DEVENS ECO-EFFICIENCY CENTER

Helping area businesses and organizations reduce their environmental impacts and operating costs through education, collaboration and technical assistance.

EcoStar Member Accomplishments

Devens Eco-Efficiency Center

33 Andrews Parkway

Devens, Massachusetts, USA 01434

Phone: 978.772.8831 x3304  Fax: 978.772.1529

E-mail: donaneely@ecostardevens.com

The Devens Eco-Efficiency Center is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, established in 2007.  This institution is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

 

 

 

Bristol-Myers Squibb’s (BMS) commitment to sustainability (see http://bms.com/ehs/index.html) and the dedication of BMS’s Devens Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) team earned them the designation of EcoStar’s Member of the Quarter in 2008. The employees are involved in several community-based initiatives; Dan Noberini (Associate Director of Environmental, Health and Safety), Chris Francis (Senior Environmental, Health and Safety Specialist), and Sarita Croce (Technical Lead, Environmental Compliance) have been enthusiastic participants in EcoStar and the Devens Eco-Efficiency Center.

 

Background

BMS Devens currently has over 300 employees. This division of the global company focuses on the development of compounds used to make Orencia, a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. In the future they will expand activities to include a number of biological pharmaceutical products in the research and development stage or in clinical trials.  Bristol-Myers Squibb has adopted a set of Sustainability 2010 Goals that apply to a broad range of areas comparable to EcoStar Standards, including environmental performance, sustainable products, supply chain partnership, leadership development, community outreach, social policies and metrics, and land preservation. Global progress in these areas is tracked and publicly reported at www.bms.com/ehs/vision/data/sustai.html. The initiatives highlighted in the following paragraphs demonstrate how the Devens facility and employees have brought the company closer to meeting its goals in some of these areas.

 

Green Buildings

Dan Noberini is committed to minimizing the environmental footprint of the Devens campus. The first phase of the development on an 88-acre site includes six buildings; the manufacturing facility and the lab and administration building are LEED certified.  The Devens facility is the first LEED certified facility in the Bristol-Myers Squibb, Co. network and incorporates systems to reduce energy, emissions and increase employee comfort.”  Other eco-friendly features of these two facilities include: high-efficiency plumbing fixtures, paints and adhesives with low volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and increased access to natural light to reduce the need for energy for lighting. Landscaping incorporates drought-tolerant plant species and is maintained with a high-efficiency landscape irrigation system. Employees with hybrid vehicles are provided with access to restricted preferred parking spaces. This project serves as a valuable demonstration model to local developers and facility owners.

 

Right From the Start

BMS employees have processes in place to capture paper, cardboard, plastic, and glass waste for recycling. Recently they launched a campaign to eliminate the use of paper cups by promoting the use of coffee mugs.  Members of the EHS team are significant contributors at our workshops and roundtables. Chris Francis recently shared a training tool that BMS uses to educate employees on safety measures that minimize the risk of electrical shocks with other environmental, health and safety professionals from the area. Participants in the roundtable were very grateful for the valuable learning experience his presentation provided.

 

Greening the Community

As part of the company’s endangered species protection program, BMS Devens sponsors the threatened Blandings turtles. Employees participate in educational activities and habitat restoration and enhancement projects in partnership with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game.

 

BMS’s Corporate Vice President of Environmental, Health and Safety generously agreed to be the keynote speaker at EcoStar’s first Earth Day celebration in 2008. Sue Voigt’s presentation provided the audience with a comprehensive overview of BMS’s sustainability initiatives and their performance in targeted areas. Her informative talk provided representatives of local businesses and not-for-profit entities with numerous ideas of things that they could do to be better stewards. Additionally, BMS Devens donated the tree seedlings that were offered to attendees of our Make Every Day Earth Day event.

 

Social Causes

The Devens employees are also actively involved with several other local organizations that are committed to improving the quality of life of area residents. These include Loaves and Fishes, Habitat for Humanity, Lawrence Soup Kitchen and The Jimmy Fund.

 

In Appreciation

The staff at EcoStar and the Devens Eco-Efficiency Center thank Dan, Chris, and Sarita for their committed efforts and valuable contributions.  It is our pleasure to recognize them and BMS Devens as the EcoStar Member of the Quarter for Spring 2008. To all of the employees based here – Thank You and Congratulations!

 

 

 

 

(Winter 2008 Member of the Quarter)

 

Eglomise Designs, Inc. has been involved with the EcoStar program and the Devens Eco-Efficiency Center since its inception.  From their community and business partnerships and recycling programs, to their reuse and waste reduction programs, Eglomise implements a number of sustainable business practices in their day-to-day operations.

Eglomisé Designs, Inc. has been in business for 43 years and is based in a building that was once a military hospital in Fort Devens, where it employs approximately 20 people. The company is a leader in the development of fine gifts that can be personalized for colleges and universities, major corporations, banks, non-profit organizations, and others. The product lines also include major league baseball stadiums, city, and children’s themes.

 

Eglomisé’s leadership is committed to ensuring that employees do all that they can to minimize the business’s environmental impact. In December 2006 they made a pledge to improve their existing recycling efforts; to say they were successful would be an understatement, as today the organization is nearly a zero-waste shop.  Founder Martha Demerjian shares: “it’s amazing for me to see the rapid progress of the recycling movement; I have practiced sound recycling efforts in my home for years, but I never had the opportunity to develop a program for my business because outlets and support did not exist.  I am grateful to EcoStar for their innovations.”

 

First and foremost, Eglomisé strives to reuse materials internally. Large mirrors with flaws are cut and resized to be used as smaller mirrors in a different product line. The remaining mirror waste is cut and used for weights in their mantle clocks – this practice eliminated their use of lead for counter-weight. Defective paperweight glass is sent back to the manufacturer, who melts it for reuse. The company also holds their famous inventory sale twice a year and offers their “nearly perfect” items at a discounted cost. This allows Eglomisé to uphold their commitment to provide distributors with top quality items without discarding products that don’t meet their high standard into the landfill.

 

All packing materials, including boxes, air pillows, protective wraps, and space fillers are collected from incoming inventory and reused to pack outgoing delivery shipments. Eglomisé also reuses packing materials collected from other area businesses. Corrugated cardboard that can not be reused is collected in a separate dumpster for recycling. Shrink wrap is also separated for recycling, as are plastic bags that are not reused with product shipments. Styrofoam is returned to a local manufacturer that breaks it down to be incorporated in new Styrofoam material.

 

The company also partners with local non-profits to divert waste steams for recycling and reuse purposes. Ink cartridges from office printers and fax machines are recycled through a local school’s fundraiser program. Scrap paper and product boxes are also sent to the school for the students’ use.  Additionally, Eglomisé Designs directs reusable materials to the local Hands On Art Museum and For Arts Sake organizations so that they can be incorporated in children’s art projects.

 

Predictably, recycle bins are strategically placed under each desk and next to each photocopier and printer to captured waste paper.  Multiple containers are located in the lunchroom area to collect plastic and glass waste that gets recycled at the local DPW.  Bottles and cans with deposits are separated and employees are invited to return them and keep the refund.

 

Collectively, these practices have enabled the company to decrease the size of both their solid waste and corrugated cardboard dumpsters, which has enabled the company to significantly lower their waste management expense. During a walk-though review, The Devens Eco-Efficiency Center and the Eglomisé employees interviewed had a difficult time identifying waste streams that are being treated as waste!

 

We thank Martha Demerjian, for her dedication to the program as a founding member and committed Steering Committee representative. Congratulations to her and her dedicated team!

 

 

 

 

 

Image Software Services, Inc.

 

Image Software (ISS) was the first member to implement and document 15 EcoStar Standards and earn EcoStar Achiever status!  For their efforts and commitment to being good stewards, we were proud to recognize them as EcoStar’s first ever MEMBER OF THE QUARTER (Summer/Fall 2007).  Image Software Services has been an EcoStar member since the program started in 2005.  They earned the EcoStar Achiever designation by taking steps to ensure that the business operates in a sustainable manner and minimizes its environmental impact.

 

ISS is an on-demand digital duplication and distribution specialist that provides a single source solution to increase the speed and reduce the cost of getting product and information to customers and employees.  Their services include CD, CDR, and DVD duplication, digital printing, order fulfillment and inventory management. 

 

ISS was recognized for their achievements at the June 13, 2007 Nashoba Valley Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours event which was held at Image Softwares’ office.  Dona Neely, EcoStar coordinator, and Peter Lowitt, director of Devens Enterprise Commission, congratulated Jeff Schwarz, ISS president and owner, along with his team.  Recognizing ISS’s dedication and strong recycling program (and to show their humorous side!), Dona and Peter rolled in ISS’s award on a 96 gallon recycling bin!

 

EcoStar and the Devens Eco-Efficiency Center provides education and support services that support best practices in 25 areas, referred to as Standards. 

ISS earned Achiever status by incorporating 15 of the Standards into their daily routines, including defining an environmental policy, setting performance goals, striving for energy efficiency, reusing and recycling materials, and purchasing environmentally preferred materials. 

 

These activities helped Image Software gain ecological and economical efficiencies.  For example, by separating and recycling corrugated cardboard the company cut their waste management expenses in half.  In addition to cardboard, ISS recycles almost all of their waste paper, CDs, DVDs, and shrink wrap, and donates reusable materials to community organizations.  The company also makes paper with recycled content available to their digital printing customers.

ISS President Jeff Schwarz explained that by going through the process of becoming an EcoStar Achiever, the company not only reduced their waste and energy demands, but also found ways to use their resources more efficiently.  These improvements save the company time and money.  Jeff and his team promote their achievements to their clients and are already using the EcoStar Achiever logo on their materials to celebrate their efforts and communicate their commitment to prospective customers and existing clients.   

 

Devens Eco-Efficiency Center Director Dona Neely stated that “ISS provides us with a great example of how a business can benefit from making better use of resources in its operation.  It was a rewarding experience to work with Jeff and his team as they went through this process.  The ISS team was focused on a set of objectives, and they clearly gained a well-deserved sense of pride when they realized the outcomes and value of their efforts.  The common mantra of ‘we love trees!’ can often be heard in the production area.”

 

Schwarz showed everyone that he is totally “in” to the EcoStar program and the company’s recycling initiatives by jumping into their new bin for us!  Congratulations to Jeff and his dedicated employees who all played a role in developing and executing on their environmental goals and vision.  This is an important milestone, not only for ISS, but also for the EcoStar program.  EcoStar looks forward to continuing to work with ISS as they set their sites on future goals and continuous improvement. 

 

For additional information on Image Software Services, call 978-772-7100 or go to www.imagesoftware.com.  To learn more about EcoStar activities, the Devens Eco-Efficiency Center, and membership benefits, contact us.

“it’s amazing for me to see the rapid progress of the recycling movement; I have practiced sound recycling efforts in my home for years, but I never had the opportunity to develop a program for my business because outlets and support did not exist.  I am grateful to EcoStar for their innovations.” - Martha Demerjian, President, Eglomise Designs, Inc.