Small Steps to Integrate Sustainability

Stores everywhere are looking for ways to become leaders in sustainability and environmental stewardship.

Fixxbook, a subsidiary of ServiceChannel, makes it easy for facilities to verify a contractor’s commitment to green technologies by obtaining certified proof that the contractor is reusing, recycling and reducing as much as possible.

Lamp Recycling

Fluorescent lamps contain mercury, and are recycled separately – usually by the manufacturer. For sustainability-minded companies, Fixxbook maintains a library of vendors’ certifications on all manner of skills, including their ability to recycle lamps responsibly.

For instance, do they have a lamp recycling program, so that when they’re ordering additional lamps, the box that they receive can in turn be used to send back the old lamps that are no longer working?

Battery Recycling

Disposing of batteries comes with the same sort of challenges that lamps have; they contain toxic materials that should not end up in a landfill. A simple solution for businesses can be found at the store level, by ensuring that any batteries purchased – for walkie talkies, smoke detectors, etc. – get picked up by a service that is certified in their disposal.

Equipment Recycling

Are the business and its contractors disposing of old equipment in the proper way? That can be anything from vacuum cleaners to refrigerators with toxic refrigerant inside. It’s not enough to get a hauler to pick up some old equipment and dispose of it. Eco-minded businesses must ensure that they are not disposing of harmful contaminants. In the event that there are harmful chemicals to discard, Fixxbook Private Network offers an easily searchable database to find a certified recycler of hazardous materials.

Cardboard Recycling

Almost every business receives packages in corrugated cardboard boxes, which usually get broken down and placed in a recycling dumpster.

For both environmental and budgetary reasons, it is important for the recycling to be picked up at an optimal frequency. The thing to avoid is having too much cardboard on hand and not enough pickups; employees would be forced to throw the cardboard into trash cans. That is why the number of pickups should be calculated according to the size of the store. Optimal timing of pickups is in itself a best practice for sustainability, as a way to make sure fewer trips are made to the site, which results in a smaller carbon footprint.

How Fixxbook Can Help

Through Fixxbook retailers can search to see if service providers they’re working with have relevant certifications. Our trade association and certification filter includes fields that can be used to search for green businesses.

Fixxbook also maintains its core business of connecting stores to qualified, vetted and certified contractors for repair and maintenance issues.

Mario Salcido
msalcido@servicechannel.com