Showing posts with label green. Show all posts
Showing posts with label green. Show all posts

Monday, December 22, 2014

Ted Tuesday: Janette Sadik-Khan: New York's streets? Not so mean any more

"We’re looking at our streets as valuable public places, and we need to make it easier and safer for people to walk around and bike."









Good Morning Folks,

TED talks have become an integral forum in airing ideas about tomorrow's world, and how the likes of transport and energy will be revolutionized in the future.

Today's selection for a Ted Talk to share is strikes a personal chord. Ms. Sadik-Khan's work in the Bloomberg administration was deeply felt for the better in the immediate area surrounding our New York headquarters and in many of our daily commutes.

Janette Sadik-Khan demonstrates how paint, lawn chairs and a bit of imagination can quickly transform city streets, creating immediate public and commercial vitality. Sadik-Khan, listed as one of Business Insider’s “50 Women Who Are Changing the World,” is responsible for re-purposing 26 acres of dense New York City car lanes into pedestrian-friendly space. “More people on foot is better for business,” she says. Despite commanding a two billion dollar budget, her economical approach as commissioner of NYC’s Department of Transportation are testaments to her design sensitivity, relying on rapid-testing and regular iteration to expand the city’s public domain.

The work of a transport commissioner isn't just about stop signs and traffic signals," explains Janette Sadik-Khan, who was appointed to that role in New York City in 2007. In this funny and thought-provoking talk, she details the thinking behind successful initiatives to reshape street life in the 5 boroughs, including the addition of pedestrian zones in Times Square and the arrival of Citi Bikes. (Watch for the special cameo at the end of the talk.)


"Street design is a crucial element of living in today's "urban age." Her work, under the guidance of then-mayor Michael Bloomberg, turned tourist-magnet Times Square into a two-and-a-half-acre pedestrian-friendly zone, simultaneously cutting down traffic and making the environment a safer space.

“One of our greatest innovations is our ability to move quickly. The normal capital construction program takes about five years. But we’ve been able to transform city streets virtually overnight. You can literally paint the city you want to see. You can do it with two traffic cones, a can of paint, and stone planters. And we’re able to show the results.”
There goes the neighborhood. At FSO' doorstep. Photo: NYC Dot2
“Design can tell you to take your business elsewhere, or it can tell you this is a vital, active retail space. When we pedestrianized 42nd to 47th Street, we saw an 11 percent increase in foot traffic. Now Times Square is one of the top 10 retail locations on the planet, which wasn’t the case before we made that intervention. Good streets are good business.”

Her goal is to transform the city streets, and reinvent New York City as a livable, green place.

Envious as I am of her $2 billion budget, the only thing better than New York during these holiday times, is a cleaner, greener, New York. Ms. Sadik-Khan all of us at FSO are grateful to you for that indeed.

Have a GREAT Day,



Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer
  


Ideas are not set in stone. When exposed to thoughtful people, they morph and adapt into their most potent form. TED Tuesdays on MitchWeiner.com highlights some of today's most intriguing ideas. Look for more talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more— HERE.  



About FSO Onsite Outsourcing
Recognized on the Inc. 5000 list of the nation's fastest growing companies for the third consecutive year, and lead by industry pioneer, Mitch Weiner, FSO's growth and success can be attributed to making a positive and powerful impact on their clients' bottom lines, as well as their employees' careers and lives.

Sadik-Khan has served as commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation since 2007. Previously she was senior vice president at the engineering firm Parsons Brinckerhoff and served as deputy administrator of the Federal Transit Administration in Washington.

Sunday, October 6, 2013

FSO’s Commitment to "Eco-Friendly" Environmental Sustainability


"You can develop eco-friendly habits to help you use less and make the most of what you have."





Good Morning Folks,

Eco-friendly literally means earth-friendly or not harmful to the environment. This term most commonly refers to products that contribute to green living or practices that help conserve resources like water and energy. Eco-friendly products also prevent contributions to air, water and land pollution. You can engage in eco-friendly habits or practices by being more conscious of how you use resources.


FSO’s commitment to "Eco-friendly" environmental sustainability starts with having our own dedicated Green Certified Associates on staff providing proactive advice on the efficiencies of our own internal operations as well as our clients. 


With an increasing number of organizations pledging to reduce carbon emissions and overall environmental footprint – as well as seeking methods to measure and manage these efforts – FSO works closely with our strategic partners to help our clients take a holistic approach to document management, combining green consultative services, energy-saving imaging equipment and software solutions.  We can help our clients meet their sustainability goals such as saving energy, reducing waste and minimizing pollution.

FSO takes total workflow needs into account and customizes environmentally-friendly solutions to not only maximize productivity and save energy, but cut costs as well. 


==> Product Qualifications
Making a truly eco-friendly products keeps both environmental and human safety in mind. At a minimum, the product is non-toxic. Other eco-friendly attributes include the use of sustainably grown or raised ingredients, produced in ways that do not deplete the ecosystem. Organic ingredients or materials are grown without toxic pesticides or herbicides. Products with "made from recycled materials" contain glass, wood, metal or plastic reclaimed from waste products and made into something new. 

Biodegradable products break down through natural decomposition, which is less taxing on landfills and the ecosystem as a whole. Many products claim to be eco friendly today, but if you look closely you will find that they are impostors.  We recommend Emerald Brand, for a complete line of eco-friendly products for all your home and office needs.

==> Practice Examples
You can develop eco-friendly habits to help you use less and make the most of what you have. Turn off lights in empty rooms and use a programmable thermostat so you're only heating or cooling your home when it's occupied .  Businesses can also institute such practices, in addition to bigger initiatives, such as company-wide recycling programs to conserve natural resources, cleaning products to protect from the employees from the common cold  to having the employees telecommute, which decreases air pollution and fuel consumption by eliminating daily travel to work.

==> Greenwashing
Companies sometimes label their products "eco-friendly" or "environmentally friendly" without them truly being so. Called "greenwashing," marketing campaigns perpetuate this practice, aimed at helping companies increase their product sales by appealing to ecologically conscious buyers. To avoid purchasing "greenwashed" products, look for products approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Energy Star program or an ecologically conscious consumer-advocacy group such as the Green Good Housekeeping Seal.


For organizations serious about their LEED certification, FSO works to ensure our onsite facilities teams are maximizing environmentally friendly practices where feasible (tracking sustainability, wastage, carbon emissions) utilizing cutting edge software.

Additional introduction of sustainable practices (recycling of plastics, glass, paper, encouragement of electronic request forms, environmentally friendly cleaning products, replacement of paper cups, paper plates with china cups and plates) are favored wherever possible.

Thanks to the Emerald Brand and The Strategic Business Blog for their assistance with this post and to you for listening.

Have a GREAT day as I look forward to seeing all of you soon.








Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer


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"Believe you can and you're halfway there.”
~~Theodore Roosevelt

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About the Author:
Welcome to the fastest growing onsite outsourcing company in the nation! Led by Mitch Weiner, co-founder and industry pioneer, FSO is "the" award winning enterprise-wide outsourcing and people solutions firm servicing a multitude of clients across North America.

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