Arrival of Plates, Cups, Glasses and Cutlery

Dear DFCM -
You will notice in the coming days that our kitchen cupboards will be stocked with plates, mugs, glasses and cutlery. This is part of our sustainability "green" initiative currently going in progress in our Central Department Office.

A few notes in regards to this ...

Two Basics Rules:
1. These are for the use of all and we expect everyone to wash what they use.
2. Everything will be labelled according to floor/location so please ensure that they remain where they belong or return them to that location if you borrowed it.

Additional Notes:
The glasses and mugs are really intended more for your small meetings and not for the use of DFCM regulars as we all should have received our "water jug" - drop by and see me if you have not. In addition, most people have gotten their "birthday" mugs or have brought in a mug from home.

We are not putting any cutlery in the 4th floor boardroom as there is a ton of plastic cutlery there from previous meetings. We strongly encourage you, when placing orders to request no disposables and this way we can finish what we have on hand. It doesn't make any sense that in an effort to "go green" we throw it all out.

I will also remind you that we should also not be ordering any bottled water, as the water filters are functioning properly and we now have a water thermos/jug for each floor to take to meetings.

We will also not be ordering any more paper/Styrofoam cups for visitors. They should be using the glass ones and washing them after use.

If you have a really big meeting, no one would expect you to stay back and wash dishes. The idea is to gradually shift towards a greener work space but it should not be something that becomes onerous or a huge burden on our already busy work days. We will eventually be getting dishwashers and we can revisit this idea following this but for now, if you have a large meeting you would still use the disposable however maybe consider bio-degradable disposables.

Remember that "Sustainability is all about being more efficient, eliminating waste, and creating healthier spaces, including the workplace." (DavidSusuki.org)

and finally, I have set up a blog space for us to discuss, vent, give ideas and opinions on how our green initiatives are working (or not working) for you. This is intended to be a "safe space" to voice your opinions/suggestions or problems you encountered on our route to a better environment. Please use it in this way and respecting everyone's point of view.

http://dfcmgoesgreen.blogspot.com/

Thank you -S.