Your business activities can leave a big impression on the environment. Bring your environmental footprint down to size by following these strategies:
1. Use energy more efficiently. Start simple; turn off lights and equipment when they’re not being used. Next, hire a qualified professional to perform an energy audit of your business to target the most effective energy-saving measures. Upgrading water heating and HVAC systems are usually your best bets for improving the energy efficiency of your business.
2. Conserve water. It takes a lot of energy to heat the water used in your facility. By using less water, you’ll be helping to conserve two precious resources. Install water-efficient showerheads and faucet aerators. Reduce water temperatures to no more than 120°F and repair leaks quickly. If your facility has a high demand for hot water, consider heat recovery from waste fluids to heat or preheat water.
3. Reduce, reuse, recycle. Your environmental footprint goes beyond your walls. The materials and equipment used in your business are produced somewhere else and shipped to your location, all of which impacts the environment. Look for ways to use less; it could be something as simple as printing on both sides of the paper or preventive maintenance to extend equipment life. Establish a company-wide recycling program.
4. Travel smarter. Employees driving to and from work produce a substantial amount of air pollution. Encourage (or subsidize) employees to use public transportation or organize carpools and allow employees to work from home whenever possible. Minimize business travel through web conferencing, email and other low-emission communications. Use fleet vehicles only when needed and look for fuel-efficient models. Natural gas vehicles provide an efficient and cleaner burning alternative.
5. Near-source. All businesses require resources to function, whether it’s office supplies or raw materials for manufacturing. Transporting these resources to your door uses energy and creates emissions. Near-sourcing—using vendors close to your business—can reduce your environmental impact and may save you money as well.
6. Ship goods more efficiently. If your business delivers products, ship sustainably. Ground shipments, by rail or truck, are more fuel-efficient than shipping by air; fewer, large shipments will use less fuel than frequent light loads. If you don’t have enough goods for full shipments, consider teaming up with other local businesses.
In a competitive market, these and other sustainable measures can help make your business stand out from the crowd.
For additional ways to save money and energy, visit our dedicated small business rebates section here.
American households generate about 250 million tons of trash a year, an average of 4.4 pounds per person each day, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Much of this waste ends up in landfills, where it leads to a host of environmental problems.
What can you do to help? Start by finding ways to reduce waste in your own home. It’s not only good for the environment, but it might save you money as well. The following are some practical steps to take.
Reduce. The best way to start reducing waste is to avoid collecting things you don’t need. Ask yourself if you have the time for all of the newspapers, catalogs and magazines you subscribe to. Check out books from the local library instead of purchasing them. If you take a good look around your home and at your buying habits, you can probably find numerous things you can easily do without.
Reuse. Reusing items instead of throwing them away will substantially reduce your household waste. Old towels and clothing make great rags for cleaning. Wash and reuse glass and plastic jars, milk jugs and other containers. Look for other creative ways to make use of things that otherwise would end up in the trash.
Maintain and repair. Purchase quality furniture, clothing and appliances that will stand the test of time. Maintaining appliances and equipment according to manufacturer’s guidelines will help extend their life. Repair equipment and mend clothing, shoes, handbags and other household items whenever possible.
Minimize packaging. Buy items with little or no packaging, or with refillable containers. Purchase goods in bulk or in concentrated form — such as concentrated laundry detergent.
Recycle. Give old clothing and other household items in good condition to a local charitable organization. Recycle other items — such as newspapers or magazines — you can’t find a use for. If your community doesn’t have a recycling program, consider starting one.
Buy recycled. Close the loop by looking for products with recycled content, including glass, paper, metal and plastic. You can also find furniture, tools and building materials made from recycled products. Labels should indicate whether recycled content is pre-consumer or post-consumer. Pre-consumer is waste from a manufacturing process, whereas post-consumer waste is collected from recycling programs.
Conserve energy. Energy is a precious resource that shouldn’t be wasted. Little things can make a big difference. Turn off lights and electronics when they’re not in use and adjust the thermostat at night or when you are not at home. Consider installing solar water heaters or geothermal heat pumps that use renewable energy from the sun and earth.
What is diversity, equity and inclusion, and what does it mean to PSEG? Diversity, equity and inclusion are among our company’s Core Commitments, and we spoke with Janeen Johnson, PSEG’s enterprise DEI manager, to learn more.
What is DEI?
Johnson: The concept of DEI has three components: diversity, equity and inclusion. Diversity is about strategically creating opportunities across all demographics such as race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation and disability status. Inclusion is about creating experiences that cause people to feel empathy toward one another – reducing fear responses and enabling stronger teams, which bring innovation and invaluable insight. However, the most important component to me is equity. Equity is the process by which people experience a redistribution of access, opportunity and resources necessary to offset the impact of historical discrimination.
What is a DEI manager?
Johnson: As the enterprise DEI manager, I am responsible for developing strategies and facilitating programming that drive positive culture change and workplace behaviors.
Did you join PSEG originally to fill this role?
Johnson: No, in fact I started my career with PSEG as an executive assistant. I joined the PSEG family in March of 2014 as an employee of PSEG Long Island, which is the dedicated electric service provider to the people living on Long Island and the Rockaways in New York. As my professional interests evolved, the company’s tuition reimbursement program enabled me to pay for a diversity and inclusion professional certification from Cornell University. Later, when PSEG Long Island posted a full-time job opportunity for a newly defined DEI manager position, I applied for the role. It was a very competitive process, but thankfully, I was awarded the opportunity in November 2018. I served as the dedicated Long Island DEI resource for two years, and in November of 2020 I applied for the enterprise-wide DEI manager position.
What do you think separates PSEG’s company culture from other companies?
Johnson: PSEG’s commitment to DEI extends much deeper than performance metrics. It is built into our culture. Metrics are certainly important – without data, you don’t have accountability, and without accountability, you don’t have change. But while some companies are satisfied with simply meeting metrics compliant with Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity law, PSEG does not believe that is enough to attract top talent. Our approach starts at the interview level. We call this our “diverse candidate slate.” It’s about having applicants that represent the diverse communities we serve, but it’s also about having interviewers that represent those diverse communities. As our applicants get closer to the job offer from PSEG, they are seeing people who look like them, and are able to ask questions to ensure that they are presenting the best version of themselves in the interview process. We also embrace the fact that not everybody enters the workplace the same way. In a remote work environment, different people, especially those living with disabilities, have different needs. Our hiring managers are trained to ask candidates the questions that will enable us to provide them with the tools they need to get the job done starting on day one.
Come back soon for part two of our interview with Johnson when will talk more about what PSEG is doing to ensure that everyone has the best workplace experience; most common misconception about diversity, equity and inclusion; and whether or not DEI differs across generations.
March is Women’s History Month, what better way to celebrate than honoring women who have made significant contributions in history? Today, we are spotlighting a former Secretary of Energy and an engineer .
Hazel O’Leary– Prior to becoming the first African American woman to serve as the Secretary of Energy Hazel O’Leary led an impressive career in law. The honorable Hazel O’Leary attended Fisk University and the Rutgers School of Law, going on to become a New Jersey prosecutor and assistant attorney general. During President Carter’s time in office O’Leary served as assistant administrator for the Economic Regulatory Commission, general counsel of the Community Servies Administration, and an administrator for the Economic Regulatory Commission of the newly created Department of Energy. In 1993 O’Leary was nominated by President Clinton and became the seventh United States Secretary of Energy. During her term she encouraged the Clinton administration to end nuclear testing in the United States.
Beatrice Hicks– Using her educational background in chemical engineering, electrical engineering, and physics Hicks became the first woman engineer to be hired at Western Electric Company. Hicks pioneered in the theoretical study, analysis development and manufacturing of sensing devices. Hicks patented a molecular density scanner and developed an industry model for quality control procedures. In 1955, she was named president of Newark Controls, Inc., a company founded by her father that manufactured environmental sensing equipment that was later utilized in the space program. She was also chosen to be the first president of the recently organized Society of Women Engineers, consisting, at the time, of 60 members.
March is Women’s History Month, what better way to celebrate than honoring women who have made significant contributions in history? Today, we are spotlighting an award-winning inventor, biophysicist and respected innovator in solar energy and a scientist turned politician.
Mária Telkes– Maria was an award-winning inventor, biophysicist and respected innovator in solar energy. She was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1900 where she attended the University of Budapest earning a B.A and Ph.D in physical chemistry. Telkes later attended MIT where her focus was the practical uses and applications of solar energy. During World War II Telkes developed a solar distillation device that was included in emergency medical kits that helped save the lives of downed airmen and torpedoed soldiers. She also contributed to Solar One, a solar based home while working at the University of Delaware. Over the course of her career Telkes received many honors including the Society of Women Engineers Achievement Award and the Charles Greely Abbot Award from the International Solar Energy Society. In 2012 she was post-humously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame for her invention of Solar Thermal Storage Systems.
Dixy Lee Ray– Before becoming the first woman to be appointed to the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Dixy Lee (born Marguerite Ray) started her career in science by earning her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in zoology from Mills College in Oakland California. She later enrolled at Stanford University where she worked toward earning her doctorate in zoology. Following her graduation in 1945 she joined the faculty at the University of Washington where she stayed for 27 years. Ray moved to Washington D.C in August 1972 after being hand selected by President Richard Nixon to serve on the AEC. After the division of the AEC Ray became part of the Department of State and served as assistant secretary in charge of the Bureau of Oceans, International Environmental and Scientific Affairs. She resigned from her position in order to protest the lack of support from the Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger and returned to her home state. In 1977 she was elected governor of Washington.
When indoors the same principles apply to adding layers as if you were going outside braving the snow! Add a sweater, robe or your favorite hoodie for added insulation to increase your body heat!
2. Wear Thick Socks or Slippers
It is time to get your favorite pair of fuzzy socks or slippers out! They can help you remain warm while walking on cold floors! Once your feet are warm, the rest of your body will feel warm too!
3. Use the Oven and Stove for Cooking
Using your oven or stove will generate heat in your kitchen. This is why many people avoid using them in warmer months! For colder months, the opposite advice can be applied! These appliances can add extra warmth.
4. Leave the Oven Open After Baking
After baking in the winter, leave your oven open to let the hot air escape therefore adding heat to the room. USE CAUTION when pets or children are around. Do not use an oven as a primary source of heat. Burning natural gas for long periods can increase carbon monoxide levels in your home.
5. Enjoy a Cup of Soup
Hot meals can help you warm up from the inside out! There is nothing like a cup of soup on a cold day! If you make the soup from scratch, the simmering pot on the stove will generate heat in the kitchen!
6. Drink Warm Beverages
Your beverage choices can also help to warm you up! A nice cup of tea, hot cocoa, or coffee can warm you up immediately and a mug works as a great hand warmer!
7. Use a Humidifier
Running the heat during winter months tends to strip the indoor air of humidity, which is often a bit warmer than dry air. To balance this you can purchase a humidifier model that enables you to choose between warm or cold air.
8. Reverse the Ceiling Fan
As the weather drops, try changing your ceiling fan to #WinterMode to circulate warm air. The gentle updraft pushes warm air down, which naturally rises to the ceiling.
9. Stay Upstairs
If you have a second floor in your home, it might be a good idea to spend more time upstairs because hot air rises.
10. Get Active!
Even if it’s just a walk around the house or up and down the stairs, or even getting started on that home improvement project you’ve been meaning to do you can warm up real quickly when you’re moving around!
Some innovations, like Levi Strauss blue jeans, carry the names of their inventors. But many everyday objects were created by people who don’t get the recognition they deserve. Here are five devices we take for granted and the geniuses responsible for the technological advancements.
1. Ballpoint pen
Before your favorite writing utensil sat in a mug on your desk, inventor Laszlo Biro and his chemist brother, Gyorgy, created the ballpoint pen in the early 1900s. They experimented with a new type of ink and a ball-socket before settling on the design they received a patent for in 1938. Michael Bich, of the Bic company, purchased the patent in 1945, and the rest is history.
2. Scotch tape
After creating masking tape a few years earlier, Richard Gurley Drew created transparent adhesive tape in the 1920s. 3M marketed it as Scotch Brand Cellulose Tape, which can still be found in kitchen junk drawers around the world. But Drew didn’t stop there; he and his team also received patents for reflective sheeting for road signs, surgical and foam tapes, and electrical insulation.
3. Air conditioning
Though summer days seem almost unbearable without air conditioning, the technology didn’t exist until just over 100 years ago. Willis Carrier, the “Father of Air Conditioning,” found inspiration for his cool device on a foggy train platform in 1902. He realized he could dry air by passing it through water or add moisture to air, changing the humidity of a room. Later that year, he developed the concept for the world’s first modern air conditioning system.
4. QWERTY keyboard
Nineteenth-century typists initially had a much different keyboard than the one we know today. The letters were positioned alphabetically in two rows, which caused problems when nearby letters were hit in quick succession. Christopher Latham Sholes fixed that issue by arranging the letters around popular keys, and he received his patent for the first typewriter with a QWERTY keyboard in 1868.
5. Optical mouse
Though most computer functions are accessed with a mouse, not many stop to consider where the modern optical mouse came from. Richard Francis Lyon, who worked for Xerox at the time, developed a mouse that used both a light and light detector to direct a cursor. He demonstrated his light-sensing mouse in 1980, and others added to the technology to create the mice we use today.
The next time you search the web with a keyboard and mouse or adjust the temperature on your air conditioner, remember the inventors who spent lifetimes researching and developing the technology that makes our lives easier.
PSEG Long Island’s John C. mentors high school students via Zoom.
COVID-19 health and safety protocols have halted PSEG Long Island’s hands-on community service. However, thanks to technology, it hasn’t stopped two employees, John C. and Orlando M., from mentoring people across Long Island.
Even though National Mentoring Month is recognized in January, for John and Orlando, mentoring is a year ‘round endeavor. For about a decade John, who works in PSEG Long Island’s Power Markets organization and Orlando, part of the Power Asset Management group, have mentored special needs and “at risk” students, and special needs adults through Career Employment Options, or CEO Inc. Works (CEO), in Hauppauge. And they haven’t let the pandemic slow them down!
Through the use of virtual classrooms, video chat and online conferencing, the CEO programs have remained a relevant and crucial part of daily life for so many.
Orlando M. (left) and John C. meet with students at a high school career fair last year before the pandemic.
Now, rather than going into high schools, meeting face-to-face in “career labs”, everyone meets on Zoom. Gathering in groups of about a dozen, Orlando and John meet with their mentees to discuss future plans and goals, including college, vocational school, and careers after high school. However, with some students facing real barriers and serious life issues, career and college counseling sometimes can be more challenging.
“Some of these kids have been approached by or are in gangs looking to get out; others are being bullied or have anxiety issues,” shared John. “We serve as positive influences for these kids as we work with them through often-serious personal crises. One benefit of the virtual meetings is that it has allowed us to mentor younger students – freshmen and sophomores – along with upperclassmen, and follow them throughout their high school career.”
“The other great thing about virtual meetings is that we can meet during the school day and also in the evenings. We also offer them one-on-one sessions,” added Orlando. “We’ve been able to share so much with these students, including information on our Lineworker Academy, and that women can be lineworkers too. And we tell them about all the job opportunities available at PSEG Long Island – some that require college degrees and others that don’t. If my advice and feedback can help one person find his or her way, I’m happy.”
Orlando and John also mentor job-seeking adults through CEO’s “networking clubs.” This program provides resume-writing skills and help develop elevator pitches, while honing interview techniques through mock interviews.
—–
National Mentoring Month in January, was started in 2002.
Frigid weather might be here to stay, and you likely have been bundling up to keep your body heat in and the cold out. But, have you thought about if your home is appropriately “dressed” for winter?
Here are some ways you can help keep the heat in and your heating bills down throughout the winter with little to no cost.
Lower your thermostat by just one degree. You’ll hardly notice and this may reduce your heating bill by up to 3 percent. Save even more by lowering your thermostat 2 degrees during the day and 5 to 10 degrees at bedtime, if health conditions permit. Considering a programmable or smart thermostat to lower your thermostat automatically.
Everyone loves a cozy fire on cold days, but make sure to close fireplace dampers when you are not using it. This will help prevent warm air from escaping your home.
Ceiling fans aren’t just for the summer. In the winter, you want the ceiling fan to slowly spin clockwise to push the air upward towards the ceiling. This will circulate warm air near the ceiling down the walls and towards the occupants in the room.
Replace old windows. Replace old, drafty windows with new energy-efficient windows for added insulation and less heat loss.
Rearrange the room. Move furniture and drapes away from heating registers, radiators, and baseboard element covers. Open any register or baseboard dampers to allow for maximum heat.
Seal up your windows and door frames. Use weather stripping or caulk to seal up cracks and prevent drafts. While you’re at it, install draft stoppers beneath doors. You can get them at your local hardware or home improvement store. Also be sure to remove or cover window air conditioners to reduce drafts.
Safety first! Always wear the appropriate safety equipment for the job such as eye protection, gloves, and a mask to protect against dust. Also make sure to use your ladder safely. Remember to check your carbon monoxide and smoke detectors to make sure they are working properly – it could save a life.
Want to learn more ways to save money and energy? Visit the PSEG Long Island Home Energy Analyzer. There you can calculate the energy efficiency of your home and find out how to save energy and money on appliances and heating systems.
–Dan Eichhorn, President and COO, PSEG Long Island
PSEG Long Island has been proudly serving Long Island for seven years, carving out a strong track record of improving what matters for our 1.1 million customers. During Tropical Storm Isaias, we did not provide the experience our customers have come to expect. We own that mistake, and have been working nonstop since Isaias to resolve all of the issues our customers experienced.
I want to be crystal clear about something: We remain steadfast in our commitment to serving Long Island as evidenced by the significant improvements that we have made in our systems. I want to share some of this progress with you.
Telephone Systems
Since Tropical Storm Isaias in August we have made several improvements, including removing bottlenecks and increasing capacity of parts of the telephony solutions that caused the problems customers experienced during that storm.
We’ve made multiple design changes in concert with our vendors and our third party subject matter advisors. And we have conducted a series of tests along the way to validate the fixes.
We have now completed seven major tests on the telephony system. Tests included injecting 5,000 concurrent calls into the system. We held those calls for approximately 2 minutes each for a period of time. This represents a possible total call volume of approximately 150,000 calls per hour which exceeded the calls attempted during Isaias’ peak calling hour by 38 calls.
Second, we tested the connectivity to our on-premise call center. This is important because in a storm, if a customer needs to speak to a representative to inform us of what is known as a “wire down scenario,” we need to be sure that their call can get to our call center. We tested 575 concurrent calls under that scenario. Again, the system functioned properly in this test and without any delays.
We agree with LIPA that an end-to-end test is appropriate to confirm the results of these tests, and we expect to complete that test as expeditiously as possible in the next few weeks.
Outage Management System
The Outage Management System is being addressed in two parallel paths.
First, after Isaias we reverted the OMS software to the pre-storm version 5.5. In late August and early September a 90% Customer Outage test over a 24-hour period modeled after Super Storm Sandy was run. The results yielded valuable information on the limitation of OMS v5.5.
Since September the following actions have been taken to improve the current production OMS system:
On Jan. 24, 2021, we reran the 90% Customer Outage test. The results of this test were very positive. The core outage management system was stable throughout the test. The system remained usable throughout the entire test with transaction times slowing only during the peak periods of outages. The function of updating the outage map was able to scale to reflect 70% of the customer outages. This compared to only 12% in September’s test.
As noted already, we also plan to conduct an “end-to-end” test of the system, including not only telephony and digital channels, but also OMS in order to confirm these results and that the systems will operate as expected.
We have continuously improved our testing practices which will be incorporated into our annual testing plans.
Second, in addition to improving the current production version of OMS, we are following the recommendation of our OMS vendor to obtain new infrastructure for our OMS system so that we can re-implement the upgraded v6.7. Since the December board meeting the following activities have been completed or planned:
Ordered and started to receive hardware to re-platform the system.
We plan to follow lessons learned and only implement changes in production that have been thoroughly tested in the test environment.
Pursuant to our project plan, we expect to be able to begin testing the upgraded software in February, and to place that new version into production in April.
We intend to complete the testing and to make sure version 6.7 is re-implemented successfully and as expeditiously as possible.
We believe this “belt-and-suspenders” approach to the OMS – testing and improving version 5.5 while we upgrade to 6.7 on new hardware at the same time – is the best way to ensure that our OMS works properly during a major storm.
Contingency Plans
I cannot praise PSEG Long Island’s 2,500 employees enough for the tireless work they did during Isaias to continue restoration work despite the technological challenges. We have put significant effort into integrating the lessons we learned from their efforts, as well as input from other stakeholders, into an updated business continuity plan that addresses these scenarios.
We submitted this plan to LIPA and convened a team of more than 20 employees across the company to incorporate LIPA’s feedback. We functionally tested the revised plan this week and are making final edits and improvements and plan to resubmit it for LIPA’s review.
Continuous Improvement
The progress I just shared does not encompass everything PSEG Long Island has been doing to improve things for our customers. There were a total of 85 recommendations in the LIPA 30 and 90 day reports. LIPA requested these plans to be worked in a priority based on three tiers. All Tier 1 and Tier 2 plans have been submitted to LIPA. Tier 3 plans are currently being worked and are due to LIPA on Feb. 5, 2021. We will review LIPA’s feedback on these plans and work with our consultants and staff to address it as expeditiously and robustly as possible.
PSEG Long Island will never stop working to put the customer at the heart of everything we do. It’s part of our culture to find new ways to improve the experience for the people we serve. It’s what we have done for seven years, and our stumbles during one storm have not shaken us.
We deeply value our relationship with LIPA and with the people of Long Island. We remain firmly committed to providing the best service for Long Island that can be provided, for many years into the future.
