How to be Green in the Office

Now that I have had a few years of hard work experience under my belt, I have come across some great ways to save both environmentally and financially in the workplace. Here are my top ten tips for greening your workplace:

1. Try to remember to always print your documents double sided if you can and say to yourself "Do I really need to print that?" before printing documents. It is amazing how much paper you can save.

2. Rather than buying bottled water in bulk for the office, make sure that your office utilizes a local water delivery system or install a water filtration system in the break room.

3. Encourage your office to have a "Ride your Bike to Work Day". Some companies are even giving incentives to employees for carpooling, riding their bikes or using public transportation. 

4. Make sure you have a designated recycling area where employees can recycle their plastics and papers. 

5. Redesign and "regreen" your office by switching out all your incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescents or LED bulbs, selecting furniture that are FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) Certified and materials that have recycled content as well as are recyclable themselves and pick paints that are either low VOC or have zero VOC content. Many local interior design firms are now well aware of how to design in the most eco-friendly way, so contact one before starting your redesign.

6. Are you looking into buying new electronic equipment? Look into buying refurbished electronics. Cost less for your office and the environment. 

7. Cut back on plastic and paper kitchen products by storing silverware and encouraging others to use actually use them. 

8. Make sure to turn off all unnecessary electronic equipment and lights when leaving the office. Better yet, install motion sensors for your lighting systems.

9. When scheduling meetings, can your team teleconference rather than meet in person?

10. Figure out how many employees could telecommute. Is it necessary for everyone to be in the office everyday? This will cut down in travel time as well as your carbon footprint. 

There are many opportunities for greening your office and this is just a small list, so take advantage and start today or at the very least tomorrow.