Green Your Space: Office Edition

This is the first entry of our “Green Your Space” series. Don’t forget to come back to read more entries. Thanks for reading!

Whether you work at a home office or in a large company, there are small steps you can make to reduce your impact on the environment. Making green changes is easier for someone who has a home office or works at a small business, but do not be discouraged if you work in a large company.

Find some co-workers equally as passionate about sustainability. Band together to come up with some ideas and benefits, then make your concerns known at a weekly meeting or pitch it to a receptive higher-up. If management is supportive, make a green team to lead your company in being more sustainable. Be an eco-hero!

Equipment

• Put computers, printers, photocopiers, and fax machines on sleep mode when possible. Turn them all off at the end of the day. If you have your own printer, keep it unplugged until you need to use it. Do the same for seldom-used equipment. Using a power strip can make this easier to do.
• Try to use a laptop instead of a desktop computer, they are single modular units, so they require less materials to manufacture and use less energy.
• Purchase Energy Star equipment.

Coffee

• Use a French press instead of a coffee maker that requires filters. Bodum has several designs and sizes available to meet many tastes and needs. Don’t forget to use locally-roasted, organic coffee! Or you can pick up a reusable filter for a standard coffee maker at the grocery store.
• Do not provide Styrofoam or disposable cups. Invest in some reusable cups or mugs.
• Store sugar and cream in dispensers rather than buying individual-sized packages.

Printing

Excessive printing can be a real problem. Ask for a mass email to be sent to staff giving some printing pointers, such as:

• Make hard copies only when necessary. At meetings, use a board or projector to display the agenda and materials instead of making multiple copies.
• Reuse paper with printed materials only on one side. Set printer to a double-side setting.
• Use refillable ink cartridges.
• Lower your shade of black to reduce ink use.
• Buy Forest Stewardship Council-certified paper.
• Send memos, notes, or reminders via email.
• Distribute manuals, policies, employee handbooks as e-files rather than booklets. Reduce your margins so that more material can fit on a page.

Purchasing Policy

• Buy environmentally friendly office products, even if it means spending a little more. Office Depot has their own green product line and Staples offers greener variations for many products.
• Use non-toxic cleaning products or hire a cleaning company that only uses them. Use GoodGuide.com and Ecolabelindex.com to help sort the “green” from the greenwash.
• Only buy something if you really need it. Ask co-workers if they have an old stapler or extra notebook they don’t need before purchasing one. Reduce, reuse, and recycle!
• Donate e-waste (old computers, keyboards, etc.) to local schools or other organizations

Recycling

• Start a recycling program. Garner support by talking to others about how it could reduce costs, carbon footprint, and produce less waste. If you are in a large building, building management may have a provider or be able to recommend one. Place receptacles in high-traffic areas and educate employees on how to use them.
• If you already have a recycling program, create a “re-use pile” where employees can place reusable paper to scratch down notes or reprint.
• Provide washable china or mugs to cut down on waste from disposable ware.
• Shredded paper can be used as packing material.
• Reuse furniture when moving offices, offer any un-wanted to furniture to employees, donate anything left over, and purchase salvaged materials.

Lighting/Heating/Cooling

• Try to set up your home office in a location that has adequate natural sunlight during your office hours. Get a small desk lamp to help supplement your lighting needs.
• If you work in a larger office, encourage employee s to shut off lights that are not being used, such as in a rarely used restroom or a meeting room when it is not in use. Installing timers, dual-level switches, and occupancy sensors can help.
• Use a programmable thermostat to raise the temperature when employees are gone for the day or over the weekend.
• If you feel hot often, use a small fan to help cool you off rather than requesting the thermostat be changed.
• Purchase window blinds to keep the sun out during summer and to let it in during winter.

Don’t forget to recognize those that are working hard to implement green changes at the office. The good cheer could spread along the line and could help build your eco-force.

Got some green office tips of your own? Share them in our comments section below!