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About CDC

Go Green, Get Healthy

The Go Green, Get Healthy Initiative has been a CDC goal for years that grew from a grass-roots effort by CDC employee volunteers around the nation. The initiative is both an individual and agency journey toward sustainable behaviors that promote health and well-being, quality of work life, and environmental stewardship. In 2008, a Chief Sustainability Officer was appointed to coordinate these efforts to make our work environment and our nation greener and healthier.

CDC volunteers have joined 10 workgroups that help staff connect, cooperate, and share information. Working with the Chief Sustainability Officer, the workgroups seek opportunities to collaborate with other institutions and agencies to reduce, reuse, and recycle resources to promote health and positive work environments.

Go Green, Get Healthy Highlights

• Recycling campaigns were implemented on several CDC campuses in an effort to simplify and encourage recycling at CDC. Recycling programs in 2007 diverted close to 10% of waste while these new 2008 programs have diverted waste in excess of 60%.
• Special events promote CDC workforce activities, and regular agency wide email announcements inform the CDC community of the agency’s ongoing sustainability efforts.
• A checklist for meetings was created to promote more environmentally friendly and healthful meetings at CDC. An upcoming conference estimates a savings of more than 2 million sheets of paper and approximately $40,000 in printing costs. The use of CDs to share information rather than printed booklets will save about 240 trees.
• Building 20 Challenge was launched to encourage energy conservation through simple tasks like turning off computers and lights at the end of each day. In its initial three weeks, $240 was saved. Water conservation for all campuses has also been a priority with a 2.4% decrease in consumption from 2007–2008.

The Go Green, Get Healthy Initiative rolled three established CDC programs into a new, coordinated campaign for widespread cultural change: Healthier Worksite Initiative, Quality of Work-Life Programs, and the Environmental Management System Plan:

Healthier Worksite Initiative

This initiative was developed in October 2002 with the vision of making CDC a worksite where “healthy choices are easy choices,” and the lessons learned are shared with other federal agencies. Programs include the StairWELL Project that makes stairwells more attractive as a way of increasing employee physical activity; the Garden Market Project that increases the availability of fruits and vegetables on CDC campuses as a way of increasing fruit and vegetable intake; and the Healthy Vending Project that provides healthy choices in vending machines as a way of decreasing consumption of less healthy snacks.

Quality Work-Life Programs

Employees are provided an array of work-life programs and benefits to ensure that they have the tools they need to balance their home and work life. CDC offers work-life options such as alternative work schedules, child care centers and subsidies, the telework program, and transportation subsidies.

Environmental Management System Plan

CDC is committed to strengthening federal, environmental, energy, and transportation management through the use of the plan. This plan is an organized approach to protect the environment on CDC’s campuses and in the neighboring communities during routine and emergency operations.

Other initiatives have been launched through the creation of the Go Green, Get Healthy Initiative, including a commitment to sustainable buildings and landscapes on CDC properties, employee carpooling, and telecommuting options that reduce gas consumption and improve outdoor air quality.

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