Going green in the office – save the environment and money

Although it may not seem to be the case, bad office practices can have an extremely negative effect on both your wallet and the environment.

By implementing a few small changes in policy, you could start to see both your outgoings and carbon footprint decrease quickly.

Here are a few tips to help get you started on the road to making your office more energy efficient:

Recycled paper

The easiest change to bring about is where you source your paper from. Printing on recycled paper saves trees, landfill space and energy compared to using regular paper. This is because the second refining process takes less time and energy.

Recycled paper meets the same technical specifications as non recycled and as a result is suitable for all office printers, photocopiers and fax machines.

The easiest way to ensure your paper is eco friendly is to look for paper that has been created from sustainable sources.

Eco-friendly inks

There are a wide range of inks available nowadays which give the same high quality finish, whilst containing none of the harmful chemicals contained in traditional options. Switching to eco friendly inks will help to save the environment without a drop in the standard of your printouts.

All in one peripherals

All in one peripherals are a great way to save energy and money without a drop in productivity.

By removing your printer, fax machine and scanner, and implementing an all in one, energy efficient device, you can become much more eco-friendly.

Also, there is only one device to switch off at the end of the day. Great for the forgetful among us!

CFL bulbs

Compact fluorescent lights are a much sounder investment than traditional incandescent bulbs for your office. Costing a fraction of the price and lasting up to ten times longer, CFL’s sound like a great choice before you even get to the energy requirements!

Producing the same amount of light from one third of the power, CFL’s are a great way to save the environment.

Automatic light timers

There is no point going to the trouble of installing energy efficient light bulbs if they are going to be left on overnight. An automatic timer will turn off your lights just after closing time, just incase you forget to.

Does anyone else have any other tips to share in order to save energy in the office? Leave a comment below and let us know.