A critical step in making your service project more eco-friendly is defining your environmental goals. Your project team should set goals, determine how to meet them, and define measures of success.
Ways to measure the environmental impact of a project:
- Locally Resourced/Manufactured Products: In the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system, the U.S. Green Building Council defines local resources as those manufactured within 500 miles. Others define local as within 50, 100, or 150 miles. “Local” can be defined based on the local economy, the local bio-region, or the local culture.
- Water Usage: Measuring water usage refers to any use of water regulating and usage reducing items such as faucets, water-heaters or toilets that provide a quantifiable reduction in water use.
- Waste Reduction: Waste reduction (also called waste minimization) refers to reducing or preventing the quantity of waste generated. Common examples include replacing disposable items with reusable items, purchasing in bulk to reduce packaging waste, or repairing items that have been damaged to extend their useful life.
- Waste Recycling Rate: The recycling rate is the percentage of waste that is recycled or composted compared to the total amount of waste generated (recycling rate = amount recycled/total waste generated). Most recycling rates are calculated by the weight of the waste, although the rate may also be calculated by volume.
- Energy Efficiency: Energy efficiency is increased by reducing energy consumption where possible. This means adapting to get more energy service using less energy.
- Renewable Energy: Renewable energy is energy drawn from resources that can be replenished. Renewable energy can be measured by whether or not it is necessary to consume the resource to produce the energy needed; or, by reducing the negative environmental impact caused by using the resource to produce energy. This includes the entire process of getting that energy source including extraction, processing, energy production, and disposal.
