san francisco green business photographers - orange photography

We’re very proud of the fact that we were/are the first photography studio to earn the San Francisco Green Business designation from the City and County of San Francisco.  It’s been a value we’ve held as a company since we started and only when there was such a program did we move to get that designation.  Here in the Bay Area people are pretty progressive and can see past greenwashing efforts and that’s why we’re particularly proud of the San Francisco Green Business recognition since the program is known to have some of the toughest standards around.

When we first were applying, the program was still nascent and the city didn’t have enough auditors to keep up with demand so each time we were going to get reviewed we learned of new standards that we had to adhere to.  When we came upon our renewal time, we realized that more standards had been established or bolstered so we had to do even more to renew.  Overall though, that was a good thing as it kept us on our toes to keep improving the ways we can green our business.  Personally I love the LED lights we are always trying to use when the CFLs go out as they are super low power and the prices are slowly going down.
If you bought holiday lights recently, you’ve probably noticed how many LED lights that are available and they’ll last forever and stay nice and cool.  Definitely we love all the technological advances that are making staying and going green easier, but some of the most impactful things you can do are often the easiest.  Installing low flow aerators in your sinks is a big one to save on water, and unplugging chargers when they aren’t in use is also key (they drain power even when nothing is charging off them!)
A recent film we saw that we’ve blogged about but encourage you to see that’s related to the environment and the impact we all have on our earth is “Chasing Ice.”  It follow James Balog’s work and is a fantastic film.  On his website too there are actions you can take as an individual to help preserve our planet.
Here’s a favorite quote from another of my favorite photographers, Edward Burtynsky: “The only thing we can do tomorrow that is different from today is to manage what we are doing in a better way.  We happen to be very successful, and that may eventually be our undoing, because we are also very destructive.  We must learn to be more conscientious custodians of the resources that we have been given.”