Green Guides’ Tip - Recycling is easy and everyone can participate. Almost everything is recyclable these days: paper, cans, bottles, ink cartridges, computers, cell phones, office furniture etc. You can get involved by contacting your local or state recycling organization to start a recycling program, and by purchasing recycled products.

A slew of valuable information is available about sustainable design,
practices, standards, trends, products, conferences, workshops, etc., at the sites below.

U.S. Green Building Council
http://www.usgbc.org/

Comprising the nation's foremost coalition of experts from all segments of the design and construction industry, the Council works to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable, and healthy places to live and work.  Members developed the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)® Green Building Rating System(r), a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings.

Green Guide for Health Care
http://www.gghc.org/about.cfm

The Green Guide for Health Care provides the healthcare sector with a voluntary, self-certifying metric "toolkit" of best practices that designers, owners, and operators can use to guide and evaluate their progress towards high performance healing environments. This sustainable design toolkit integrates enhanced environmental and health principles and practices into the planning, design, construction, operations and maintenance of healthcare facilities.

Federal ENERGY STAR Program
http://www.alside.com/windows/estar.htm

ENERGY STAR(r) is a partnership among the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the fenestration industry.  It is designed to assist consumers in the recognition of energy efficient products and promote the environmental and economic benefits of these products with the ENERGY STAR(r) label and other program activities. Consumer products (such as major appliances) receive the ENERGY STAR(r) label when they exceed minimum federal energy consumption standards.

Earth Day Network
http://earthday.org/