Keeping it Real Homes

Nobody ever said that going green only happens at home. There are quite a few ways we can be eco-friendly at the office as well. Many of these changes can be made without spending any money, which is sure to make your boss happy. This article will cover a couple of the less expensive options for you to go green at the office.

Office Equipment

The biggest culprit of wasted energy at work is the office equipment. In some cases the computers and printers are left on around the clock, which is a huge waste. Simply turning them off is not the answer either, though it is much better than leaving them on.

The easiest way to fix this is to make sure your equipment is plugged into a power strip that has a switch. This will allow you to switch it all off at the end of the day, eliminating power to the equipment completely. Most office computers and printers are already hooked into a power strip, so it is a matter of turning it off and not spending money buying new ones.

Paper

Most offices go through a bunch of paper each day. Having the ability to eliminate, or at least reduce, our need to use paper is important to helping the environment. While there are some paper use that can be avoided there is plenty that can be.

You can start by asking your boss to switch to a paperless billing system. Most payments can be handled electronically now making this an easy change. If your boss is reluctant to fully switch, ask him to give his customers the option. This way the clients that want to continue getting paper can, while you eliminate waste on the clients that are willing to switch.

Around the office you should limit as much paper use as you can. Items, like memos, can be sent via email to reduce some waste. Giving your employees the ability to receive their paycheck by direct deposit is another. Simple things like this will add up over time and will save your company a lot of money.

Of course there is some waste that is going to happen. Setting up a recycling station at work could easily handle this waste and reduce the carbon footprint of your business. Most trash companies offer this service and in many cases will use the money they make from recycling to credit your trash bill.

These are some very simple things you can do to go green in the office. Eliminating paper use will reduce the amount of trash that winds up in landfills while unplugging unused equipment will reduce the amount of energy your company uses. Both of these are easy to implement and will make your company eco-friendly in no time.

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