a recycling center close to you. Contact the manufacturer of your printer cartridge and ask them to provide shipping labels for used cartridges.

There is much we as individuals can do on our own. But the energy savings increase exponentially when companies follow an individual’s lead. Tools from the EPA  and resources from Herman Miller’s environmental team will help you get started.

By Christine MacLean

Herman Miller is a place where top-down is frowned upon. Sure, the leaders lead, as in the standard our founder D.J. De Pree set for us in 1953 when he said, “Herman Miller shall be a good corporate steward of the environment.”

The example D.J. set for us really took root. It’s part of our ethos, the way we do business, the way each of us thinks about the world. So it wasn’t surprising that a bunch of employees in 1989 thought our company could do more to take care of the earth.

So, they went to then-CEO Dick Ruch. They laid out their concerns: Be more sustainable, and get everyone involved in the effort. But, Ruch, countered, we’re already reducing, reusing, and recycling.

Not enough, they said. And whatever we do for the environment, it can’t be just a top-down thing, it has to be embedded in everything we do. A few “conversations” later, and they convinced him to form a group that became known as the Environmental Quality Action Team (EQAT).

Still going strong today, EQAT has 400 members across our company who work, directly or indirectly, on steering all of us to a healthier future. The EQAT team sets corporate environmental priorities and improvement goals.

It also helps employees take action through volunteerism, such as cleaning up highways and waterways. And it pushes us to own problems about being sustainable and get creative about solving them, to lead as much as our CEO does.

In 1985, Herman Miller decided to combine all of its design and development-related activities, then scattered in four different buildings, in one facility. Good idea. But where?

One executive proposed casually that we build on a 40-acre rural site we owned. “That’s a perfectly good cornfield,” came the stern reply. “We had better be sure we know exactly what we’re doing before we mess it up.”

After a good deal of soul searching and with help from architect Jeff Scherer, we did decide to build in the country. The question became, What form should this “office complex” take?

It became Scherer’s job to help us find a way to fit in. The final design became something that evoked a Midwestern farmyard. Like the schoolyard and the shipyard, the farmyard is a place where learning and work have coexisted productively for centuries. We wanted to honor that tradition.

Then came the construction. Having been mindful of our neighbors and the land, we also wanted to build smart. The Design Yard, as it was dubbed, cost $52 per square foot to build, inexpensive by any standard.

As popular with employees today as it was when it opened, the complex is also an award-winner (Progressive Architecture magazine, one of the top 15 designs of 1988). In 2005, an addition called the Front Door brought executive leadership to the site so that they could be closer to the design and development action. It earned LEED Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).