by Alison Lueders, Great Green Editing
This is the fourth in our series about local companies that have achieved the City of Tampa’s Green Business Designation. This week we highlight the Law Office of Jeanne L. Coleman, which specializes in Family Law and Social Security Disability issues. The law firm was founded in 1985, and achieved its designation in 2011.
Sustainable Practices
Ms. Coleman’s Law Office takes multiple steps to operate more sustainably, including:
- Hybrid transportation. Ms. Coleman recently purchased a Chevrolet Volt, and reports, “A good day is a day with no gasoline usage. So far I have been able to drive primarily on electricity.”
- Minimal paper. The office is primarily paperless.
- Recycling. They recycle the toner cartridges used, as well as plastic, paper, cardboard, and cans.
- Reclaimed water. They use reclaimed water to irrigate landscape plants.
- Energy efficiency. They replace all electric apparatus with Energy Star units, turn the AC/heat off when they aren’t there, and use motion detector light switches to avoid wasting energy in empty rooms.
Results
By following these practices, Ms. Coleman reports:
- Significant cost savings on paper, postage, water, and electricity.
- Improved client responsiveness by using email for communications instead of paper.
Looking Ahead
Ms. Coleman’s Law Office has big plans for more sustainable practices in 2013. These include:
- Becoming almost completely paperless as the court system moves to e-filing.
- Installing a 240 volt charger for her Volt at the office to ensure that she can run the car almost totally on electric power.
- Installing solar panels at her home and, depending on the level of cost savings, she may install them at the office.
- Building a composter plot on her empty lot adjacent to the office to compost the many leaves dropped by oak trees.
- Planting wildflowers to attract more birds and bees. She already has 3 bird feeders on the lot. Without irrigation on the lot, this will be a tall order.
The Law Office of Jeanne L Coleman is a wonderful example of how small professional service businesses can have big impacts in making the world more sustainable. We look forward to hearing more about the Volt and those solar panels.
For more information about the Green Business Designation program, contact Janet Harrison at 813-470-5055.