Hi to all you Office Managers.
Keen to go green at work, but aren’t sure where to start? There are so many suggestions on line that it can be hard to decide what are the most reasonable moves to make.
We found a little blog from Susan Ward that contains good, common-sense ideas for making a start on getting your office to be more environmentally friendly – so we’ve respectfully hi-jacked a few tips. Simply choose what applies – they’re easy to implement and will make a considerable difference over time.
Get these small changes happening – and you’ll be amazed with how many more easy adjustments you can make to help care for the planet we all share.
General green tips for the office
- Place a recycling centre in a prominent location in your office. Empty the recycling boxes regularly.
- Encourage staff to use “real” mugs, glasses, dishes and cutlery not disposables.
- Use coffee filters made of recycled paper. Or get a coffee maker that doesn’t need paper filters. Compost coffee grounds if possible.
- Make sure your office has green plants – they’re great for recycling the air.
- Check that your office is cleaned using green products that are not damaging the environment.
- Only print documents if necessary.
- Get and use a battery charger; using rechargeable batteries in equipment saves money & helps reduce the amount of toxic materials sent to landfills.
- Find a recycling centre for batteries and cell phones near you and use it.
- Practice green procurement – source the least environmentally damaging goods.
Green tips for office supplies
- Look for green products like staple-less staplers and pens that can be refilled repeatedly rather than sent to a landfill.
- Buy products made from recycled post-consumer content (materials that have been collected and re-purposed). Time the time to check these out. Paper clips, staplers and even UPS systems made with post-consumer content are now available, for instance.
- Eliminate products that don’t have green alternatives eg rubber bands.
- Have pure clean water available at all times
Green tips for office printers
- Buy and use recycled paper.
- Save paper by not printing whenever possible.
- Save paper by printing on both sides of a sheet of paper whenever possible.
- Use your printer’s eco-mode if it has one.
- Recycle your used ink and toner cartridges.
Green tips for office computers
- Turn off your computer when not in use. It doesn’t hurt it. Really!
- Set computer settings to go into standby mode within a short time
- Keep computer equipment updated; new computers and monitors are more energy efficient.
- Recycle used computers
Green tips for office lighting
- Turn the lights off in rooms when they’re not in use. It doesn’t matter who pays for the power. Don’t waste it.
- Replace standard incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) or LED bulbs which use 75% less energy than incandescent light bulbs while delivering the same light output.
- Use light wall colors; light paint colours and higher gloss sheens reflect daylight, so you need less overhead lighting.
Green tips for the office: heating and cooling
- If you have access to your office thermostat, heat your office to a maximum of 21°C when occupied, 16°C when unoccupied. Heating and cooling set points must be set 2 to 3°C apart so that the air conditioner does not cycle (turn on and off) frequently.
- If you can’t do this, consult with your building manager.
Green tips for the washrooms
- Use cloth towels or hand dryers instead of paper towels.
- Put a brick in the toilet to displace an equivalent amount of water, using less when the tank fills. Or replace an old toilet with a new ultra-low-flush model.
- Always turn off taps completely, ensuring that they don’t drip. A tap, leaking at a rate of only one drop per second, can waste more than 25 litres of water a day – that’s about 10 000 litres a year
- Install low-flow aerators to reduce the volume of water released by taps
Yes – we know: you’ve seen all this before.
But are you doing it?
To read the full original post, go to Susan Ward