Bob Sheddy

Broker of record Bob Sheddy and president Gary Chambers of Century 21 Power Realty in Drumheller, Alta. recently completed a year-long pilot project to ‘go green’.

“We are pleased to announce that our pilot project has been successful, thanks to the dedication of our team of sales professionals and administrators,” says Chambers. “We look forward to continuing the greening of our office and supporting these efforts in our community.”

Among the ways that Power Realty has reduced paper use, energy consumption and environmental impact:

· Sales representatives send out real estate forms electronically, enabling customers to print out only those forms they choose to read on paper.  This is a growing trend in the real estate industry to help reduce paper use.

Gary Chambers

· Staff and sales representatives use electronic fax numbers to receive documents, with the exception of forms that need to be signed and returned – reducing the amount of paper used in normal transactions by half.

· Power Realty is increasingly using social media communications such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to communicate and connect with clients, as an alternative to sending out one-way print marketing campaigns such as paper postcards and flyers.

· The brokerage has a sophisticated network that allows the agents, administrators and the broker to review, store and access all documents required in the office. All of this is accessible online via secured access.

· It makes a special point of recycling much of the remaining waste produced in the business. The team developed a system for recycling paper, cardboard, pop cans and other recyclable containers. The office recycles shredded document files after they are held for the standard seven-year compliance period.

· Because the business is technology intensive, computers are upgraded fairly frequently. Older computers are given to others in the community who need them or recycled at the Drumheller Waste Management Facility.

· Although the brokerage is in ‘work mode’ from 6 am until midnight, where possible Power Realty installs electronic energy saving devices such as dimmers, programmable thermostats, motion sensors and photocell sensors in buildings they own and manage. 

· “We’ve also been upgrading old gas mowers to new push ‘reel cutter’ style mowers, as well as collecting rain water in stylish rain barrels placed in strategic locations that our companies manage,” says Chambers.

· Rather than travel for hours to and from meetings, burning fuel, Chambers and Sheddy choose to Skype into board meetings whenever possible. “Our clients love Skype meetings,” says Chambers. · The firm has organized the cleanup of many vacant sites in their surrounding communities, including Hunt’s Place Park in Drumheller, the CN park across from their local Husky station and an Imperial Oil site in the area. 

“We feel that this is our chance to make a huge impact and show appreciation to the community that supports our brokerage,” says Sheddy.