I looked at going green ideas for the office for using computers, printers, office supplies, lighting and heating on page one of this green office guide. But of course there are going green ideas that don’t fit into any of those categories. Here are more going green ideas for the office that you may want to implement:
General Going Green Ideas for the Office
- Place a recycling center in a prominent location in your office. If a complete set of recycling containers would take too much room, put a waste paper recycling box near the printers and a general recycling box in the staffroom. Empty the recycling boxes regularly.
- Encourage staff to use "real" mugs, glasses, dishes and cutlery rather than disposables. It takes just seconds to wash a mug.
- Use coffee filters that are made of recycled paper or even better, get a coffee maker that doesn't require paper filters. Compost coffee grounds if possible.
- Make sure your office has at least one large plant in it. They're not only green and pretty but great for recycling the air.
- Make sure that your office is being cleaned using green products that are not damaging the environment.
- Use email rather than faxing whenever possible to cut down on paper waste.
- Print one copy of memos and other inter-office documents and circulate them rather than printing off a separate copy for everyone.
- Use whiteboards and/or overhead projectors to display meeting agendas rather than printing and distributing them.
- Get and use a battery charger; using rechargeable batteries in equipment will save money over time and help reduce the amount of toxic materials sent to landfills. See Rechargeable Batteries FAQs (BC Hydro).
- Find a place to recycle used recyclable batteries and cell phones near you through the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation.
- Practice green procurement.
- Look for products that carry the EcoLogo. (The EcoLogo website provides a searchable database of environmentally preferable programs.)
Going Green Ideas for Washrooms
- Use cloth towels or hand dryers instead of paper towels.
- Put a brick in the toilet. This will displace an equivalent amount of water, using less when the tank fills. (The ideal, of course, would be to replace an old toilet with a new ultra-low-flush model.)
- Always turn off taps completely, ensuring that they don't drip. A tap, leaking at a rate of only one drop per second, can waste more than 25 litres of water a day – that's about 10 000 litres a year (Environment Canada).
- Install low-flow faucet aerators to reduce the flow of water from taps.
- Get continually running toilets fixed. They're huge water wasters and it could be just a simple fix. (Here's information on fixing a constantly toilet from About.com Home Renovations.)
- Make sure all washroom cleaning products are environmentally safe.
