Operationalizing Sustainability

Laura DiMario, Executive Director of Stanford’s Redwood City campus, has demonstrated how sustainability can be incorporated into the operations of a building. 

A recent switch in custodial service providers has flooded Stanford’s Redwood City Campus with opportunities for sustainable cleaning initiatives and has become a testing ground for two unique products. The first is an alternative to polyester cleaning wipes. The Redwood City campus has switched to using a biodegradable wipe that comes in a reusable container, allowing for refills of just the roll which reduces excess packaging. 

The second is an alternative to the traditional soap cartridges that are maintained by custodians in restrooms. The replacement of these soap cartridges generates hundreds of pounds of plastic waste each year. The new product being tested, from a company working to eliminate the use of single use plastics in sanitization, uses a foaming powder concentrate which reduces the need for replacement soap cartridges. 

Other waste reduction initiatives Laura has helped implemented with the custodial partners include removing plastic liners from wastebaskets in restrooms, being an early adopter of Stanford’s Zero Waste Building System, using Cardinal Clean to reduce packaging waste, and being an early leader in switching back to reusable items in cafes and food-service halls after the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Laura continues to find ways to operationalize sustainability - finding ways to save money, increase efficiencies, and reduce waste.