Success Stories: Sustainable Practices at Lottery
The Washington State Lottery has taken great strides to promote sustainable business practices throughout the agency. Administrative Services Manager Bruce Eisentrout heads up the agency's program and leads the sustainability committee, a strong committed group of employees who are making progress and having fun thanks to good management support and employee participation.
The sustainability committee has been working hard to incorporate sustainable practices into the daily lives of Lottery employees. A table at the main entrance provides employees and visitors with rotating information about alternatives to products containing persistent and toxic chemicals. For example, the table (right) displays creative key rings holding squares of reused cardstock printed with recipes for easy to make environmentally friendly cleaning products. A battery-recycling box can be found in a central location in the office. Also, Lottery has an incentive program for employees using an alternative to a single occupancy vehicle, which pays $2 a day. Bruce is also considering acquiring a bike for employee use on short trips around town.
The Lottery headquarters office attempted to convert 50% of their older HP printers to be capable of printing on the both sides, but the software needed was too expensive. Instead a number of printers were replaced with a brand new networked color copier. This has eliminated the need for many of the one-sided printers.
The Lottery Department's first hybrid electric vehicle was given to their sales manager in Spokane. At a recent agency wide employees meeting he shared his enjoyable experiences with his new car. The meeting took place via the new video conferencing system. This communication system has enabled employees to meet together for a fraction of the cost of travel and brought the agency together after years of being separated due to financial and timing complications. Travel vouchers have been reduced 50% in FY 2004 compared to FY 2003 thanks to 117 successful videoconferences.
Meeting agenda planners are sure to allow the sustainability committee as much time as they need to discuss sustainability. They reach employees through skits viewed over the video conferencing system that he engages employees rather then just talking at them. The committee lets Lottery employees know that just as most people have items pilling up in their garages that are difficult to recycle or dispose of; it is just as hard for Surplus to deal with problem of disposal for the government.
"We're creating the problem," says Bruce Eisentrout, "and they're the ones that are stuck having to deal with it. And so by keeping that in front of everybody we are less likely to just go and buy something new because somehow it has to get disposed of. We try to educate folks at the Lottery about the fact that the old computer that just left their desk has to get recycled somehow.but if you can relate it to the same problem they've got at home, they're more likely to remember that it is a big problem being created by state government."
Educating retailers is also a goal. Terminals at all retailers have messaging capabilities that the department is using to educate retailers and consumers that the tickets are recyclable. Recently, a graphics employee who is also on the sustainability committee, made a box for the Lottery's Lake Fair booth encouraging players to recycle their tickets.
Measuring progress is an important part of the agency's sustainability program. The sustainability committee worked with the research department to develop an online survey for employees to assess behavior and attitudes towards sustainable practices. The research department will be able to track progress in educating players and provide statistical analysis through a software program used in their department.
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