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HR | The Division of Human Resources' Commitment to Sustainability
The Division of Human Resources' Commitment to Sustainability
Our Commitment as a Division
In support the President Schmidly's cost containment initiatives and
Sustainability Policy #2100, the Division of Human Resources has set the
following goal for conserving resources in two major areas of
consumption; the reduction of energy and paper usage. We have made recommendations to HR staff on
how to conserve these resources, and we are setting baseline metrics to
track our goals. To assist our efforts, we have partnered with Lobo
Energy to compare current kilowatt hours used in the Human Resource
Service Center to the previous fiscal year on a quarterly basis. We are
also comparing the current amount of paper purchased across the Division
of Human Resources to the previous fiscal year on a quarterly basis.
Our Commitment to the University
The University aims to improve performance in all areas of operations
thereby meeting the needs of current generations without compromising
the prospects of future generations. The University shall develop
systems to manage environmental, social, and economic well-being with
specific goals, objectives, priorities, processes, and milestones by
which to verify performance. As a part of HR's commitment toward
sustainability, the University's Value which specifically addresses
sustainability is on the Performance
Review form. The Performance Review form is designed to be both a
planning tool and a performance review instrument that encourages
supervisor and employee discussions of expected work-related performance
and behavior. To assist in the guidance and measurement of employee
performance and behavior contributing to sustainability, the UNM
Sustainability Council, the Office of Sustainability, and the Division
of Human Resources are providing examples of items that may be included
on a "sustainability
checklist."
Reaching
Our Goals: Recommendations for HR Staff
- Turn off lights that are not in use or reduce lighting in over lit
areas
- Office when you step away or leave for the day
- Hallways during daytime
- Unoccupied restrooms
- Unoccupied conference/ break rooms
- Turn off your monitor and printer at night and when you step away,
even if it's just for an hour
- Shut down your computer every night
- Designate someone in each area to ensure copiers and unused
equipment are powered down every night
- Copiers/Fax Machines can go on standby mode
- Space Heaters should be used sparingly
- Desk fans are okay to use when needed
- Remember to dress for comfort to reduce or eliminate use of energy-
using appliances
- Consider the environment before printing anything. Ask yourself:
- Do I really need this hard copy?
- Does everyone in the meeting need printed notes?
- Can I save this to my computer for later reference?
- Can I make double-sided copies to save paper?
- Consider adding "think before you print" to your signature line
- Have someone designated to call the 800 number on the bottom of
junk faxes to be removed from the list. It actually works. Saves paper
& irritation.
- If you are getting more than one copy of a catalog or getting one
you don't want, call them and ask to take you off the mailing list.
Sustainability
Checklist: Created by UNM Sustainability Council
Please consider these examples when completing your employee
performance review.
- Establish guidelines for recyclable materials
- Work with the Purchasing Department and their 4P (People, Plant,
Performance, Price) Green Procurement guidelines when making purchases
- Use remanufactured printer cartridges rather than new cartridges
- Implement a departmental sustainability committee to lead
initiatives
- Flatten all cardboard before putting it in your recycling area
- Use only reusable cups and glasses (or use recyclable materials
such as #1 plastic cups)
- Shop at UNM Surplus Property to buy office furniture, supplies, or
certain equipment before buying new
- Substitute products (e.g. paper) with a higher recycled content
than what is currently used
- Quantify usage and reduction of raw materials
- Track hours of professional development related to the
University's Sustainable values
- Encourage employees to pursue training (online courses coming
soon)
- Invite Energy Educators to your staff meetings
- Track paper usage
- Print and copy double-sided (printers may be set to default to
double-sided)
- Track volume of recycled materials
- Convert manual processes to electronic processes
- Utilize scanning to share documents electronically; scan to
centralized folder on server(s)
- Eliminate paper communications by utilizing electronic
notification resources
- Consider raw materials (paper, ink, supplies), energy (power,
transportation), and staffing (number of people involved, time
allotted) to reduce impact on resources through more efficient
processes
- Engage university partners
- Work with UNM Recycling to recycle additional materials from your
department
- Work with your PPD Area Manager to reduce lighting in work areas,
hallways, and common areas as well as use natural lighting when
possible
- Work with UNM Mailing Systems for pickup or delivery to UNM West
to avoid duplicate trips
- Use alternative transportation when possible to reduce the
university's carbon footprint
- Contact the Office of Sustainability or our areas Energy
Consultant to review existing systems and uncover opportunities to
reduce cost and/or waste
- Review internal or external programs to meet the needs of
University
- Identify core functions to focus limited resource on the areas
that add the greatest value
- Explore technologies that will support business initiatives and
reduce human or physical resources
- Consider utilizing services of UNM departments before going to
off-campus vendors. This will reduce the university's carbon
footprint, reduce vehicle traffic on campus, and increase the overall
university budget
- Identify cost savings measures
- Implement network printing rather than using individual printers
- Start a ROSE (reusable office supplies & equipment) to
minimize purchase of new materials
- Utilize Surplus Property to advertise used furniture or equipment
before sending in to surplus
Supervisors may provide criteria specific to their area such as
requiring periodic reports identifying progress on sustainability
efforts.
Additional Resources
