From Guest Blogger Sarah Brooks: Time for My Office to Go Green?

If you haven’t jumped on the green bandwagon yet, it’s time to start.

Small changes can really add up and make a huge difference in our environment. Benefits of going green go further than just protecting the environment, though. Going green saves you money, it’s good for your health and it’s even good for the economy as a whole.

Let’s look at ways in which you can make your office more green and start reaping some of the benefits:

Use less paper

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. workers go through 10,000 sheets of paper or more in a single year. Multiply that by the number of workers that there are, and you’re looking at more than a billion pieces of paper being used each year. That’s a lot of trees!

Ways in which you can use less paper include emailing documents instead of printing them, sending electronic newsletters to customers instead of paper ones and printing double-sided instead of single-sided. Use recycled paper when printing and always recycle your own documents, as well.

Carpool

See if you can send out an office email and set up a carpooling system for you and your other co-workers.

Most people are more than willing to carpool since it protects the environment and saves a ton of money on gas. Provide a bike rack in your office for those who wish to ride to work, and encourage employees to use public transportation as often as possible.

Change out your light bulbs

The EPA states that energy-efficient light bulbs, such as Energy Star, use 75% less energy than regular bulbs. Though the light bulbs are slightly more expensive, they last ten times longer—making them well worth your money.

Other ways to reduce wasted light energy include installing motion sensors in the restrooms and break rooms, encouraging employees to turn off their computers when not in use and having them eliminate the use of their computer screen savers.

Control your temperature

Use a programmed thermostat to control the temperature during the day and at night.

At night, the temperature can be set cooler or hotter than you’d normally prefer, since no one’s in the office. Around 7am, program the thermostat to switch to the temperature everyone is most comfortable at.

If you live in an area with rather hot summers, you may want to consider letting employees where short-sleeved shirts, capris or long shorts to help keep them cool.

Recycle

Make recycling super easy for your employees by having bins set up throughout different areas of the office.

If every trash can has a recycle bin next to it, most people will choose to recycle. The easier you make it on them, the more likely they’ll be to do it.

Encourage employees to reuse their water bottles instead of purchasing a new one each time and bring their lunches to work in reusable plastic containers to help cut down on waste.

About the Author: Sarah Brooks is a freelance writer living in Glendale, AZ. She covers topics on diaper bags, small businesses and the environment.