Following up on the 2025 announcement of our Green Initiative, Credico (USA) LLC is pleased to share updates on our commitment to sustainability. This initiative, made up of seven “green guiding principles,” includes documented, updated goals and targets that the whole team can support and be proud of. We continue to reexamine our ongoing efforts to minimize our impact on the planet.
Credico’s team is dedicated to promoting sustainability throughout our business, with an awareness that environmental responsibility is something we can all contribute to. Credico will continue to encourage third-party service providers and independent contractors to adopt our Green Initiative Policy or develop their own, thus expanding these practices beyond our own four walls.
Seven Green Guiding Principles
We remain proud of our Green Initiative Policy, consisting of seven Guiding Principles that fall into the following categories:
- Energy Efficiency and Conservation
- Waste Management
- Sustainable Procurement
- Greener Transportation
- Water Conservation
- Environmental Education and Engagement
- Environmental Regulatory Compliance
A Green Update for 2026
In 2026, the Environmental Sustainability Committee (ESC) elected a new Chairman and continues to add new members. And although the year isn’t over yet, we’ve already done a lot! Here are some of the highlights:
Following a 27% reduction in printer use, our staff survey of printing and paper use guided our printer purchase (rather than our previous lease). We also primarily use recycled paper, which can be recycled again.
We held an in-office electronics recycling event in March, encouraging employees to bring old or unused electronics home for recycling to keep them out of landfills.
Our Committee is continuing the work of developing a method for evaluating vendors with an eye toward sustainability, and building a list of preferred vendors using those criteria.
Credico’s commuter benefits program is still going strong, helping employees save money while using public transit.
Our monthly newsletter is distributed via email and features a monthly Green Team Updates section highlighting local environmentally focused events like Chicago Climate Week, featured resources like Eco Ship Chicago, and more.
We are exploring the idea of holding an office-wide “Green Olympics” that combines team-building games with sustainability challenges.
A “Credico Team Green” chat channel is now available companywide, where team members can learn about upcoming green events, initiatives, and resources.
Our legal team is exploring the requirements for Credico to participate in the Illinois Green Business Certification Program.
Volunteering with Openlands
So far in 2026, our most popular “green” event has been our stewardship day with Openlands, an organization dedicated to protecting the natural and open spaces in and around Chicago. Fifteen Credico team members headed to Douglass Park to care for the trees, spending an afternoon weeding, mulching, watering, and picking up litter around the park, all under the expert guidance of Openlands TreeKeepers and staff. We learned about why Chicago’s parks and trees are an important part of our ecosystem as well as being beautiful places to enjoy our “City in a Garden,” how and why we mulch around trees, and even how to do a bird call! We’re hoping to participate in another local environmental event before the weather turns cold this fall.
New Opportunities to Come!
As we prepare to move to a new office this autumn, we have even more opportunities to consider our environmental impact in a whole new space in an entirely different building. We’re already planning ahead by recycling unused documents and items before we pack, taking home things we don’t need to ship to the new office, and packing things into reusable totes instead of boxes, with even more to come as moving day approaches.
Our “new” building, built in 1907, is a designated Chicago Landmark, the oldest surviving high-rise commercial bank building in the Loop designed by Burnham & Co. Its restoration was applauded by Preservation Chicago for its “historic remix” that incorporates and repurposes materials and features from every part of its history, most visibly noticeable in the varied flooring of the first-floor food hall.
Once we’re in our new space, we’ll be closer to even more bus and train lines than before, increasing opportunities for mass transit commuting. There is a bike room freely available for cyclists, and a fitness center so we can care for ourselves as well as our environment. Building-wide recycling is already in place for paper, cardboard, cans, glass, and plastic. And, of course, we’ll continue to participate in local green events and make progress on how we enact our Guiding Principles over time!
The remainder of 2026 presents numerous opportunities to promote and uphold corporate environmental responsibility, and we look forward to continuing our sustainability initiatives into 2027 and beyond.