Washington State

Office of the Attorney General

Attorney General

Bob Ferguson

There’s a spiffy new blog that provides information about how offices can be environmentally friendly and save money, too. The blog, GreenWorks.org, is run in partnership with the Conference of Western Attorneys General (CWAG). It’s overseen by Linda Brughelli, the chair of the California Department of Justice “Green Office-DOJ” project.  Last month, Linda was kind enough to recognize Attorney General McKenna’s work to promote sustainability: 

Washington exemplifies so many of the best practices recommended by GreenWorksGov, including having a slogan. Their slogan is “Working green, making a difference.”  The OAG has a program overview document that I really like,"Sustainability Program", a one-page published synopsis of their program goals, accomplishments, future plans, and best practices. It is a handy, well-scripted reference document that would show well on the Internet or Intranet and serves as a useful hand-out in briefings.

And today, our very own Cami Feek, AGO Director of Office Services and Sustainability Guru (Okay, "Guru" is not her actual title, but I think it has a nice ring to it), has written a terrific contribution:

FeekWe have all heard it for years: someday we will have a paperless office! Sure, it sounds simple. However, at the Washington State Attorney General’s Office, we found out that rarely are things as simple as they seem when it comes to eliminating paper. Although we are proud to report we have recognized a 22 percent reduction in paper since 2004, it is clear, we are far from paperless!

How did we get there? Many strategies. Not just one. Over the last several years, we implemented a number of operational changes that all contributed to our paper reduction results. The primary strategy was deploying a double-sided printing program. It seems easy enough. Just print double-sided-- or duplex if you want to get technical. But, double-sided printing isn’t always allowed in the legal world, and just how do you set your default so you don’t have to “switch” for every print job?

To read the answer, check out Cami’s complete entry. And to learn more about our sustainability work, click (but don’t print) this.

-Dan Sytman-