Firm ‘greens’ new space

Going “green” has been a hot topic for the past couple of years and plenty of Indiana firms are getting in on the act. Firms are seeing more of a focus on environmental and green legal issues, and Ice Miller even started a green practice group earlier this year.

On top of that, many Indiana firms are doing their part to reduce waste and conserve energy by donating old office furniture and books and implementing recycling programs in the office.

Indianapolis-based Bose McKinney & Evans made a point to be as green as possible when they decided to relocate a couple blocks away to a bigger office. Even though the firm will have more square footage, it wants to reduce its environmental footprint as much as possible.

Instead of pitching all their old office furniture and buying new desks, chairs, filing cabinets, etc., the firm is reusing what it can and donating the rest. If the firm has to buy new furniture, the firm is trying to buy as much as they can that is made in Indiana in order to reduce shipping distances, chief marketing officer Jennifer Walker said. The firm also tried to use natural, recycled, and local materials for flooring and wall coverings when possible, featuring Indiana limestone on its reception desk and compressed bamboo flooring in the new conference center.

The firm worked with the contractor preparing their new office space to make sure they reused as much materials as possible, installed Energy Star equipment, auto-shut off faucets in the restrooms, and included more side lights and transoms to bring natural light into the offices.

Kudos to Bose McKinney and all of the other firms for trying to do what they can to conserve energy, recycle, and lessen their firms’ impact on the environment. Yes, “going green” is definitely trendy right now, but it’s a good trend to be a part of and one that will hopefully stick around.