Green at Work

Eco-Friendly Printing and Office Tips

Paper is a big problem from an environmentalism perspective.  Every day, we come in contact with a lot of paper, and we mostly throw it out!  Americans consume more paper per capita than any other country in the world - more than seven hundred pounds per person! Others have serious paper consumption problems as well (Western Europe used about four hundred pounds per person, Australia about three hundred pounds, and Latin America about one hundred pounds per person.  The US is definitely in the lead, and our use of paper has a big effect on our environment. You see, our forests are the storehouses for half the world's terrestrial carbon.  They hold onto carbon that could be ending up in our atmosphere.  About half of those forests have already been burned or cleared, and more than three quarters of what remains are seriously affected by deforestation, poor management, and other problems. More than forty percent of our industrial wood harvest goes to make paper, and the industry for manufacturing it is the fourth largest contributor when it comes to manufacturing industries in the US.  It contributes about ten percent of the emissions for the entire manufacturing sector.  After that paper is used, it ...

Green Living: Telecommuting and The Workplace

Lots of people dream of working from home, and for many, the dream is coming true.  So many of our jobs are now computer related, so telecommuting is getting a lot more popular.  After all, it saves everyone time and money, and it reduces our demand for oil.  It also reduces traffic problems and damaging emissions from the daily commute.  There are plenty of great things about telecommuting. If you have only a fifteen mile daily commute, you're among the people with a shorter drive to work.  However, over the course of a year, you'll end up driving more than five thousand, five hundred miles.  That takes a lot of fuel, even if you use more efficient methods, such as taking the bus or train.  Plus, most of us don't like the time we have to spend on the commute.  That's a lot of hours you'll never get back. Telecommuting isn't all fun and relaxation, of course.  There's a lot of work to be done, and some real challenges to conquer.  However, staying at home and sending work in instead of commuting every day saves a lot of money, time, and resources.  If you save just a gallon of fuel per week, ...

Green-Based Business - Triple Bottom Line

For anyone considering beginning a green-based business or perhaps even just thinking about aiming towards making your existing business greener, then you’ll need to understand and embrace the Triple Bottom Line. John Elkington coined the phrase originally in 1994 and further expanded upon it to explain the Triple Bottom Line as taking into account any ecological and social issues as well as just the financial aspect of the business. Triple Bottom Line or TBL means taking into account the impact your business practices will have on people, planet, and profit.  This means taking accountability for the people in your business, the impact your business’s environmental practices have on the planet and of course maintaining profit to sustain the continued business growth in the long term. People Happy staff is productive staff and a company that strives to create a workplace that treats employees well.  It’s also well known that staff who enjoys their workplace also tends to miss fewer days of work, which can also lead to an increase in productivity. TBL business practice is more than just making staff happy.  It should actively avoid exploitation and strive to pay fair salaries for the work conducted.  It should also include creating and maintaining a safe ...

Save the Planet by Switching Pens

Even with the advent of the so-called paperless society, thanks to computers and the Internet, there are still many things, transactions and technologies that need the old-fashioned pen and paper to complete.  You have to sign documents ranging from credit card authorizations to formal contracts and everything else in between of various values. Unfortunately, the use of pen and paper also has a negative environmental impact.  Since many articles have already been devoted to the impact of paper, let's focus on the mighty pen.  It is mighty not only to effect change in societies through ideas put to paper but it can also change environments via waste filling up our landfills. Consider the Statistics In September 2005, Bic announced that it has sold its 100 billionth disposable pen.  If that boggles your mind, just think of the billions more of disposable ballpoint pens manufactured by other companies.  To place 100 billion in perspective, think of placing the pens end to end.  Now, imagine that the world is literally in your hands.  You will discover that the arranged pens can circle the globe 348 times! And to think that Americans alone purchase a staggering 106 billion disposable ballpoint pens on an annual basis.  We shudder ...

Green Eco-Friendly Marketing

Green marketing is booming and there are lots of high profile companies and little guys striving to make a change with their green-driven commitment to save the planet. Defining Green Marketing Green marketing is making its mark.  It involves the marketing of environmentally safe products, includes a host of activities that has influenced product modification and advertising.  Truth to tell, there is no exact definition for green marketing, ecological marketing or environment marketing.  Green marketing has touched people' views on environmental concerns yet there is much work to do before the entire world goes green. What You Should Do If you are into Green Marketing, you are still bound by the code of ethics of responsible selling and advertising.  You should be a green-rounded entrepreneur, meaning you know your products and how these can be used in homes and industrial or business sites.  It is not necessary to be a green guru to impress potential customers.  In this business, honesty is still the best policy - as people are still taking in the enormity of the change happening now, changes leading to their participation in green living. Green marketing is no different from regular marketing.  It entails the same business practices online and offline.  Good ...