|
Forest City making a push for increased sustainability The halls of Forest City Enterprises might be the last place you`d expect to hear corporate executives discussing flush values or chatting about the latest post on a company blog.
The giant real estate company, born here from an immigrant family in the 1920s, appears steeped in tradition. Its headquarters are in one of downtown`s aging giants, a skyscraper dating back nearly 80 years. Control of the $10 billion enterprise still rests with the founding family.
It`s commonly known that Forest City is involved with major real estate development and massive projects such as the New York Times building in Manhattan and the mixed-use renovation of the former Stapleton International Airport in Denver.
A lesser-known fact: The 800 or so employees at Forest City`s downtown headquarters produce more than 1,100 pounds of trash daily. More than 50 percent of that could be recycled. Here`s another: Executives estimate that the company could save roughly $70,000 annually by turning off or hibernating computers and monitors across the country at the end of the workday and during low-use periods.
This sort of thing really gets to Jon Ratner.
"Generally, waste bugs me. Inefficiency bugs me. And indifference bugs me," said the 36-year-old son of Forest City`s chief executive.
That`s partly why Ratner worked to have "sustainability" -- in this case, the effort to balance environmental concerns and business goals -- established as a key value at his family`s company.
And it`s one reason that, in recent years, a shift has taken place in Forest City`s corporate culture.
On a Friday morning in late November, Ratner sat in a Forest City conference room here and talked about his role as the company`s vice president of sustainability initiatives. It was the launch date of a company program to curb any environmental harm done by Forest City`s offices and workers.
Ratner, with tousled hair, a white "WorkGreen" logo T-shirt, jeans and rectangular glasses, looked more like a college student than a corporate executive. His accessories: A reusable water bottle and a large new recycling bin, labeled with a long list of things not to trash. Cutting waste was the first goal of the "WorkGreen" program, which started as a plan for Forest City`s headquarters and quickly spread to company offices across the country. In coming months, Ratner and Jill Ziegler, his second-in-command, hope to tackle challenges from cutting water and energy use to buying office products that are better for the environment. To read full article, click here. © The Plain Dealer
|
email this page to a friend
Connect