Be the Green Czar in Your Office!

As you move towards a greener lifestyle, greening your office is important too.  Whether you work from home or away, follow the simple steps below.

• When possible, use energy star equipment - computers, printers, copiers, fax machines, coffee makers, etc. – for maximum energy efficiency.
• Recycle print cartridges at office supply stores and use soy ink cartridges, which require less oil to manufacture and emit fewer air pollutants.
• Keep your screen saver blank instead of the energy hogging, hypnotic graphics ones.  They aren’t good for our eyes anyway!
• Paper copies are less important these days, but if you do have to print something, print on both sides of the paper – most printers have a 2-sided property – and use recycled paper.  Also, set your printer to economy mode or eco-tone.  Most new printers have this setting, which uses less ink.
• If your office is not already recycling used paper, set up a recycling center (for cans, bottles and plastic too) and organize a weekly or monthly pick up from a local recycling company. Or reuse unwanted paper for scrap paper.
• For interoffice memos, use email rather than paper.  Most offices already do that and even email is becoming antiquated with facebook messaging, google chatting and texting!
• In your office kitchen, install a water filter system instead of using individual water bottles or big plastic water containers.
• The average American goes through 500 disposable cups every year, so use ceramic mugs, not polystyrene (Styrofoam®) or plastic cups for coffee or water. Use real spoons instead of plastic stirrers. Set up a recycling center in the kitchen too.
• Replace incandescent light bulbs with longer lasting, energy efficient CFLs (compact fluorescents) or LED bulbs.
• Clean your office with green cleaning supplies.
• Reuse old packaging materials for shipping.
• Houseplants are effective air cleaners, removing indoor air pollutants.  Place several plants near your printers, fax and photocopiers. They add beauty and tranquility as well.
• When remodeling your office, use natural materials for furniture and carpet and low VOC paints instead of man-made laminates,  synthetic materials and conventional paints that outgas toxins.
• When possible, ride public transportation, walk, bike or carpool to work.  You'll save energy and start the day in a more relaxed way.

We spend most of our time at work, so setting up a green office is an important step to using less energy and leading a healthier lifestyle.  If your office isn't as eco-friendly as it should be, take the lead and become the green czar in your office - your boss will be impressed with your initiative!

For more green living tips, visit greenwithbetsy.com.