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The following tips for greening your office is by no means an exhaustive
list, but a way to get started in making your workplace more
environmentally friendly.
- Use electricity wisely. Turn off all computers, printers,
photocopiers, and other equipment that doesn’t need to be left
on at the end of the day and leave them off until you need to use
them again. Check that all computers/monitors are set to their most
energy efficient settings (e.g., monitor set to shut off after 15
minutes of no use). When leaving a room for more than a few minutes,
switch off the lights. Use compact fluorescent bulbs instead of incandescent
ones. Take advantage of natural sunlight as much as possible.
- “Reduce,
reuse, recycle” means more than just
throwing old notepaper in the blue bin (though you needn’t
stop doing that). Really think about everything you use. Do you need
disposable cups at the water cooler? Can you use the other side of
the used sheets of paper you’ve thrown in the recycle bin?
Australia has added a fourth R – Refuse. Simply put: Don’t
buy stuff you don’t need. And, when you do make a purchase,
bring your own bags.
- Use environmentally friendly office products. On
average, they only cost 5% more, which is a small price to pay to
cut down on waste and pollution. Start small – 100% recycled
paper, refillable ink cartridges, non-toxic highlighters, etc. Check
out Frogfile in
Vancouver as a great place to stock up on office products that go
easy on the environment.
- Use non-toxic cleaning products. There
are many brands available nowadays, such as Nature
Clean, Method, Ecover, Orange
TKO, and Pink Solution.
Encourage your cleaning company to use green cleaning products and
if they won’t, switch to one of the many companies that now
do use environmentally friendly products. Case study: Novex Delivery
Solutions switched to a green cleaning company when their previous
supplier refused and they ended up saving money!
- Make eco-friendly food choices. Encourage use of the 100-mile
diet: local first; organic for high consumption foods. When ordering
lunch for an office meeting, how about going vegetarian (or even
vegan, if you dare)? Cutting down on meat can have a huge impact
on the health of the planet. (See The
Food Revolution and EarthSave for
statistics and information.)
- Telecommuting: Encourage working from
home, particularly
for workers who would normally drive to work. This cuts down on pollution
and increases time availability.
- Transportation: For those
who do come to the office on a regular basis, encourage (and help
arrange) carpooling, use of public transit, biking, or walking.
- Though the paperless office may still seem unrealistic, at least
try to cut down on printed material when possible. Read on-screen
and only print documents when absolutely necessary. Use only 100%
recycled content paper products in the office and when getting
promotional material professionally produced, ask your printer for FSC
Certified paper.
- Institute a casual dress code. Not having to wear suits
in hot summer months can help keep cooling costs down (and make for
a happier workplace).
- Buy fair trade, organic coffee and teas for
the office. If employees prefer to go out for their hot beverages,
encourage them to take their own mugs. Most coffee shops offer a
small discount to patrons who do so. More importantly is the reduction
in waste from not having to throw out paper or Styrofoam cups.
* * * * *
Nathaniel Richman, founder of nrichmedia,
markets and promotes socially responsible, ethical, and environmentally
conscious businesses and organizations. 5% of nrichmedia's profits
are donated to charitable causes. Nathaniel
graduated from the Vancouver Film School with
a Certificate of Recommendation in Multimedia Studies in 1997 and has
been working in the web design and new media industry ever since. Sign
up for his free newsletter, Net
Results, to receive
valuable tips on promoting your green business on the Web.
Melanie Pazdzierski is a designer and dynamic entrepreneur with a
socially responsible perspective. Check out her blog, Easy & Green,
in which she lightheartedly expresses her concern for the environment
and how to fit being 'green' into her very busy schedule. Melanie uses
her fourteen years experience as a designer in various communications
agencies to positively shape her community.
nrichmedia
is located in Courtenay (in the Comox Valley, on Vancouver Island),
British Columbia, Canada, and thinks and works globally! Thanks
to the Internet, we're able to create web sites and other multimedia
for clients all over the world. You can contact us by
or by telephone, at 250.898.8795.
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