Farmington Hills Business Employees Learn About Being 'Green'

While Kermit the Frog might not think its easy being green, Mercedes Benz Financial Services employees in Farmington Hills learned it’s not so hard to be green at the first annual Green Fair held on Nov. 14.

Organized by the Community Outreach Committee of Diversity Exchange, the event featured 18 “green” organizations and businesses that introduced employees to the wide range of environmentally friendly enterprises and services in Southeast Michigan.

Caroline Watha, Accounting Systems Supervisor, explained that the Community Outreach Committee’s subcommittee focused on community enhancement came up with the idea to generate more environmental awareness and involvement among employees.

“Once we came up with the idea, we benchmarked a local community’s green fair for information and ideas,” Watha explained. “The committee really wanted this to be a learning opportunity for employees that would present products and services that could be easily incorporate into their lives.”

Attendees had the opportunity to see the latest in green products for the home, fashion and health and beauty from A-1 Organic Lawns, which specializes in organic lawn products and solar energy, to Ecostore USA, which produces environmentally friendly home and personal care products.

“Being new to the area, it was great to see so many vendors and options for saving energy and living with less chemicals in our lives,” Carrie Stephens, Manager Business Development and Assistance, said. “I am definitely going to try a few eco-friendly products."

Regional energy company representatives from DTE Energy and Consumers Energy were also in attendance to demonstrate energy-efficient products for homeowners. Mercedes-Benz green vehicle technology was featured, with the Mercedes-Benz ML Hybrid and an electric smart vehicle on display and representatives from Mercedes-Benz Research and Development North America onsite to answer questions.

Jason Gibbons, Executive Support Manager, thought it was great to see so many vendors participated and felt it reminded employees how easy it is to eat healthier, save money and be kind to our planet. “I'm walking away with a couple of changes I'm making right away,” he said.

As an added bonus employees who visited six or more vendors and submitted their punch card will be receiving a special Mercedes-Benz branded “green” gift in the coming weeks.

“I have to say that aside from the green aspect of this event one of the things I really took away from this was pride in our company,” Watha said. “Not only did we have great participation from our employees with over 200 attendees, but each of the vendors we invited to attend were so impressed with the event that they asked to be invited again next year.”