GP member

GP: How green is your business - what green business practices do you embrace?

CAE: Not green enough. I've done some big things around the home (I have a home-office), but most of the progress has been with the little things. We reuse and recycle everything we can. We also try to use packaging that can be used again, for instance we have our own custom reusable shopping bags for delivering products to clients and simplified our packaging components. Less items means less waste. Our most important business practice is our on-going effort to create a paperless office. We do not print brochures, rate sheets, faq's, questionnaires or anything like that, they are all delivered digitally. All magazine subscriptions have been cancelled, all bills have been requested to be delivered digitally, and all items that were previously in our filing cabinet are now scanned and stored in our digital filing cabinet. We are still in the process of converting all of our archived documents to digital format, but we are getting there. Our one current hold up on going all paperless is a digital contract, it will come soon though.

GP: How green are your products - what green products/components do you offer?
CAE: We use many products from Cypress Albums. Cypress is a very green company and they produce our favorite products. Our lab is American Color Imaging and while they haven't fully embraced going green they are making baby steps. They do allow shipping via USPS since they already come to our door everyday that is less gas for delivery. They are also located in our are of the country, so again less gas for delivery. I hope to see them continue their progress. Those are our main two vendors, we try to keep our product offerings simple.

GP: Why did you choose to offer green products and implement green business practices?
CAE: I chose to implement green business practices because I feel it is the responsible thing to do. We all need to do our part even if it's just a little bit, it all adds up. I think it's also a very important trait to teach our children.

GP: How has offering green products and implementing green business practices affected your company?
CAE: Because I haven't really announced our plan to go green to the public I don't feel it has had much impact fiscally through customer approval. Internally however being green is just good for the conscience and by streamlining everything into a paperless office as well as scaling back packaging efforts we have saved the business money and time. There is less ordering of items, less waste, less time spent looking for things and packaging things. The paperless office allows for off-site back-ups and easy reference to all pertinent materials. Internet access to digital files for the business allows customers to have our information at their fingertips as long as they have internet. This client communication is a great way to keep your client informed and saves time answering the plethora of questions that are sure to arise.

GP: What are your hopes for a greener photographic industry?
CAE I hope that not just in the industry but in life people will take responsibility and do the little things. As individuals begin to make a difference I think that corporations (our vendors) will as well and it's a snowball effect that we can only benefit from.

GP: What is your favorite eco website or eco-product that we may not have heard of?
CAE: I honestly do not have a favorite eco website, but my favorite product are those by Cypress Albums!

Thanks so much to Cory Ann Ellis of AC Ellis Inc. for taking the time to answer our questions!  If you have an idea for a Spotlight feature or interview, let us know!

GP: How green is your business - what green business practices do you embrace?

LDV: We are Austin's first 'Green' wedding photography studio and are certified carbon neutral. We’re a big proponent of reduce, reuse, recycle. With the exception of our photo contracts & bank statements (I’m a bit old school about having a hard copy on these) we are a paper free studio. Reducing our energy use is something we deal with on a daily basis so we turn off computers when not in use, use CF lights, subscribe to Austin Energy’s green energy program, and carpool with our team when traveling to weddings. And we also compost, that may not seem very sexy but we have a nice little vegetable garden in the back which loves the compost we give it. We also reuse all our incoming packaging materials. Buying used equipment is important to us and we love the maha PowerX rechargeable batteries! We also offer complete wedding carbon off-sets to all our clients. Our dream is to offset the entire carbon footprint of each of our clients’ weddings starting sometime in early 2010.

GP: How green are your products - what green products/components do you offer?

LDV: I am a big fan of Cypress Albums & the Couture Earth line. Both have a small carbon footprint and use either recycled components or renewable resources. Cypress albums are meticulously hand assembled and bound here in the USA with amazing book binding fabrics and natural acid free papers. The Couture Books Earth line is made with 100% post consumer recycled paper plus they’re green–e certified and carbon neutral. We also recommend Pro-dpi, they are certified carbon neutral and offer prints on green and eco papers!

GP: Why did you choose to offer green products and implement green business practices?

LDV: It was the realization that the world my daughter saw through her eyes was not the same as the world I had seen as a child. It was somehow diminished, lessened even. This moved me deeply because I wanted her to have the same memories of nature I had. I decided I had to do what I could to bring more awareness to the current environmental situation and being a business owner my primary audience are my clients. Deciding how & where you spend your money is a very powerful way to cast your ecological ballot. So I got to work researching green album vendors, printers, etc. while doing what I could to make our studio more sustainable. We work actively to impart our green philosophy to our clients and fellow photographers.

GP: How has offering green products and implementing green business practices affected your company?

LDV: It has certainly re-inspired me as a businesswoman and a photographer. I’ve been able to marry my passion for photography and the environment under the umbrella of La Dolce Vita Photography. Plus I’ve gotten to meet some great eco minded couples who share my passion and that has made my connection with them as my clients, more profound. I’ve also met a lot of amazing people in the wedding industry who are as committed to bringing sustainability into the products & services they offer. It’s been a truly heart opening experience. The right clients always seem to find me. We’ve included information about our green practices in our marketing materials so some couples just hone in on it. One of my favorite success story we’ve had was an environmentally-conscious couple who came to La Dolce Vita because of our green photography ethic. Once they learned about the possibilities, they were able to experience a completely carbon neutral wedding. The couple registered at a non-profit organization where guests go online and in lieu of gifts purchase packages to donate to various charitable causes.  The bride’s wedding dress was second-hand, the rings were recycled, the food was locally grown and organic, and the center pieces were succulent arrangements that the guests could take home and replant in their yards. Lastly, the couple carbon offset their wedding through carbonfund.org by calculating their carbon footprint and mitigating that amount by donating money to green projects, like reforestation. The wedding was delightful and the couple was thrilled to have us on board helping them create the eco friendly wedding of their dreams.

GP: What are your hopes for a greener photographic industry?

LDV: My hopes would be that the green photography movement inspires photographers to examine their impact on the environment and that this awareness spills over into their day to day lives. It would make a huge impact if every photographer who aspired to be more eco friendly took one step to green their studio, even if it was as simple as using warm CF bulbs or plugging  studio equipment into a smart power strip (http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/12/smart_power_str.php). Lets be bold and continue to seek out & ask for new innovative solutions to minimizing our industries cumulative impact on the environment.

GP: What is your favorite eco website or eco-product that we may not have heard of?

LDV: You probably have heard of SIGG bottles before but you may not know that you can create your own customized SIGG bottle at cafepress.com. I love this as an idea for a cool & eco friendly studio promo gift. SIGG bottles are lightweight and reusable plus they are made out of aluminum, not plastic, so in 10 years when you’re done with your bottle you can recycle it! As a mom they are particularly attractive to me because I don’t have to worry about phthalates or BPA leaking into my kiddos drink not to mention the huge amount of waste associated with disposable bottles. Plus they’re designed in Switzerland ;) To learn more got to: mysigg.com