at work

It’s not easy being green—especially when you have 25 interconnected buildings that cover four city blocks, have 1.6 million square feet of space to keep clean, and employ over 1,000 people. But the Museum is well on its way. It established a Sustainable Practices Committee in 1998, and we’re reminded of its many efforts when we get emails like this recent one. “In the last year alone, roughly 43,000 disposable cups were used for coffee,” it admonished, encouraging caffeine-deprived staff to tote their mugs to the Employee Cafeteria. In case you were wondering, those cups stack up to “roughly 2.8 miles, or the distance between the Lower Level security desk and the mouth of the Lincoln Tunnel.” The Museum also incentivizes staff to use mass transit, and recently installed additional bike racks for visitors and staff. And of course we’re all part of the large-scale sustainable practices that you can read about on the Climate Change Exhibition website.

What sustainable practices does your workplace encourage, or even mandate? How have they affected your workday? Tell us about your experience!