How businesses impact the environment
The daily operations of any organization or business, including those of the Ministry of the Environment (MOE), impact the natural environment.
Some examples:
- Energy. Office buildings consume significant amounts of energy in heating and cooling, and in the energy used by computers (the power plants that produce this energy release greenhouse gases and other pollutants into our atmosphere).
- Water. Employees consume significant amounts of water in office kitchens, cafeterias and bathrooms.
- Waste. Employees also generate various types of waste, including paper, food and electronic waste.
- Air. Cars, vans and trucks that are used for travel, transport and deliveries emit pollutants that impact the quality of our air.
To reduce our impact: Project Green
There are steps that organizations and businesses can take to reduce their environmental impacts.
Through its Ontario Public Service (OPS) Green Office, the Ontario government is taking those steps, with a commitment to protect and conserve our province’s natural resources. And here at the Ministry of the Environment, we’re supporting that commitment through our Project Green program.
The Project Green team researches and implements ways to further green the ministry’s internal operations and business practices. It also supports environmentally sustainable practices for ministry partners, stakeholders and suppliers.
Its goal is to make the ministry a more sustainable organization by achieving reductions in four key areas:
- energy consumption
- water consumption
- waste production
- air pollutant emissions
Please explore the rest of this section to learn what we’re doing to reduce our carbon footprint and how you can start your own greening project.
