We’re delighted to have as guest bloggers today our friends at Conservation International. Read on to learn more about our partnership to protect the Sovi Basin and how you too can help Conservation International protect rainforests around the world.

The more than 300 islands that comprise the nation of Fiji are a true biological wonder.  Dramatic volcanic mountains that gave birth to these islands tower above lush verdant forests.  Many of Fiji’s plants and animals are unique to the islands and have evolved very little since their ancestors inhabited the forests.

The crown jewel of Fiji’s spectacular biodiversity is the Sovi Basin, located on the island of Viti Levu.  The basin is surrounded by volcanic peaks which form a bowl shape between them.  The end result is one of the world’s most impressive geological structures. 

At Conservation International, our goal is to protect the world’s natural biological diversity and demonstrate that human society can live harmoniously with nature.  That is our mission and it guides us in everything we do. 

Our partnership with FIJI Water reflects that spirit.  Ours is a strategic and focused partnership whose primary goals include the protection of Fiji’s Sovi Basin, a crucial source of freshwater for the nation of Fiji and for the planet. 

To that end, Conservation International’s Global Conservation Fund will contribute to a trust fund set up by The FIJI Water Foundation to protect the Sovi Basin.  The fund was launched with initial funding from FIJI Water owners Lynda and Stewart Resnick and the combined donations of more than 700 FIJI Water employees.  The fund will go to support the annual management costs of protecting the Sovi Basin. 

One of the most unique aspects of this funding is the compensation of local communities to protect the land around the basin.  The goal of that is to provide a different source of income to communities who traditionally become susceptible to logging interests and the one-time payoff that comes with cutting down a forest.  The trust will also support a facility to distribute small-scale grants for community development in and around the Sovi Basin – providing new opportunities to those communities to prosper and thrive.  The National Trust of Fiji is responsible for management of the Sovi Basin, and will receive and administer revenues from the fund.

But this is not just good news for Fiji.  This is good news for the planet because this ambitious and forward-thinking partnership to protect the rainforests of Fiji will result in about ten million tons of carbon dioxide stored in these forests will remain out of our atmosphere.  Since deforestation accounts for 20-25 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions in our atmosphere – double that of all the world’s cars, trucks, and planes combined – protecting Fiji’s rainforests protects us all. 

So join us and help protect an acre of rainforest by visiting www.conservation.org and click the “Protect an Acre of Forest” button.  For as little at $15 you can help Conservation International protect an entire acre of tropical rainforest.  Because what is lost there, is felt here.  We’ve enlisted longtime Conservation International board member Harrison Ford to help with the cause.  Click here to view the startling public service announcement that’s generating a lot of buzz.

FIJI Water has renovated its Los Angeles office with the goal of achieving LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified status through the U.S. Green Building Council, which takes into account water savings, energy efficiency, materials and resources selection and indoor environmental quality.

We recently moved into this beautiful new office space, the design of which considered our employees, our company and the environment in every detail. LEED focuses not only on environmental benefits, but also employee health and well-being, resulting in a workplace design that’s good for people and good for the environment.

One of the office’s most striking features is the abundance of soft and natural light. The workspace walls are slightly lower than those of typical cubicles and include window panels along the top for maximum exposure to the building’s natural light while still providing privacy. In addition, our management team elected to have only four offices in this space, all along one wall, and those offices have large interior glass walls that allow an abundance of natural light to come into the general work area. The natural light is complemented by “barrel lighting” which provides direct and indirect (reflected) light that is much softer and easier on the eyes than traditional direct lighting.

Each workspace is designed efficiently and comfortably. My personal favorite is the multi-purpose mobile filing cabinet that doubles as cushioned seating for visitors. It’s almost as comfortable as the Knoll Chadwick ergonomic chair that every employee has! (In fact, all of the office furniture was manufactured by Knoll, which specializes in sustainably-made furniture that promotes employee comfort and well-being, and has a LEED-certified plant itself.) Other workspace features include:

• Tower cabinet with shelves to store binders, books, etc.
• Narrow cubby for hanging coats or sweaters and for storing personal items like yoga mats and purses
• Flat screen monitors that take up less desk space
• Floating shelves for in/out boxes, pencil holders, etc., keeping desktops free of clutter

The new workspace was manufactured using clean technologies like VOC-free adhesives, low-VOC paints, and recycled steel, aluminum and fabrics. It also includes bamboo floors and cabinetry. Bamboo is a “rapidly renewable building material and product (made from plants that are typically harvested within a ten-year or shorter cycle),” to quote the LEED application form. In other words, bamboo grows and regrows super fast (I have some in my garden, it grows like a weed), so it’s more sustainable than traditional wood materials.

Other less readily visible but equally important features of the new office include the following:

• The lighting power density is 25% more efficient than required by the Title 24 standard. (Title 24 is California’s energy efficiency standard for residential and non-residential buildings.)
• 90% of the kitchen appliances are Energy Star certified. The only exceptions are small appliances like toasters that don’t normally receive an Energy Star certification.
• The bathrooms now have dual flush toilets, resulting in a 30% reduction in water usage. (Incidentally, these are very common in Fiji and other countries, but still unusual in the U.S.)

We were awarded maximum LEED credits for our successful effort to recycle everything possible when disposing of the previous office materials. In total we recycled over 75% of the construction waste.

We hope to have more good news about our efforts toward LEED certification status once the project is complete and all credits are tallied. Stay tuned for updates!