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How to Make a Green Office
The rising levels of environmental concern have people looking some surprising places to find areas in need of 'greening' up. One of the most promising is actually the office. How do you ensure that your office is green? Why should you help ensure that your office is as environmentally friendly as possible? Why is going green so important? Whether you have a home office or simply work in an office, making sure that you do your part for the environment is incredibly important. Here are a few simple steps that you can take to help green up your office space.
1. Paper Waste – Every day, tons of paper are thrown out in the trash. While some of this paper is obviously beyond reusing, some of it is perfectly good, and is simply being thrown away for no good reason. Save your paper and you will save hundreds of trees over the course of a year. You will also save money on purchasing paper.
2. Choose Energy Star Components – Your office is home to dozens of power hungry devices, from your computer monitor to your paper shredder, the copy machine and more. By purchasing only Energy Star rated products, you can reduce your energy consumption by up to 30%, as well as reducing the cost of your monthly energy use. Therefore, simply choosing to purchase Energy Star products saves you money, removes greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and helps green up your office.
3. Change Out Your Lighting – The lights in your office help you function and reduce the chance of eyestrain, but they also consume enormous amounts of energy. Consider adding more natural light to the office to combat this. Obviously, not everyone will be able to add windows; in this case, change out your lights for new, energy efficient lights, LED's, compact fluorescents or another lighting type that offers good light levels with minimal power usage.
4. Recycle – Your office is the source of an enormous amount of trash, most of which can be recycled. From your toner cartridges to your waste paper, from your paper cups to your plastic bottles, recycling can be an amazing way to start doing your part for the environment.
5. Turn Things Off – Chances are that you simply leave many of your electronics in standby mode when you leave the office. This is especially true in home offices. Turn off the devices, even unplug them from the wall (or install a power strip with a switch) to help save energy.