Reduce your carbon footprint while at the office in order to save the natural resources and energy while you are working.  Consider the way you use lights.  Turn off lights in the office when you go out for lunch and when you leave for the day.  Tack a note to the inside of the bathroom door reminding people to turn off the lights when they leave.

Artificial lighting in the workplace can account for almost 45% of the electricity bills in your office building. Turning off the lights must become a daily habit as soon as you leave a room for 10 minutes or more.  Use natural light whenever possible.  Make it a policy to purchase energy star rated fixtures and bulbs.  Consider installing motion sensors or timers in order to automatically shut off lights when nobody is around.  Maximize your computer efficiency by making it a habit to turn off the computer and it’s accessories when you leave for lunch, meetings, and at the end of the day.  The computer is still using energy when it is plugged in regardless of whether it’s in use or not.

Go into your computer preferences and set your computer to energy saver so that your computer will go to sleep after it’s been idle for a few moments.  Note that screen savers are not designed to save energy.  Setting your computer for sleep mode is the better option.  Consider ways to save when printing with paper and ink.  Print documents on both sides of the paper.  Avoid color printing when possible and purchase chlorine-free paper.  Recycle paper, ink cartridges and toner.  Utilize electronic devices to file away important documents rather than printing hard copies.   Place recycle bins next to trash bins to remind people to recycle their trash.

The break room in any office has a large potential for recycling.  Set up bins for plastics, glass, and aluminum.  When this is available, people tend to recycle more because they do not have to go out of their way.  Many workplaces tend to purchase bottled water.  Consider adding a water cooler to your office and distributing reusable bottles for the staff.

Purchase office supplies from recycling centers.  Utilize non-toxic cleaning products.  Decorate the workplace with plants that absorb indoor pollution and also contribute to a pleasant environment.  Consider how you to travel to work.  Can you take the bus or train, or ride a bike, or carpool with a coworker?  Create a sign up sheet for people to carpool and post it in the break room.

Photo by: Ali Ender Birer -
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