Innovation

The mission behind Greenleaf Painters is to use “green” paints, these products are low-VOC (volatile organic compound) which coincides with UN Sustainable Development Goal 3, good health and well-being. Greenleaf purchases the high quality “green” paints from Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams. Greenleaf recycles paint thinners in order to reuse them by putting them through a filtration process to strain out any impure elements. They also allow their painters to use leftover paint for any side project they might have, instead of throwing the unused paint away.

Inspiration

Over 10 years ago today, John Shenk the owner and operator of Greenleaf Painting became “restless” and wanted to do things that were more physical and tangible. He applied to several different companies, however, it was the offseason of painting and no one was hiring. His wife had a great idea, “to start his own crew”. The first name of his company was Holy Roller painting. Shenk then began to notice the rise in popularity of environmentally friendly paints. Shenk wanted to provide individuals with not only a professional service, but one that would create a healthier lifestyle for homeowners, and an overall benefit to the environment.

Overall impact

Using green paint eliminates VOC’s (volatile organic compounds), meaning the chance of toxic-off gassing paint polluting your home will diminish. The company was successful in introducing these products because many of their customers chose green paints for their children’s rooms because of allergies. High VOC levels have a history of causing side effects such as headaches, and dizziness and have a negative impact to the ozone and atmosphere. Environmentally friendly paint contains natural ingredients and are biodegradable and thus will help clean carbon emissions from the air and help reduce the greenhouse effect. Some examples include Benjamin Moore’s Natura interior paint, Regal select premium interior paint and primer with eggshell finish, Eco Select Zero VOC interior latex, and Sherwin Williams Harmony interior acrylic latex.

Business benefit

This innovation began when the industry was just starting to manufacture “green” paints and now many high quality brands carry green paint product lines. As the products became more well known and there was an increase in manufacturing, the prices were able to decrease which helped make choosing “green” easy for the customers. Companies going sustainable are seeing a rise in overall brand recognition as well as employee engagement. In addition to this, using green products allows a companies to keep costs comparable to using non-green products, while providing the general public with more benefit in the form of a happy and healthier home.

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Social and environmental benefit

Paint and paint thinners are huge contamination to groundwater and other waterways due to improper paint disposal. Greenleaf strives to promote environmentally friendly paints as well as sustainable waste reduction techniques. Greenleaf also recycles and reuses all of its paint products. All of Greenleaf’s paint thinners are put through a filtration process to strain out impurities and then reused as needed. Greenleaf Painters provides their employees with special training about proper disposal practices. One example would be lead paint removal safety techniques.

Greenleaf has also implemented multiple basic operational practices within their business, including, reducing energy consumption by shutting off lights and avoiding air conditioning overuse in the office, providing recycling stations throughout the office and utilizing electronic file sharing sites to reduce using paper and printing documents.

Greenleaf Painters donates a portion of all its proceeds to the Trenton, NJ Chapter of Habitat for Humanity and takes part in a variety of community events including the Sustainable Lawrenceville Expo.

Interview

John Shenk, Owner/ President