Contact Center Solutions Featured Article

May 06, 2008

A Look At A "Green" Call Center

By Tracey E. Schelmetic


Outsourced call center services provider Ryla, Inc. recently announced the kickoff of its “Green Strategy,” by leveraging heightened environmental awareness to reveal its ongoing and upcoming plans for improving its eco (News - Alert)-imprint by implementing true sustainability initiatives.
 
Ryla’s CEO, Mark Wilson, is passionate about Ryla’s initiatives. “Environmental responsibility is part of doing business. Woven into our priorities for growth and market leadership is Ryla’s passion for conservation awareness and action. We believe we can make a meaningful impact on the environment and in inspiring others to join in with like efforts.”
 
Ryla’s most extensive and perhaps most visible earth-friendly undertaking is in the works as upgrades are made to flooring at Ryla’s Kennesaw headquarters campus with the help of LaGrange, Georgia-based InterfaceFLOR.
 
The following are elements of the company’s initiatives:
 
  • Recycling of 4,800 yards of old broadloom removed from Ryla’s location using InterfaceFLOR’s new technology, Cool Blue.
  • The total recycled content for the InterfaceFLOR products used in the recent renovation, ranges from 39 to 49 percent per product, all of which is pre-consumer/post industrial materials.
  • Utilization of InterfaceFLOR’s patent-pending no-glue installation process materials called TacTile.
  • Environmental impact certification: By reusing post-consumer materials and recycling removed materials, Ryla’s project will divert 45,600 pounds of carpet from landfills.
 
According to Ryla’s release, in the U.S. alone during 2005, more than five billion pounds of carpeting alone was discarded, mostly into landfills. Such statistics illuminate the significance of earth-friendly projects such as Ryla’s flooring upgrade.
 
"Because sustainability is ingrained in all we do at InterfaceFLOR, it is great to work with a company such as Ryla who shows their true commitment to sustainable initiatives. They do more than just talk about change. They are turning their words into actions and are showing profound results," said George Bandy, InterfaceFLOR VP of Diversity and Sustainability Strategies.
 
InterfaceFLOR, LLC, a provider of modular carpet, is focused on what it calls a Mission Zero promise to eliminate any negative environmental impact the company may have by the year 2020.
 
Ryla’s Green initiatives reach across the entire organization. According to the company, embracing an Earth-friendly attitude doesn’t have a line itemed financial impact, but putting that attitude into actions does. Many midsize companies do not choose to take this on. Ryla’s strategic plan is based on the belief that ignoring environmental concerns today jeopardize our future resources and our ability to afford to use them.
 
“Many companies of our size shy from using materials and processes that conserve and preserve our resources due to cost concerns. However, we actively look for ways we can do both – maintain a healthy focus on the bottom line while considering our eco-imprint in our decision-making. With more of our clients going green, we view the added hard costs as a competitive differentiator as well as an investment in our future environment,” states Karen Clay, Ryla’s VP of Marketing.
 
Ryla Green initiatives include the following:
 
  • Campus-wide Earth Day education.
  • Green vendor initiative to seek out and use Earth-friendly companies across Ryla such as cutting down on paper usage and using “green” cleaning products in their facilities.
  • Marketing materials that are developed using recycled materials, non-toxic inks and glues and earth-friendly vendors wherever feasible. Ryla’s collateral is eligible to bear the earth-friendly FSC certification.
  • Creation of improved riding sharing programs with the assistance and expertise of CobbRides gives employees the ability to easily make carpooling arrangements. This also gives Ryla the ability to heighten its use of CobbRides’ vanpooling program.
  • Membership in Businesses for Social Responsibility (www.bsr.org) and participation in upcoming events that specifically address environmental sustainability and assist other organizations in implementing their own initiatives.
 
For more information, visit www.ryla.com.
 
Tracey Schelmetic is Editorial Director for Customer Interaction Solutions magazine, and covers the customer relationship management and call center industries for TMCnet. To read more of Tracey’s articles, please visit her columnist page. She also blogs for TMCnet here.
 


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