Excutive of the Month: Cino of Tyga-Box Systems, Inc. helps companies achieve a "Net-Zero-Waste-Move"

Nadine Cino is a LEED AP and a businesswoman who is passionate about the business of sustainability and its unique power to generate efficiencies unavailable through conventional means. In her gut - she has long sensed the power of the move as the "inflection point" at which her passion for generating efficiencies could be synthesized with her passion for furthering sustainable "best practices." Giving words to that synthesis, she coined the term "Net-Zero-Waste-Move," which she shares with NYREJ readers in this article. "Well over a decade has passed since my partner, Marty Spindel, and I invented the Tyga-Box System; a green reusable plastic box and dolly replacement for conventional corrugated boxes that reduces move labor costs by 30%. Much has changed since then. Sustainability is no longer limited to an obscure minority of concerned citizens, expressing need for ecological solutions. It is now at the forefront of conversation; relating to both the greater 'green' initiative, as well as corporate moving; where the emphasis combines 'greening the process' with 'leaning the process,' " said Cino. "The very nature of the move itself has been transformed over the last decade. Formerly, it was just the 'last step,' the perfunctory event that put the finishing touch on all the excitement of working with architects and interior designers, and seeing 'corner offices' come into being. Today it's all about the 'Net-Zero-Waste-Move' - which means both 'greening and leaning' the process," she said. The "Net-Zero-Waste-Move" is the inflection point through which sustainability legacies are planned and implemented, reducing long term operating costs while providing short term financial gains. Key is for the supplier to be "best-in-class" within their category. It's not about any document digitizer/indexer who can do the job...its about the document digitizer/indexer who optimizes the value chain of sustainability legacies and understands how to balance between present hard costs and projected lifecycle savings. Both "green" and "lean." With today's mobility technology, the "corner office" has been replaced with open plan, touchdown space and IP phones that can be hung on any wall. These new workplace strategies are testimony to the broad appeal of mobile work-style to all four generations of the workforce. Mobility technology has become embedded in our collective DNA, and influences both corporate spend and how the workforce works. Reductions in energy consumption based on the new mobile work-style plays well to the sustainability story, propelled by the corporate desire to share gains in green and lean initiatives with customers, stakeholders and shareholders. More frequently than ever before, it is the case that large property/project management firms, such as JLL & CBRE, control most or all aspects of the design/build/move process and, in so doing, drive economies of scale and establish sustainability goals that benefit their customers, stakeholders and shareholders. The key to simplicity from the property/project managers' perspective is to have "one bellybutton to push" - one company to go to - one corporate contact. Implied in that directive is a reduction in the number of suppliers that any given property/project management group works with. The opportunity to earn the privilege of becoming that "one bellybutton" provides incentives to suppliers to get creative, by forming strategic alliances that enable them to offer a range of competitively priced services and products, customized to the needs of property/project management groups. Consensus amongst project managers and commercial movers is that the typical move is no longer about a multitude of truckloads of furniture, IT equipment and files/contents. Today, it is mostly about the files/contents - being moved in reusable plastic crates -- and little, if any, about the furniture and IT. Moving is thought of by both managers and movers as an "inflection point," with the pre-move purge stage often representing the greatest opportunity to implement lean/green strategies. In tandem with purge: digitizing/indexing data, certified computer destruction/imaging, certified document shredding/recycling, asset management/disposal, and 501c3 charitable contributions, are today's value-add replacements for yesterdays move of furniture and IT equipment. They are the future. And they belong to those who deliver "green and lean." Three years ago, Cino spearheaded the sustainability committee for IFMANYC. She continues to serve as its co-chair today. As co-inventor of The Tyga-Box System, Cino enjoys sharing the news about the company winning the 2009 NY Enterprise Report: Green Business Best Practice Award. Under her stewardship, Tyga-Box has become an Inc 5000 Honoree and made the list for the two consecutive years of 2008 and 2009. She is a subject expert on green moving.