We Are Now Certified by the Alameda County!

Designarchy is soooo proud to announce we have been awarded one more certification: the Bay Area's Green Business Program—a program that assists and recognizes businesses that operate in an environmentally friendly manner. The certification process took about 6 months and included inspections in regards to pollution prevention, solid waste reduction, water and energy conservation. They were conducted by 4 different organizations: the city of Berkeley, the water provider (EBMUD), the gas/electric provider (PG&E) and the Green Business Program. Their application checklist was full of information and helped us to easily implement most of our environmental steps this past year. Read about our environmental steps here. Visit their website is www.greenbiz.ca.gov

Design Spotlight: Terrain Magazine

Terrain is a free publication of the Ecology Center in Berkeley. This publication is filled with great articles about technology, culture, sustainability and local news. The EC hired Designarchy to revamp the magazine. The interior now includes wider margins, a contemporary sans serif font body text with splashes of organic-looking drop caps, and overall a cleaner look. Someone at EC mentioned that "it's very understated, dignified, like Sweedish furniture." It was printed on 40% Post Consumer Waste recycled paper on a web press, 2-color cover, 1-color interior at a green printer (Alonzo Printing in Hayward, CA.)

Lights: The Final Frontier

I gotta say, there's nothing that spins my head more than buying compact fluorescent lights, or CFLs. I even have to think before I can say the acronym correctly. Although we've had a few CFLs, we've decided to change most, if not all of them. Why CFLs you ask? If every household in the country replaced one light bulb with an ENERGY STAR® qualified compact fluorescent light bulb, it would prevent enough pollution equal to removing one million cars from the road*. The main thing to remember is how much light you need in a particular room, and if it will fit in your light fixture. Replacing CFLs for incandescent lights in high traffic areas is more important than anything, that will save you money in the long run.

What's in my 3%

The World Wildlife Fund has set goals in protecting, managing, restoring and investigating forests in which illegal logging practices are used in the production of paper around the globe. These illegal practices affect humans and biodiversity in more ways than one can imagine. Rural and indigenous communities have a symbiotic relationship with their forests, and it's stunning how we don't know that many ancient forests end up in our paper trays, even from the so called "protected forests". The WWF recently stopped paper industry giants APRIL and APP from their illegal logging in Indonesia, and have investigated and proposed solutions when a paper pulp Mill in Chile that moved near a Black-Necked Swan Sanctuary decimated them. Find out more at www.worldwildlife.org

When you print on recycled paper, educate your consumers and general public about how great the paper you chose is by using the recycled paper symbol, or including a note especifying the amount of the recycled content. This will help debunk the myths that recycled paper is inferior to the virgin counterpart and help attract more people in using recycled paper in their own projects.