Hargrove Green Initiatives

Highlights


Shift to 100% Recyclable and 100% Biodegradable Materials

Hargrove has made a departure from industry standard materials in favor of others that offer comparable quality and durability, without damaging the environment. This year, Hargrove will contribute an estimated 200,000 square feet less flat signage and substrate to landfill waste.


Energy Conservation at Work

Hargrove made several modifications to its building, from tinting windows in offices to installing enormous fans in the warehouse for air circulation. In addition, employees have committed to a long list of new habits like turning off computers overnight and lights in restrooms and copy rooms when they are not in use.

As a result of these and other efforts, Hargrove has:
  • Reduced Electricity Usage by 23% this year
  • Reduced Heating Fuel Usage by 57% this year
  • Reduced Water Usage by 38% this July over last year

Office Recycling

  • Paper
  • Batteries
  • Cell phones
  • Computers
  • Fluorescent tubes and ballasts
  • Glass, aluminum cans and plastic
  • Printers
  • Toner cartridges

Proactive Purchasing Practices

In addition to recycling what we use, our purchasing department seeks out vendors and suppliers who provide recycled, remanufactured, non-toxic or biodegradable office and building supplies and materials. We have found that these materials, if purchased as a standard practice, cost little if any more than the industry standards.

Fuel Efficient Fleet

Hargrove maintains a fleet of late-model vehicles, mindful of the greater fuel efficiency and conservation it provides. In addition, while complying with the local facility operating codes for vehicles nationwide, Hargrove is able to fuel 75% of the forklifts and other show site vehicles with LP natural gas (propane) as opposed to gasoline. Within the Washington, DC, area, Hargrove uses 90% propane fuel.

Promoting Paper-Free

By aggressively promoting and enhancing our online ordering options, Hargrove has reduced the number of exhibitor service kits printed each year. Last year, 45% of show managers selected a web-only version. We now offer all show kits in PDF form as a standard practice (CD_ROM is also an option), and the demand for paper show kits is down significantly.

Modular Elements

Temporary and rental structures from the Hargrove Modular System (HMS) are comprised of AGAM recycled aluminum elements and eco-friendly substrates. Each is recycled in turn at the end of its useful life.

Carpet

Hargrove recycles 100% of all carpet through an arrangement with a vendor who makes the recycled material available for consumer products manufacturing. This program has completely eliminated landfill waste from this business unit.

School Re-Use Programs

In addition to its larger recycling programs, Hargrove also has a program that makes excess wood, cloth and substrate materials available at no cost to schools in the Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC, area for art and shop projects.

Clearing the Air

Hargrove operates a “reclaimer” that recycles 92% of all the solvents the company uses. The machine processes the chemicals allowing the solvent to be reused and not released into the environment.