How Green are You?

Tree Growth
GET A FREE CERTIFICATE AFTER TAKING THIS QUIZ!

Our five-minute Green Survey is a tool to help you gauge where your business stands with green initiatives overall. No need to fudge the answers - you're not being graded and your results are not saved: this is for informational purposes only, to help you better understand your impact on the environment. Answer honestly for best results.

These questions refer only to green practices that are very reasonable to implement. More intensive initiatives, like re-designing a building to have green insulation and so on, are not within the scope of this survey. Just make sure you consider this when looking at your result.

For a customized green consultation based on your needs, feel free to contact us!


Green Survey

Check ALL that apply.

For purposes of this survey, products identified as "green" or "energy efficient" must meet one of these recognized certifications: EPA DFE, EcoLogo, Green Seal, Energy Star, or CRI Green Label. Where certifications do not exist, the product should be as minimally toxic as possible.

Adequate matting at entrance(s): Matting can stop up to 80% of dirt from entering or spreading through a building, which saves on cleaning time -- and thus reduces energy and chemical needs.(Why?)



Floor maintenance: Many very hazardous products have been used for cleaning and these corrosive chemicals have caused serious personal injuries to staff and building occupants while damaging many washroom fixtures and floors.(Why?)



General chemicals: Many very hazardous products have been used for cleaning and these corrosive chemicals have caused serious personal injuries to staff and building occupants while damaging many washroom fixtures and floors.(Why?)



Pesticides:
Almost all pesticides are toxic, but a lot of them are much more toxic than they need to be to be effective. Also consider using natural insect repellents like citronella, eucalyptus, tea tree oil, cedar, citrus scent, or diatomaceous earth.(Why?)

Micro-fiber cloths: Microfiber cloths are reusable (eliminating paper towels) and they reduce water usage and cleaning chemical usage -- all the while effectively removing dust, allergens and bacteria. They can last up to 2,000 wash cycles! Plus, they're lint free, non-abrasive, and hypoallergenic.(Why?)


Recycling bins:
Recycling paper saves trees, oil, landfill space, energy, and water. The trees in turn remove carbon dioxide from the air. The average American uses seven trees a year in paper and wood products -- and each year, over one billion trees' worth of paper is tossed!(Why?)
Aluminum takes 500 years to decompose, but can be recycled into a new product in just 60 days! The energy saved from recycling one can power a TV for three hours -- that's equal to half a gallon of gas!(Why?)
Americans throw out over two million plastic bottles every hour, even though most of this could be reconstituted into new plastic. Burning plastic uses twice as much energy as recycling it (and no new products are made!).(Why?)
Each month, Americans toss enough glass bottles to fill up a skyscraper -- all of this glass could be recycled! Recycling on glass bottle saves enough energy to run a light bulb for 20 hours, while cutting 20% of air pollution and 50% of water pollution. Glass takes 4000 years to decompose!(Why?)

Waste management:
If every American switched out twenty regular trash bags for 65% recycled material bags, enough oil -- 39,000 barrels -- would be saved to heat/cool 2,200 houses for a year. Plus, over 30 million pounds of air pollution would be prevented from pumping into the atmosphere.(Why?)

Cardboard and paper products made out of recycled materials: Recycling paper saves trees, oil, landfill space, energy, and water. The trees in turn remove carbon dioxide from the air. The average American uses seven trees a year in paper and wood products -- and each year, over one billion trees' worth of paper is tossed! Plus, recycled paper costs less to make.(Why?)

Plastic products made out of recycled materials: Americans throw out over two million plastic bottles every hour, even though most of this could be reconstituted into new plastic. Burning plastic uses twice as much energy as recycling it (and no new products are made!).(Why?)


Reducing paper and plastic usage:
Up to 90% of business documents are still on paper. Electronic documents save paper (and office space!) and are more convenient for storing, finding, sharing, backing up, and editing.(Why?)
The average building equals 13,000 separate pieces of paper in trash each year. Be creative and reuse this for scrap paper, or just recycle it.(Why?)
This cuts by paper usage up to 50%. Besides the trees saved, think about all the money you could save on paper!(Why?)
A mature tree makes 700 paper bags, but a single busy supermarket could drill through those in just an hour -- or over 6 million bags each year!(Why?)

Washroom hygiene:
Nobody wants to put toxins on their hands. Plus, when those toxins go down the drain during hand washing, they'll end up polluting the environment.(Why?)
Stop paper from needlessly being thrown out by using an air dryer.(Why?)
If you need paper towels, make sure you buy recycled ones in order to reduce your environmental impact.(Why?)
Recycled toilet paper saves trees and energy.(Why?)
Stop paper from needlessly being thrown out by using a paperless toilet sanitation system -- these require just a few squares of toilet paper to thoroughly disinfect a toilet.(Why?)

Chemical storage: Keeping dangerous chemicals properly stored and disposed keeps pollution out of the air and water.(Why?)


Gas/emissions reduction: Every barrel of oil saved is a barrel that doesn't have to be bought, not to mention the emissions benefits.(Why?)



Resource conservation measures in place:


A faucet that leaks enough water to fill a soda bottle every 30 minutes will waste 2,192 gallons of water a year. (Why?)
Low flow toilets can more than 5,000 gallons of water (and the associated utility costs) per person yearly.(Why?)
Lights can take up to 15% of a building's energy usage. Leaving a light on in an empty room is the same as throwing away energy.(Why?)
Energy efficient light bulbs use 50% to 70% less energy than traditional models.(Why?)
Leaving electronics turned on and plugged in when not in use wastes a lot of energy.(Why?)
Up to 90% of the energy used during laundry washing goes toward heating the water -- but modern detergents wash fabrics just as good in cold water! Plus, cold water extends the life of clothing.(Why?)
This is the temperature most people feel comfortable at. Anything less just wastes energy and money.(Why?)

Energy efficient appliances: High efficiency washers use up to less than 80% of the detergent, water and energy of regular washers.(Why?)



Energy efficient electronics: An energy efficient computer can save over $300 per year in energy.(Why?)



Equipment:
Green vacuum(s) Vacuums with HEPA filters trap harmful particles and improves indoor air quality.(Why?)

Other; my company has these green practices not listed:


My business scored green points.

Where does your business rank? Check out our green business listing.


What does my score mean?

Tree Growth

To claim your certificate, find your Green Score ranking below. Right-click the "Download" link and save the file to your computer. Then, open the file. It will automatically populate the date you received the ranking. Click on "Company Name" and enter your business name. Now print out your certificate and hang it up for all to see!

Seed

0-8 points: Your business is a Seed. The potential is there, you just haven't really pursued it yet. By taking this quiz, though, you're making a great start.

Seedling

9-17 points: Your business is a Seedling. You're aware of green and have made some changes accordingly. » Download your certificate now.

Sapling

18-26 points: Your business is a Sapling. You've started moving towards green and implementing green practices. » Download your certificate now.

Young Tree

26-34 points: Your business is a Young Tree. You've put in quite a bit of effort at making your business more earth-friendly. » Download your certificate now.

Mature Tree

35-41 points: Your business is a Mature Tree. Your business has made huge strides in reducing its environmental impact, and your work shows! » Download your certificate now.

Forest

42+ points: Your business is a Forest. You've turned everything you can green and made your business green through and through. » Download your certificate now.