Green Office Tips

Easy tips to Green your office, while keeping the environment and your business in mind.

RECYCLE

  • Partner with your office supply vendor for sustainable practices. Most vendors offer a recycling program for printer & copier consumables such as fusers, toners & cartridges. Many office supplies are now manufactured with recycled content.

  • Place recycling stations in convenient and accessible locations around the office and introduce a desk side recycling program. These two items could increase your recyclables and reduce your rubbish by as much as 50%.

  • Create collection bins for the re-use of discarded or unwanted office supplies. Items such as paper clips, binders, pens and mechanical pencils can be used over and over again. Use scrap paper for note pads.

  • Is your office planning an interior renovation? Items such as ceiling tiles and carpeting can now be recycled to make new products. Consider the total recycled content of the replacement carpeting and ceiling tiles, when making your selection.

CONSERVATION

  • Evaluate the need to have a hard copy and utilize the "Print Preview" function to ensure your print job will be correct. Set printer defaults to minimize waste by eliminating cover sheets and utilizing double sided print when possible.

  • Use refillable water bottles instead of buying bottled water. Paper products such as napkins, paper towels, tissue paper, etc… can be purchased with a high pre- and post-consumer recycled content.

  • Where practical, conduct meetings using video or telephone conferencing. Not only will this practice reduce emissions, but it will save you a significant amount of lost time.

  • Consolidate deliveries of office supplies and janitorial supplies. Keep a small inventory of each and effectively managing inventory levels to reduce the frequency of deliveries.

ENERGY SAVINGS

  • Ensure that "Power Saver" or "Sleep" functions are utilized and turn off all office equipment on evenings and weekends. Utilizing these practices can yield a $25 annual savings or greater, per piece of equipment.

  • Programmable thermostats and intelligent HVAC control systems should be utilized for evening and weekend, temperature setback functions in the office.

  • Replace all office lighting and emergency exit lighting with energy efficient fluorescent or LED fixtures and occupancy sensors. In some instances, your office could save 25% - 50% on lighting costs.

  • Utilize timers for exterior lighting so your lighting is only on when required by your business. Consider energy efficient LED fixtures for accent lighting.

  • Rain sensors and timers should be utilized for irrigation. Consider using drought
    resistant plants, shrubs and grasses to reduce the dependency on irrigation.