Thinking green has become a fast-growing and popular movement sweeping through communities with public pressure intensifying the efforts of governments and industries to increase fuel efficiency, decrease waste and maintain environmental sustainability. At George Fern Company, however, thinking green isn’t a new trend but rather an on-going way of doing business. For several decades, George Fern Company has been doing its share to enact green initiatives at events and in their warehouses. By doing so, George Fern Company hopes to create a smaller ecological footprint and save customers money.
 “Working in facilities throughout the country, we at George Fern Company find an array of approaches addressing the care of the environment, from an eight-point recycling program at some hotels in Washington, D.C. to basically no regulation what-so-ever elsewhere. We gladly conform to whatever the local municipalities require and our standards often go beyond their own guidelines for recycling and energy conservation,” said Bob Pugh, George Fern Company national sales manager.
George Fern Company’s green initiatives start in their warehouses.
“We have created an inventory of standard items we can buy in bulk, transport and store easily. Our use and re-use of our inventory has created little waste,” Bob said.
George Fern Company’s focus on recycling or re-using materials includes scrap foam recycled by vendors who reprocess it for George Fern Company’s future use and foam core, an inherently non-recyclable resource, which is reused to pack trailers, slip-sheet metal and protect props. Furthermore, the George Fern Company recycles all scrap aluminum, cardboard and bulk paper. Additionally, George Fern Company is looking into grinding used standard carpet into materials for asphalt.
 Leading up to events, George Fern Company urges exhibitors to take advantage of the electronic service kits available via the George Fern Company web site as a way to partner with its customers in energy savings and eliminating the impact of printing, recycling and the energy costs of shipping.
George Fern Company’s commitment to the green movement continues during their travels on the road. While on-site at a show or event, George Fern Company implements a variety of environmentally conscious procedures including reducing the lights, power and HVAC used during event move-in and move-out.
On-site George Fern Company utilizes a variety of renewable and reusable resources including support units, registration counters, entrance units, magazine bins and kiosks. Booth and aisle carpet is made from a fully recyclable fiber and backing, and all inks are water-based eliminating the release of harmful solvents into the atmosphere. Moreover, all motorized equipment is fueled by natural gas contributing to the improvement of air quality.
George Fern Company also helps show management think green by advising their staff on assisting facility workers with the proper disposal of recyclable materials and other waste.
“For many years, our way of doing business at George Fern Company hasn’t been obviously environmentally friendly until you really look at it. The savings in energy costs and labor alone enables George Fern Company to produce programs throughout the United States while remaining economically priced and environmentally responsible,” Bob said. |
