In 2007, New American Dream was recognized by Washingtonian magazine for the second time as one of the “Great Places to Work” in the Washington metropolitan area. In describing why we deserve a coveted place on this list, the magazine noted that New American Dream “practices what it preaches: It works with communities, businesses, and state and local governments to help conserve natural resources, and it runs campaigns to encourage Americans to live balanced lives.”
The Takoma Park office is powered by wind energy. A recent renovation used sustainable materials such as cork flooring. The kitchen offers fair-trade organic tea and coffee — and real plates, not disposables. That respect for the environment leads to respect for one another. Says membership and research manager Mary Peters, “Everyone’s opinion is valued.”
New American Dream is honored to be so recognized. In addition to the practices cited by Washingtonian, some of the ways we stay true to our mission include:
- We never send junk mail, which we view as environmentally destructive and intrusive.
- We always use 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper.
- We offer all-electronic membership and renewal options including PDF versions of most of our printed materials.
- We use a web host powered entirely by renewable energy.
- We have a four-day, 32-hour work week.
- We purchase refurbished electronics whenever available.
- We buy from local vendors whenever possible.
- We donate and Freecycle office equipment we no longer need.
- We compost our kitchen waste.
- We always buy organic, fair trade coffee.
- We subsidize public transportation costs for interns.
- We offer credit, work study, and volunteer opportunities for students at local schools.
- We cultivate a spirit of fun, both in and out of the office!
And last but not least, as you know if you’re reading this, we have switched to an electronic version of our annual report, eliminating the thousands of pages that we used to print for the hard copy.