Check out our swanky new green logo!

Guess what! BARS+TONE is officially a Certified Green Business by the City of San Francisco and State of California! We couldn’t be happier to have received this certification, and so close to Earth Day.   At BARS+TONE we are constantly exploring ways to limit our eco-footprint by working to identify best practices, educate and empower our employees and clients to make more environmentally responsible choices from energy usage, to transportation and consumption of paper and other resources.   Here are a few things we are doing to help minimize our environmental impact while working and growing in San Francisco.

• Conserve energy by converting 80% of our incandescent and CFL lamps to LED lighting systems and continue to purchase Energy Star rated equipment and computers.
• Conserve natural resources by establishing a Commuter Benefits Program that enables employees to use a pre-tax deduction for public transit, vanpool, and biking costs. We also have bragging rights for winning the Great Race for Clean Air last year!
• Conserve water by undergoing facilities improvements to use low-flow toilets and water flow restrictors.
• Reduce waste by recycling, composting and using materials with 100% recycled content. As well as donate re-usable materials to local programs.
• Support other green and local businesses by making environmentally preferable purchasing decisions.
• Minimize paper waste by printing all marketing collateral on 50% post-consumer-recycled paper and using soy-based inks.
• Participating in a carbon offset programs.

Being a green business means more to us than just having a pretty green logo – it means we are helping to shape the world around us and working toward a better future for our industry.   Wondering how to get your business certified? Ask our GREEN Wizard questions in the comments below…

By Austin Allen

austin@bars-tone.com

@austin_SF

In this day and age, we hear all about “Going Green”. Some people don’t care; others are selling their cars in exchange for public transit and bicycles. But what are some ways to incorporate a green mentality into your marketing strategy? Green Marketing is the marketing of environmentally friendly products, such as Sprint and Samsung are doing with the Samsung Reclaim. What I want to discuss is how to reduce the footprint of your physical marketing efforts.

Buy Local.  I’m not talking about buying organic produce from the Farmer’s Market here! There are local printing companies and merchandise branding companies that would love to do business with other local businesses. Using companies out of state, region, or country contributes to the use of fossil fuel used in shipping. Small businesses like Mission Creek Printing right here in San Francisco offer extensive printing services. Not only does buying local cut down fuel consumption, but it is just better for your local economy.

Buy Eco.  Recycled paper and Soy Ink are better for the environment. Every year tons of paper is wasted and sent to landfills, and the ink that is printed on that paper pollutes waterways. If your business does a lot of marketing via paper products, consider switching to green paper and ink products. Greener Printer in Berkeley, CA specializes in green printing practices. Yes, they are more expensive than other online firms such as Vista Print, but the extra cost is worth the benefits to our environment.

Reduce waste. San Francisco has a Compost Collection program along with its trash and recycling services… This reduces waste that ends up in landfills; compostable materials are more useful when they are actually composted. A business can move towards greener marketing by using green materials and educating and encouraging consumers to dispose of the materials in a greener way as well.

Utilize technology.  This might seem like a no brainer. The amount of paper saved every year by using email and the internet to communicate and market a brand definitely outweighs the cost of electricity and e-waste that comes from throwing away computers every couple years (although you can recycle computers as well). Not only is online advertising becoming increasingly popular, but it is cheaper and more engaging than paper brochures that get mailed and thrown away consecutively. The web offers great advertising opportunities with paid search results and gives real-time analytics.

Market your efforts. If you are making an attempt to go green, go ahead and tell everyone. But, make sure you’re sincere. There are a lot of companies jumping on the green chic band wagon. If you are talking the talk and not walking the walk, people will call you out on it. Utilizing Green Marketing strategies will make other green businesses want to do business with you.  So it is actually a marketing strategy in itself to go green.

If you’re interested to see what BARS+TONE is doing to practice sustainability: read here.

What are you doing to reduce your marketing footprint?  Share your thoughts below.

By: Algy

rajith@bars-tone.com

Many video production agencies don’t realize how much waste is actually produced on set – from costumes to sets, food and film the industry is a huge contributor of waste.

At BARS+TONE we are constantly exploring ways to limit our eco-footprint by working to identify best practices, educate and empower our employees and clients to make more environmentally responsible choices.

Here are a few things we have done to help minimize the environmental impact while working and growing in San Francisco.

In Our Swanky Office

• Buy green office supplies and use cleaning agents low in VOC’s.
• Stock paper and office supply products with at least 50% post-consumer recycled content.
• Uses recycled or remanufactured toner cartridges and set all printers for low-res economy printing.
• Recycle all paper, cans, bottles, batteries, electronics, and donate usable electronics to local schools.
• Provide compost bins in the kitchen and restrooms.
• Use energy star qualified fluorescent lamps low in mercury in and around the office for lighting
• Use a water filter in place of bottled water and provide reusable plates, cups and cutlery instead of providing disposable products.
• Turn off all lights and unplug electronics at the end of each day.
• Efficient cloud based workflow systems for office operations, HR, and project management.
• Paperless invoicing and vendor payment system.

Set Locations and Production Shoots

• Use set construction “Green Resources” like TMAX – Theatre Materials Exchange to donate and receive theatre-related materials and equipment.
• Invest in energy-efficient equipment and use LED’s where possible for shoots.
• Use recycled paints and sealants with a green seal certification for set construction.
• Donate re-usable materials like art supplies, props, signage and promotional items to local programs like SCRAP
• Setup the shoot location with recycling, compost, and waste bins to reduce waste, and control litter.
• Use a water cooler in place of bottled water and provide biodegradable plates and cups for the crew
• Serve organic and locally catered food.
• Donate leftover food to the homeless.

To learn more about how to green your business practices, check out the SF Green Business website!

What actions are you taking to go green?

By: Jason Burns

jason@bars-tone.com

Do you think that the world could and should be a better place? That people should be helpful to each other and assist the less fortunate all in the name of being a better person, corporation or business? Well, we here at BARS+TONE share those same sentiments. As a company we are constantly in search of ways for us to give back to the community organizations that make this city so great. Most recently, we worked on a pro-bono video project for the Clinic by the Bay, a Volunteer in Medicine Clinic located in the Excelsior District that provides free health care to working, uninsured adults in parts of San Francisco and Daly City.

You might be asking yourself how you can help out – and the answer to that question is easy. Donate your time, money or even bring up the topic of social responsibility in a casual conversation with friends. Check out the Clinic by the Bay website for more information, or to make a donation. The point is, the world can be a crazy and dangerous place, and we all need a little help sometimes. Build some good karma and donate today!

We recently had the students of Mount Diablo High School’s Digital Safari Academy in for a company visit. The students are extremely passionate about video and digital media, and it was a refreshing experience to see what the future of this industry has in store for us.

Rather than do a boring office tour, we decided to put a real project in their hands to see what they can do with it. We took an actual creative brief from a client and walked the students through the steps of production from concept development, to shoot schedules and lastly the tactical marketing strategy behind seeding their campaign. It was such a blast and we’re looking forward to next year!

By: David McGinn

david@bars-tone.com

This week I had the heart-warming experience of attending the Safeway Kick-off celebration for the Easter Seals Autism Awareness Month at their grocery store location in Alameda.  I was there with producer Jason Burns and technician David Goodin to collect some material for a video BARS+TONE is producing on behalf of the Easter Seals Bay Area. The video will help raise the awareness of Autism and highlight the worthy cause of the Easter Seals and the positive impact that they have made on so many people’s lives.

The event was humbling, inspiring and sublime… There was a Police Escort led by the Alameda Chief of Police, Michael Noonan.  There were children from the Easter Seals Child Development Center singing songs, there were celebrities and sports-stars and there were some really amazing people in attendance!

There was Safeway Executive Vice President and Safeway Foundation Chair, Laree Renda , who was the host of the event and who has helped to raise HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of dollars for groups such as The Easter Seals, The Special Olympics, the Muscular Dystrophy Association and for Cancer Research.

And there was Easter Seals President and Chief Executive Officer James E. Williams, Jr., and Vice President and Chief Financial Officer,  Anne Swinney  and CEO Michael Pelfini of Easter Seals Bay Area…

There were Chris Winston and Kristine Templin who develop partnerships with corporations to raise money for the Special Olympics.  There was KTVU Sports Anchor Joe Fonzi and KNBR Sports Talk Show Host Brian Murphy…

And Cathy Rigby – Women’s Gymnastics Hall-of-Famer, who helped bring Gymnastics to the forefront of women’s  sports in the US through her achievements in the 1968 Summer Olympics and in the 1970 World Championships. Cathy is probably just as famous for her leading role with a Tony nominated performance in the hit musical “Peter Pan” on Broadway.

Jason Romero and Brandy Chastain

And there was Brandi Chastain… The Olympic and World Cup Soccer Legend who scored the winning penalty shot in the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Championship in one of the greatest moments in sports history and tore off her shirt in an unforgettable act of victory and pure awesomeness.   In 2005, Brandi founded the Bay Area Women’s Sports Initiative or BAWSI which “creates programs and partnerships through which women athletes bring health, hope and wholeness to our community.” It’s pronounced “bossy” which is awesome.

During Brandi’s address to the forum at hand, she said that she is a solutions person… that there might be people in the world who call out what is wrong and what is not working; however, it is the people who take charge and who act to make a positive difference that are the people with whom she wants to associate –Spoken like a true champion.

But the real stars of the event were some of the employees of Safeway who were there that have been diagnosed as having “disabilities” in one form or another.  These employees shared their stories of overcoming loneliness and isolation and moving on to participating in life and joining a network of people that is inclusive, helpful, caring and focused on improvement. I didn’t see any disabilities in these people.  I saw smiling faces, stories of triumph, achievement, gratitude and empowerment.  They gave me a new perspective and made me thankful for the goodness of humanity.

For example, a beaming Special Olympian, Jason Romero, carried the Special Olympic Torch across the last leg of a relay marathon to hand-deliver the “Flame of Hope” to the event.  He was accompanied by the aforementioned police escort and several other members of the Alameda Police Department, which was a very big deal.

Then there was the bag-packing challenge where CEO’s and sports super-stars were completely and utterly schooled by the tenacity and prowess of these, very special, competent and confident Safeway employees.

Safeway is one of the nation’s largest employers of people with disabilities and has raised more than $112 million for Easter Seals.  They have a goal right now to beat last year’s amount of funds raised and YOU CAN HELP.

The next time you are checking out at the grocery store and you see a request for a donation to a worthy cause, take a moment and DONATE.  Look to the friendly and capable person who is bagging your groceries.  The person who, after packing your groceries, will ask you if you need help getting out to your car… Look to them and see their bright eyes and smiling face, and understand that they just might have had to overcome some of the most difficult challenges that life can throw at anyone.  Look at them and know that there are families that need help.  Give that person a warm “Thank You” and DONATE TO THE WORTHY CAUSE.  Be it the Easter Seals, The Special Olympics, the Muscular Dystrophy Association and/or BAWSI; understand that these organizations have helped so many people and their families work through and overcome some profound difficulties.  These organizations have helped people who have been diagnosed with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, and other severe developmental conditions to get the care and treatment they need.  They have helped empower people who were born with Down Syndrome and other physical afflictions to lead more independent and fuller lives.

Give. Every little bit helps.  Just take a moment, donate and look… You will see your charity in action.