In NYS, it’s a very popular idea to go green, both in business practice and personally. With green on the mind, Leo’s Overhead Doors has already made strides towards more energy efficiency and environmental consciousness. We have looked into going solar, putting more greenery into our city property, and using products that are more environmentally friendly.

The garage door business is not one that the average person thinks of as a particularly green business when it comes to the use of parts, equipment, and supplies. Leo’s Overhead Doors wants to be the exception – taking into account the health and safety of both our workers and our clients. We have looked into the inventory and practices of our suppliers to determine suitable alternatives to traditional items we regularly use such as doors, lubricant, and parts. When possible, Leo’s orders doors and parts made in the USA, with companies that adhere to US standards and environmental practices. Our lubricant is specially ordered because it is free of methylene chloride (a known carcinogen and irritant that can cause all kinds of health problems, and is, unfortunately, found commonly in both industrial and residential settings). The green version we use will outlast regular oils, grease, and silicone, reducing long term waste, time, and money. We know that our job has everything to do with your safety, so we will spend a little more to ensure that what we use products that are held to a higher standard for the benefit of those we come in contact with. Personally, we don’t want toxic harsh chemicals and irritants around ourselves and our children, so why would we want it around our technicians and clients?

In addition, the solar power alternative system that we have looked into would have allowed us to both benefit from another source of power and give back to the grid any surplus power generated by the system during off-peak times. However, the cost was extremely significant to acquire the system, for a business in NYS, so we have to manage our resources so that we can fully implement the solar alternative within 3-5 years. This has become one of our long-term goals at Leo’s Overhead Doors.

In the meantime, another measure we have been taking towards being more green is growing more green – plants, that is. I ordered several kinds of plants, including trees, bushes, garden plants, and seeds that grow in our native zone 5, to plant in our previously unused back yard. So far, I’ve been able to use a very accessible and plentiful waste product (my pet goats’ droppings and bedding as composted fertilizer) to begin to grow a backyard nursery of plants that I hope will become beneficial to our employees here as a green, stress-reducing garden to take a break in. I’m hoping this measure will be a trend-setter among businesses who own or rent city lots, who have unused space outside that could be converted to greenery to benefit both the environment and city workers.

The first step is to let everyone know what we are doing to go greener in our everyday practices. I hope this blog entry has done just that. We here at Leo’s Overhead Doors are always looking at better ways to do more for our clients and employees, and get away from unnecessary chemicals and unnatural products, which is why we like the idea of going green. Although it may be slightly more research, work, and expense, it is well worth the results. We are able to ensure to our clients that we will not introduce harmful chemicals, we are more safety and health conscious, and overall, we aim for a higher business standard.