Reducing Environmental Impact
Intel must be creative in how to manage, recycle, and re-use a diverse range of waste from manufacturing waste to construction waste, food waste, and everything in between. Taimur Burki, Intel’s Global Green Building and Waste Program Manager, says that it’s important to determine how to manage this waste responsibly so we don’t just leave issues for future generations. For example, the employee cafes at Intel are a great success story. Thousands of Intel employees now use reusable plates, forks, and cups daily instead of disposable paper. Intel also purchases sustainably grown and local food where possible – up to 30 percent of the food served in their cafes is sustainably and locally grown.
Transcript
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At Intel, we have manufacturing waste, office waste, food waste to construction waste and everything in between. Because of this diverse range of wastes, we had to become very creative on how we manage them, how to recycle them, how to reuse them. It's one of the most important things to try to figure out what to do with things responsibly. We can't leave issues for future generations.
The cafe is an amazing success story, and we looked at like, wow, we've got over 12 huge cafes and thousands of people using them every day, with all those paper plates, cups, et cetera. And we said, you know, what if we just go straight to reusables? We got reusable plates, cups, knives, forks, et cetera, but also purchase sustainable and local foods where we can. We're already up to 30% of the food in the cafe sustainably and locally grown.
If you want to make an impact, you've got to be willing to get dirty. Go wander around, go look at things, go climb on dumpsters, go see things. And ask the question, what if I do something else with it? Why is it a waste? What else can be done with it? Because there's so many things you see people throw away that other people can use that you could do something fabulous with.
I've worked for Intel for 22 years. I am so proud to have worked for a company that has cared and is driving environmental improvements. Don't do what's easy, do what is going to make an impact.
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