The typical office provides lots of opportunities for going green. From adjusting your office's lighting system through the types of office supplies you choose and use, there are hundreds of things you can do to make your office more environmentally friendly. This green office guide presents going green ideas for the office that are easy to implement and will make a considerable difference over time.
Going Green Ideas for Office Supplies
- Look for and purchase green products such as Safe White correction fluid, staple-less staplers and pens that can be refilled repeatedly rather than sent to a landfill.
- Look for and purchase products that are made from post-consumer content (materials have been collected back from previous products and remade into new ones) such as paper and plastic products. Even paper clips with post-consumer metals content are now available.
- Cut down or eliminate your use of products that there are no green alternatives for, such as rubber bands.
- Recycle used office supplies whenever possible.
Going Green Ideas for Printers
- Buy and use recycled paper.
- Save paper by not printing whenever possible. Put a prominent sign up in the office to remind users to print only when necessary.
- Save paper by printing on both sides of a sheet of paper whenever possible.
- Use your printer's eco-mode if it has one.
- Use software such as GreenPrint or EcoPrint2 to save ink, toner and paper.
- Do not have your printer set to come on whenever your computer or computer network comes on; instead, turn on your printer only when necessary.
- When choosing a printer to buy, choose an Energy Star compliant printer - and be sure your new printer has an energy saving feature.
Going Green Ideas for Computers
- Turn off your computer when not in use. It doesn't hurt it. Really!
- Replace Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) monitors with flat screen monitors. Flat screen displays consume only about one-third the energy of a CRT monitor.
- Consider replacing one or more desktop computers with a laptop; laptops are the most energy-efficient computer/monitor combination.
- Keep computer equipment updated; current new computers and monitors are more energy efficient than those even just two years old.
- Choose Energy Star compliant computers and monitors when selecting new equipment.
- Recycle used computers. See Where to Recycle Computers in Canada and Computer Recycling in the U.S. (About PC Hardware/Reviews).
Going Green Ideas for Lighting
- Turn the lights off in rooms when not in use. For instance, there's no point in having the lights in an office staffroom or washroom on all day.
- Replace standard incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) wherever possible. These use 75 percent less energy than standard incandescent light bulbs while delivering the same light output.More on CFLs.
- Do not leave your office lights on overnight.
- Use light wall colors; light paint colours and higher gloss sheens reflect daylight, meaning your space will need less overhead lighting. BC Hydro has an excellent guide for making the most of natural light to light your office space.
Going Green Ideas for Heating and Cooling
- If you have access to your office thermostat, heat your office to a maximum of 21°C when occupied, 16°C when unoccupied. Heating and cooling set points must be set 2 to 3°C apart so that the air conditioner does not cycle (turn on and off) frequently (BC Hydro).
- Use weather-stripping and caulking to minimize heat loss from windows and doors.
More Green Office Ideas
There are more going green ideas for the office on the next page, including going green ideas for washrooms and staffrooms...
