Eco-Uplift Articles

 

The Eco Friendly Office: 8 Easy Ways To Make
Your Office Greener
By Jamie Jefferson

At your home, you may have stopped using incandescent
bulbs, you may have a low flow showerhead, you may have
added more organic foods to your diet, and recycling may
have become an ingrained habit. You are doing your part at
home to reduce your carbon footprint and keep our Earth
green.

But how many of us are carrying that same concern into the
workplace? How many eco-friendly office supplies do you use
at work?

Using eco-friendly office supplies can save a business
hundreds or thousands of dollars, depending on the size of
your company. Here are eight ways to make your office a
little greener.

1. Make it easy to recycle. Set up bins for various
recyclables that you go through in any given day. You can
recycle the paper you print on, your calendars and
organizers, even the ink cartridges themselves.

2. Purchase items made from recycled material, whenever
possible. You can easily find post-consumer paper and even
printers made primarily of recycled plastic.

3. Opt for refurbished office equipment instead of always
buying new. Expect savings of 20 to 30 percent on
refurbished office equipment and even more if you buy it
used. Most refurbished items still have a valid
manufacturer's warranty. Make sure to read the fine print
before you finalize your purchase.

4. Waste not. Get into the eco-friendly office mindset by
reducing your waste. Print and write on both sides of the
paper. Print documents only when it's necessary to do so.
Share PDF files, for example, instead of printing each
document. Use email and bulletin boards to further reduce
the amount of paper used for office memos. Scrap paper
should be collected for recycling and not thrown away. And,
whenever possible, reuse envelopes, boxes and packing
materials.

5. Turn off your computer when you are done for the day.
The few seconds it takes to boot up in the morning is well
worth the electricity you will save by turning it off. You
may be surprised to know that many office machines are
continuing to draw power from their source, even when they
are switched off. You can save energy by putting the office
equipment on a power strip, so you can entirely switch off
the electricity to the machines.

6. When you replace office supplies, do so with an eye
toward energy usage. Switch a CRT monitor, for example, to
an energy-saving LCD flat screen monitor. You'll save on
energy costs in the long run.

7. Clean green. Don't forget the cleaning products used in
your office. You can "green" them too by using only non-
toxic, biodegradable, natural cleaners. Depending on the
size of your company, you might be doing the earth a favor
to do away with Styrofoam or paper cups. Have employees
bring their own glassware for coffee or water. For large
office gatherings when it's not practical to ask everyone
to bring their own place setting, consider compostable
plates, bowls, cups, and cutlery. More and more office
supplies stores are beginning to carry such items.

8. Form a Green Team. If your business is large enough to
merit it, form a "green" committee to meet on a regular
basis and brainstorm new ways to fill your workplace with
eco-friendly office supplies.

Protecting the environment is important enough to be
carried on anywhere we are, throughout our entire day, at
work as well as at home.
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Jamie Jefferson writes for Momscape.com and Office-Supply-
Coupons.com, where you can find coupons and savings from
eco-friendly office suppliers as well as discounts on green
office supplies.
 

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Susie and Otto Collins are Relationship Coaches and authors of 4 books on relationships and personal growth. To get their FREE weekly newsletter filled with practical tips and ideas for creating more connected, passionate and alive relationships send a blank message to mailto:collins@aweber.com 
or visit their web site at http://www.collinspartners.com 

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