How to Green your Office

Greening the office does not mean spending a lot of money or eliminating creature comforts in the name of sustainable living. In fact, many green choices can save the company money instead of being a fiscal drain.

For the most part, greening the office requires conscious choices, choosing reusable over disposable, and conservation over immediate convenience

Given how much time people spend at work, greening the office is a logical extension of people wanting to find eco-friendly solutions elsewhere in their lives.

1) Replace the office coffee with a fair-trade, shade-grown or organic version. Fair-trade coffees are produced and purchased from farmers with livable wages for both themselves and their employees. Shade-grown coffee was grown under the canopy of trees, which means that rain forests were not cut down to grow the coffee beans. Organic coffees are grown without treatment from toxic pesticides and herbicides, lowering both the consumers' and the earth's exposure to toxins.

2) Replace disposable paper cups with washable, reusable mugs. Have everyone in the office bring their own mug from home instead of using paper cups for water, tea and coffee every day. An office of 15 people replacing their three paper cups a day each with a washable, reusable mug would save 11,250 paper cups from being purchased and tossed. This step saves the company money and space in the local landfill.

3) Use the energy-saver settings on all electronics and turn them off when you leave for the day. Have the computers set to go into sleep mode if untouched for 10 or 15 minutes. Use motion sensors or timers on overhead lighting to prevent lighting empty rooms. Power down printers, fax machines and computers at the end of the day to save electricity and lower the power bill.

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