Gallery: 10 simple tips for going green–and saving money–at the office
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1. Make good food choices
1. Make good food choices
Whether it’s a catered meal for a party or the stuff that stocks the break room, take the time to make sustainable choices.
Use restaurants that source local ingredients, support companies that make snack foods locally, and avoid unnecessary contributions to the industrial food chain.
2. Keep an eye on your heat and AC
2. Keep an eye on your heat and AC
Keeping the office a bit warmer in the summer and a bit colder in the winter can save money, but you can go further: Turn things down to minimal levels when everyone goes home at night.
3. Eliminate drafts
3. Eliminate drafts
There’s always a corner of the office that feels drafty. Make the extra effort to seal up drafts, reinforce doors, and keep the outside air out. A bit of money spent on repairs now can save a lot of waste later.
4. Get thee to the cloud
4. Get thee to the cloud
There are huge server farms out there that have empty space just waiting for you. Why pay for the energy of running your own datacenter when you can hand it over to a company that’s already invested in the latest hardware?
5. Take an active role in climate science by joining a distributed computer network
5. Take an active role in climate science by joining a distributed computer network
There is a lot of computing power needed to crunch numbers relating to climate change. Distributed computer networks use idle machines to do some of the work, like at www.climateprediction.net, an Oxford University-operated distributed network that uses idle PCs to help run climate models.
6. Minimize organic garbage
6. Minimize organic garbage
There are probably programs in your area that will pick up food scraps like fruit peels, leftovers, and old tea bags for composting. Alternatively you could install a bokashi bin or other composting space yourself.
There’ll be less garbage in the landfill, and the gardeners at the office will definitely thank you!
7. Loosen the dress code
7. Loosen the dress code
Suits and formal outfits can be expensive to clean, and dry cleaning chemicals aren’t exactly great for the environment. Loosen the dress code to allow for more casual wear and you won’t just save the environment: You’ll save your employees money as well.
8. Go low-flow
8. Go low-flow
Waterless urinals and low-flow toilets can save thousands of gallons of water a year, a boon for the environment and your water bill.
9. Change your copier and printer settings
9. Change your copier and printer settings
Printing memos, documents, and other office forms single sided wastes a ton of paper. Set your copiers and printers to double side and print black and white by default.
10. Ditch the water bottles
10. Ditch the water bottles
office with a fridge full of disposable water bottles–they’re nothing but a huge waste. Get rid of them and install a water filter station where employees can fill reusable bottles and cups instead of creating waste.
11. What has your office done?
11. What has your office done?
Got any more ideas? Let your fellow enterprise environmentalists know in the comments below!
