Stroller Spa Just became a Certified California Green Business!
Thank you to the owners, Stroller Spa Family members, our valued customers, and the California Green Business Network for helping to make this happen! Huge shout out to Paul May, SF Green Green Business Fellow at the San Francisco Department of the Environment, for your dedication to getting us up and running, and to Friday Werner Apaliski at The Sustainability Concierge for getting us through the application process – you two certainly make the world a better place and we are honored to know you! Have a business that you would like to get certified, join the revolution HERE!
Here’s our Environmental Policy Statement, we are proud of it but we are always looking for better ways to be green and make the world a better place. Have other ideas for how we could be more Green? Shoot us a line or come by our shop to share, we always welcome ideas and hugs!
Stroller Spa Environmental Policy Statement
Stroller Spa incorporates sustainability into our core business operations through internal and external efforts. Specifically, we already implement the following policies and practices:
- Purchase environmentally preferable products
- Conserve energy, water and natural resources
- Practice green business policies on checklist
- Operate as a Green Hub where the community learns best practices for living more sustainably. We do this by selling second-hand gear, refurbishing old gear to look and run like new and by teaching families how to make their own repairs to avoid buying new and clogging landfill.
Employee Education
We educate employees on resource conservation and pollution prevention through:
- Training programs (at time of hire and throughout career) to educate employees and all persons involved in our business on proper recycling & composting practices, resource conservation ideas, importance of low-toxic purchasing, water conservation and circular economy
- Informing all members of staff about environmental resources by distributing the Employee Green Resource Guide via email (go paperless!).
- Using clear signage for compost, recycling, landfill, water conservation, and energy conservation
- Hosting only zero waste events (i.e. ensuring that no waste is generated during company picnics, meetings, etc.)
- Requiring all staff members to bring their own reusable cups, plates and cutlery to work each day.
We reduce our footprint by:
- Reducing waste by printing double sided, buying in bulk, and eliminating disposable products such as single serve water bottles, paper towels, napkins and virtually all paper products. We are almost 100% paperless!
- Reusing equipment such as furniture, or donating usable items to charity
- Striving for 90% waste diversion by recycling all resources such as paper, plastics, cardboard, glass, and aluminum AND composting all food and plant discards.
- Working with Homeless Prenatal Program and SFSmiles.org to clean, safety check and donate gear in donor’s name
Toxics Reduction
We reduce the use of toxic materials to protect all staff health and the environment.
Specifically we:
- Only purchase low toxic janitorial cleaning products certified Green Seal, UL/Ecologo, Safer Choice, and/or meet criteria on www.sfapproved.org but mostly use our own commercial-grade steamer
- Avoid purchasing toxic substances and any aerosol cans. Minimize the use of disinfectants in routine cleaning
- Lighting – Purchase LEDs, T8 or T5 low mercury fluorescent lamps
- Implement an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program for controlling pests
- Dispose of hazardous materials safely.
- Use mainly steam (no chemicals) to clean our storefront as well as in our services
Green Purchasing
We purchase/use:
- Printer paper, business cards, marketing materials, collateral, etc. with minimum of 50% post-consumer waste (PCW) recycled content
- Janitorial paper with post-consumer waste (PCW) recycled content (toilet paper only, no paper towels. minimum 20% PCW,
- Chlorine-free paper products
- Promotional materials with vegetable or low-VOC inks
- Energy Star rated refrigerators, appliances and office equipment
- EPEAT verified computers, laptops, and monitors (http://epeat.net/)
- The most water efficient toilets, urinals, shower-heads and faucet aerators
- The most environmentally friendly vehicles for business use
- By keeping our commitment to be virtually paperless. We do this by not keeping a printer in house and by not using tissues, paper towels and excessive marketing materials. All of our information can be found online or shared in person
Resource Conservation
We conserve fossil fuels and other resources by:
- Sourcing renewable energy through CleanPowerSF
- Promoting the use of public transit and commuter alternatives
- Using energy-conserving software programs and unplugging equipment
- Reusing and refusing packaging materials
- Emphasizing repurposing of items in lieu of purchasing new items
- Remodeling using LEED Green building standards
- Riding our bicycles to work each day, taking public transit and offering clipper cards for staff members who chose not to drive
