Environmentally Responsible: Insource Spend Management Group

When it comes to building an environmentally responsible company, Brett Febus has always been proactive.

“If it’s the right thing to do and I have the opportunity to do it, I want to,” said Febus, the founder and CEO of Insource Spend Management Group who has spent the last year and $150,000 upgrading his building’s HVAC system.

He’s also invested in 15 programmable thermostats that regulate the office’s temperature during work hours and placed Energy Star Rated appliances in the lunch area.

Febus owns the entire 31,000-square-foot building on Northwest Parkway that houses Insource and multiple small businesses. The green changes he’s made in the building mean increased energy efficiency and a cost savings for all the tenants as well as his own company.

Although Febus said he’s unsure how much money he’s saved on utilities since making the upgrades, the building’s official Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating shows that it’s achieving 20 to 50 percent more efficiency now than years past.

While the recent improvements are extensive, environmental sustainability isn’t a new frontier for Febus, who said his three children are the driving force behind his quest to go as green as possible.

“They’ve grown up in a culture where recycling is important,” he said. “They look at you like you have six heads if you try to throw the milk carton away.”

Febus said toner and ink cartridges are among multiple items that Insource employees take care to recycle. Upon opening for business in 1999, bins were scattered throughout the office promote recycling paper, plastic and aluminum.

Febus’s good green deeds don’t stop in his own building either. Three years ago, he donated $2,400 to Hilliard Bradley High School so administrators could purchase recycling bins.

“We know sometimes being environmentally conscious takes extra time and extra money,” he said, “but it’s worth it in the long run.”