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Here is an article that appeared in Mercer Business:

It’s Not Easy Being GREEN by Russell Roberts
Mercer Business – August 2005

"Green”den State

Even closer to home, Amy Gonzales knows that “going green” means much more than just slapping a coat of green paint on a building for St. Patrick’s Day.

Gonzales is president of AK Environmental, LLC, of West Trenton. AK Environmental is a certified woman business enterprise and small business providing quality environmental services to a variety of industries. She is also Secretary of the Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Professionals. Since she is plugged into the environmental community on so many different levels, Gonzales is well aware of the burgeoning interest in green office buildings.

In New Jersey, she points to the four PNC Bank Buildings in Toms River, West Grove, Freehold and Madison as being supreme examples of the green building and operation concept in action.

“Recycle, reuse, reduce,” she said, reciting the green mantra. “These four buildings certainly follow those guidelines.”

For instance, she said that the PNC buildings catch rainwater and then use it for flushing toilets, watering plants, and other purposes. In addition, the building use low maintenance plants for landscaping. These plants require less water, and need to be mowed/pruned less frequently (which saves energy).

Inside, the buildings maximize the use of natural light by having more windows and more open areas. When they do require electricity, they use florescent lighting.

“Green buildings such as these have been shown to get more productivity from their workers,” she said. “People like working in this type of environment.”

Another way these buildings are environmentally-friendly is by cutting down on the use of paper wherever possible. Although the “paperless” office is still some years away, companies are taking giant strides toward cutting down unnecessary paper usage through several methods, including the use of more computer software.

“Going green means the use of any products anywhere that have been recycled,” Gonzales said. “It means adherence to the ‘three R’s’ – recycle, reuse, and reduce.”