At Wolin-Levin we are always looking for ways we can make life better for the residents living in the communities we serve. In addition to providing hassle-free management services, we are committed to adopting more sustainable management practices in an effort to help our residents lead healthier, more environmentally friendly lifestyles.
This commitment to fostering sustainable communities has led to the creation of our Green & Sustainability Council, a national task force formed by our parent company, FirstService Residential Management. Our council is charged with a mandate of helping our residents and employees achieve a better quality of life through sustainable management practices. Through our council, we have adopted an education-based, multi-tiered strategy to achieve this goal.
First, we are educating our employees by following the US Green Building Council (USGBC) LEED standard to guide our learning. To date, we have 18 LEED APs among our ranks across the country and will have 35 by January. These are highly motivated, enthusiastic individuals who have stepped up to become green specialists within their own organizations and who are committed to finding cost effective sustainable solutions for everyday administrative and managerial functions. Classes and webinars are available via our national training program, FSR School of Professional Development, to facilitate learning.
Second, we are using this knowledge to implement best practices nationally to lessen our impact on the environment. We have committed to implementing TEN key initiatives that we call the “ FAST 5 and BIG 5.”
The FAST 5 are simple, sensible and straightforward:
- Establishing Green Teams to coordinate and roll-out initiatives
- Ensuring all our printing and copying is double-sided
- No longer purchasing bottled water or polystyrene cups
- Implementing electronic recycling programs for our offices
- Creating a data capturing and monitoring mechanism so we can track our progress.
The BIG 5 are bigger projects with big impacts:
- Developing comprehensive strategies to reduce overall energy consumption
- Implementing water use policies to conserve one of our most precious natural resources
- Creating recycling programs
- Rolling out a national green cleaning policy and best practice guide
- Developing sustainable purchasing, renovation and green lease policies.
Finally, we are partnering with our communities to reduce costs while doing the right thing. By considering a triple bottom line of economic, social and environmental impacts, we are using this process to develop long-term sustainability plans for our communities. At the same time, we are applying this knowledge to what we do best — providing professional management services that contribute to healthier, more sustainable lifestyles for our residents.
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