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(Rockville, MD - April 17, 2007) Environmental conservation and protection will be the focus at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) this Friday, April 20, as the organization's "Green Team" hosts a pre-Earth Day event for ASHA staff in order to raise their "green awareness."
Themed Green At Work, Green At Home, and Green In-Between, the "for staff-only" event will allow ASHA's more than 225 employees a chance to:
- Calculate their environmental foot print - their personal impact on the planet
- View "An Inconvenient Truth", Al Gore's Academy Award winning film about global warming
- Learn strategies for reducing unsolicited personal mail which contributes to wastes of resources and litter
- Learn more about reducing, reusing and recycling work materials in their every day work at ASHA
Representatives from several local businesses, including Whole Foods and American Plant Food, will promote the use of environmentally friendly products.
"Being socially responsible is a core value of the ASHA work environment," ASHA Executive Director Arlene Pietranton notes. "This event will be a direct reflection of that value. We decided to hold it now for our employees because Earth Day is coming. I know it will be an imaginative, enjoyable, and effective way for them to learn about what more they can do to be environmentally responsible."
How big is "being green" at ASHA? Very. At the end of this year, the organization will relocate to a brand new LEED certified building at 2200 Research Boulevard, Rockville. The structure will feature natural light and other ecologically sound practices such as optimized energy performance and a green housekeeping system.
In addition, ASHA annually recycles nearly 80 percent of its recyclable materials, a far greater percentage than the Montgomery County standard of 50 percent. The winner of several County awards for such efforts, the organization was selected to be featured last year in a Montgomery County-produced recycling PSA that aired on national TV networks. In addition, ASHA is already encouraging its work force to pay attention to recycling as they plan to pack up their respective areas for the end of 2007 move to the new ASHA office.
"We intend to make the future of our national office a bright and steadfast green," Pietranton says.
ASHA is the professional, scientific, and credentialing association for more than 127,000 audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists in the United States and internationally. For more information on speech, language, and hearing disorders, consumers can log on to www.asha.org or call 1-800-638-TALK.
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