MacForce

These days, chances are good that if you’re attending an event for Apple products and services, you won’t be in Cupertino. In fact, you won’t be at an Apple store. You’ll be hanging out at 100 SE Salmon Street at MacForce headquarters in Portland.

It’s home to a staff of more than 25 extremely knowledge Apple afficionados -- each of them oozing with high-end, creative talent. Led by owner Shane Spiess, they “protect and serve” the largest population of Apple users in any city worldwide, offering service, training and retail sales from one humble location.

According to Chris Gear, MacForce evangelist, there are many reasons to be sustainable. Number one might be for cost. But for MacForce, it’s more than that. “We’re not only representing the largest population of Mac users in any given location, we’re also representing Apple, which is at the forefront of green technology practices and sustainability.” That ultimately means fewer electronics and toxic by-products end up in landfill, streams and rivers.

Macforce puts a heavy emphasis on mentoring local businesses and individuals, and supports critical educational initiatives. A variety of free seminars, training events, and user group meetings take place regularly at the MacForce Theatre. Their list of local partnerships includes Schoolhouse Supplies (MacForce helps coordinate virtual drives to collect supplies), and “Macs 2 Kids” (a non-profit founded by MacForce several years ago) to refurbish used Apple equipment for children or community groups in need.

To reduce their carbon footprint, MacForce maintains a fleet of very fuel-efficient cars (including a bio-diesel powered delivery van), wrapped in a “nice branded fashion” which have the added benefit of streamlining marketing expenditures. They’re also in the process of going paperless, giving customers the option of receiving transaction data via email instead of printed copies.

But above all, MacForce is at the forefront of educating customers about the need to shop locally. And they’re about to double their office space at 100 Salmon Street largely because of it. “Going green can be very lucrative for a lot of businesses.” says Gear. “We’ve seen about a 50% mix of new foot traffic in the door because of it.”