SOLAR PRODUCTION222.7MWh OF CLEAN ENERGY
13,880 YTD
EQUIVALENT TO 182.6 TONS OF CARBON OFFSET
11,381 YTD
EQUIVALENT TO $24,627 DOLLARS SAVED
$1,535,111 YTD
EQUIVALENT TO 405,254 MILES NOT DRIVEN
25,261,319 YTD
“I’m no artist – I’m a better mechanic,” says Brian Johnson. As a facilities engineer at Macy’s in Walla Walla, Washington, Johnson gets a chance to do both. On a daily basis, keeping the facility energy-efficient is at the forefront of his goals. And while he claims not to be an artist, Johnson is constantly finding creative ways to repurpose things. “I’m moving away from disposables,” he says. “We only have one planet and one environment. Instead of disposing of something, I like to find a new use for it and give it new life.”
He’s certainly found a creative way to repurpose paper. He converts it into logs for use in wood-burning stoves and fireplaces. We’re all familiar with the idea of using paper to help start a fire, but this is something different. Johnson actually creates logs with a burn time much closer to wood.
He got the idea when he spotted a log press in a catalog. It appealed to him, and he also saw it as a great way to keep paper out of the landfill, so he ordered the press. “I saw a lot of environmental benefits, actually,” he says. “It provides heat for the home, reduces the need for fossil fuels like heating oil, natural gas, and propane, and it reduces the need for trees to be harvested for burning wood.”
After the paper cures for six months, he shreds it and then saturates it with water. The wet paper adheres to itself, which makes it easy to form into logs like these. He then places the logs in the log press to increase density and lengthen burn time. “It takes a lot of strength to press the logs,” he says, but the end result is worth the effort.
Even the ash resulting from the burned paper logs gets put to good use – Johnson mixes it into the soil in his family’s large vegetable garden, which includes tomatoes, basil, peppers, and much more. “The garden typically has a pretty large yield,” says Johnson. “Food for our family, our friends, our neighbors – we create enough food to feed everybody.”
“I’m focused on being self-sustaining,” says Johnson. “I like to ask “What do I have and how can I use it?”
Do you have a creative repurpose solution? Share it with us!
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Following up on the success of Earth Week events, our MCCS West Go Green ERG finds a new way to engage Associates in living green.
VIEW ARTICLESee how David Cruz and other Macy’s Associates around Washington D.C. rolled up their sleeves to clean up a Virginia park.
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VIEW ARTICLESee how Bloomingdale’s Associate Pamela DeSanto leads recycling and waste reduction efforts at our San Diego store.
VIEW ARTICLEMore than 100 entries. Nearly 10,000 votes. Get in on the fun – and meet our contest winners!
VIEW ARTICLEMacy’s Associate Jennifer McCloud helps reduce, reuse and recycle at home and at Macy’s, Inc. offices.
VIEW ARTICLEIn our first guest post, Macy’s Associate Linda Akhavein talks about a lifestyle change she’s made and she’s learned
VIEW ARTICLEYou shared your great ideas for going green, and we’ve collected our favorites here for you!
VIEW ARTICLEPeggy Blake fights for a greener world, using both her personal and professional commitments.
VIEW ARTICLETell us your bright idea for living a greener life. Share your best tip for a chance to win!
VIEW ARTICLEFind out how Macy’s associate Chrissy Bellucci inspires sustainability in her family.
VIEW ARTICLEGo behind the scenes at the highly anticipated Macy's Credit and Customer Service annual trashion show.
VIEW ARTICLEDozens of entries and thousands of votes – see the winning designs and meet the winners!
VIEW ARTICLEDiana Russo offers smart tips for successful, sustainable container gardening in this Macy’s Green Living Associate Spotlight.
VIEW ARTICLEAwareness is the first step in making a change – see how one Macy’s associate is changing the world by changing what she eats.
VIEW ARTICLEMeet the Winners of our Are You Smarter than Our Sustainability Contest!
VIEW ARTICLEWe know you love Green Living – and living green! And now we want to know more about what you love and what you want to read about on our site.
VIEW ARTICLEEvery little bit helps when it comes to recycling – see how recycling champion Mindy Rulli makes a big difference!
VIEW ARTICLEWe asked you to share photos of your farmers market haul, and you responded with dozens of creative photos showing how you shop your farmers market and what you brought home. Here are the winners!
VIEW ARTICLEHuman Resources Administrator Janet Saunders has an innovative way to upcycle single-use plastic bags into a sustainable product.
VIEW ARTICLEAn intern leaves a lasting impression in sustainability at Macy’s. See what he did.
VIEW ARTICLEPaperless meetings. Reusable coffee cups. See what else happened when Barbara Harmon took the Executive Go Green Challenge!
VIEW ARTICLEDuring Earth Week we asked everyone to share photos of themselves enjoying the environment, then vote on favorites. Here are the winners!
VIEW ARTICLESamuel Brosen is no stranger to Green Living. In fact, he's a member of our Green Living Committee, so we wanted to get a deeper understanding of what makes him so passionate about sustainability.
VIEW ARTICLEBased on Darline’s creative response and background (she studied Environmental Science and Policy!), we couldn’t help but reach out to learn more.
VIEW ARTICLEDuring Earth Week 2015, we received a great selection of entries for our RE-Think contest; while three winners were chosen, we simply couldn’t stop the recognition there.
VIEW ARTICLEEarlier this year, our MCOM team in San Francisco had the opportunity to tour an Artist in Residence at Recology – where artists take part in a program to make art out of, well … trash.
VIEW ARTICLETo celebrate October’s Energy Awareness Month, we ran a contest simply asking, “What’s your bright idea?” Well, we’re very pleased with the results and happy to share our winners, selected at random, from both categories – home and office.
VIEW ARTICLEDue to amazing participation from our RE-Think contest, we reached out to a select few whose submissions earned special recognition. One of those submissions was from Arlene Greenberg.
VIEW ARTICLEFor Earth Week we called for all Macy's associates to enter their suggestions for the most creative ways to reduce, reuse and recycle. We were overwhelmed with the responses, and now we're ready to announce the winners YOU picked!
VIEW ARTICLEWe asked associates around Macy’s why they go green. We all have a reason for going green and sometimes those reasons are more personal than we realize. Watch our video to see why we go green. Maybe we have the same reasons as you.
VIEW ARTICLEAll April, we’ll be working to promote Macy's Green Living in preparation for Earth Week. And from Monday April 20 through Friday April 24, a rich collection of sustainable events will be held in Macy’s locations all across America.
VIEW ARTICLEWhen winter weather hit New York, a colleague complimented Dan Pasky on his scarf in passing. It turns out he actually wove his scarf out of old T-shirt scraps – and that only scrapes the surface of Dan's sustainable craft-work.
VIEW ARTICLEMore than 300 MMG associates celebrated their commitment and passion for sustainability with their second annual Green Fest. Find out what their Fest entailed.
VIEW ARTICLESPACE’s Rob Hancock teaches us a valuable lesson through his home rebuild. It’s easy to feel like everything is disposable in this modern age, even buildings, but respecting the structure that shelters us, even in demolition, is truly sustainable.
VIEW ARTICLEMacy's associate Paul Deyden isn’t really a green crusader, at least not by traditional standards, but he may be the most sustainably-conscious person you’ll meet.
VIEW ARTICLEMacy’s volunteers made quite the impression at one Florida zoo, breaking the record for the single largest group of volunteers. Social responsibility and sustainability? Double Check.
VIEW ARTICLEJust because we keep some lights on 24/7 doesn’t mean we can’t also find a way to save energy at the same time.
VIEW ARTICLEEvery Macy’s, Inc. associate is challenged to think green and be more sustainable. Sometimes they go above and beyond the challenge and start setting examples.
VIEW ARTICLEMacy’s Credit and Customer Services have established Eco Centers, and their sustainability success is contagious. Other departments take note.
VIEW ARTICLEThe Land Trust has a mission to conserve Long Island’s working farms, natural land and heritage for future generations, and they’re letting Macy’s associates in on it.
VIEW ARTICLELooking for inspiration on your green journey? You’ll find it in these dedicated recyclers and sustainability stars at Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s.
VIEW ARTICLEIn conjunction with recycling, Macy’s has taken on composting as well. Much like composted food, no effort is wasted when it comes to being more sustainable.
VIEW ARTICLEMacy’s Systems & Technologies (MST) and Macy’s Logistics and Operation teams are doing some innovative things to reduce the waste stream and recycle – and some of the materials getting recycled may surprise you.
VIEW ARTICLEIncentives are an important part of building Macy’s credit business. Thanks to some creative thinking from Macy’s Credit, the incentives have gone green.
VIEW ARTICLEA simple suggestion to liven up the St. Louis call center led to hundreds of flowering plants, a boost in office morale and multiple meanings of “going green.”
VIEW ARTICLEChic recyclable shopping totes, new water boxes, sustainable fashions at the Outlets, and a new solar installation: Bloomingdale’s is lucky to have a laundry list of its latest sustainability accomplishments.
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