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how can I make the office "greener"?

7 replies

hazlinh · 12/07/2006 08:20

have just joined my company's staff assoc' "Green" sub-committee which is responsible for making the office a more environmentally friendly place..any ideas anyone?
we've already started small measures, like putting plants in strategic corners and putting in place a paper and batteries recycling program with bins everywhere...any other suggestions...?much appreciate it...

OP posts:
alligator · 12/07/2006 08:33

photocopier/printer policy? print using both sides of paper where possible/econo print rahter that best etc etc.

Toner recycling

computer/eletrical/light policy. Not leaving them tuned on/ on stand by etc.

SlightlyFamiliarPeachyClair · 12/07/2006 09:20

in areas such as staff rooms etc (maybe not places with VDU's) you could use the eco light bulbs, they're a bit of an expense but ewveryone wins in the long run. If you want to sort the toners send them to the British Institute of Brain Injured Children (and if you want t o put my sons name on the box so we get a discount on his therapy fee's? LOL ) their website is www.bibic.org.uk.

get poeple to recycle glass and tin drinks ocntainers; if poeple have ahabit f boiling kettles whn half full, buy a smaller kettle (or encourage a tea run- anything to reduce number of boiling sper head); if you have a confectionery machine / snack box system look at fairtrade snacks (flapjacks, chocolate, biccys) and also fairtrade tea and coffee (world responsibility doesn't stop at the offie door, and it does look really good when you have visitors)

donate old PC's / furniture to local schemes (many counties have one, or join freecycle on the internet)

slug · 12/07/2006 09:57

We switched to recycled paper for the photocopier/printer. We also have paper recycling bins next to the photocopier and in all workriims. Have you considered supporting cycling to work? There are grants avaliable to businesses to set up bike stands etc.

eggybreadandbeans · 13/07/2006 02:21

Love all these ideas.

We're also thinking about how to be greener at our company, and some things we're looking into include becoming "carbon neutral". CarbonNeutral can help your company calculate its annual carbon dioxide generation, and your company can then plant x number of trees, which will (ultimately) absorb this much CO2. It's been a few years since I looked at their site - there could be many more options available now on becoming carbon neutral.

Also, depending upon where your offices are (tricky for us, as we rent an office in a complex), you may be able to switch your electricity supplier to a "green" supplier. Ecotricity is one, although we have the green package from Powergen at home. It's more expensive, so it's definitely worth making the energy/money savings in other areas too - switching machines off overnight, eco light bulbs, etc.

Will keep an eye on this post - I want ideas too!

Piffy · 31/07/2006 23:01

Hi guys

Will try not to go on too long about this - I work in environmental consultancy so could win an Olympic medal in wittering about this stuff , all of the ideas below are great and a fab place to start. The fact that you have a 'green' committee already means you are pretty much on the way, you'd be amazed how few organisations even consider such things at all!

In general the golden rule is to follow the mantra 'reduce, reuse, recycle' - so first look to reduce what you use (less paper, energy, water etc), then reuse stuff (i.e. proper cups instead of vending machine cups, or printing drafts on the back of once-printed paper) then finally using recycled materials. This is because even recycled materials have an impact due to the reprocessing and transportation of the material.

General excellent stuff about green offices www.green-office.org.uk/ - actually written for Scottish offices but relevant to all offices anywhere.

www.envirowise.gov.uk/page.aspx?o=gettingstarted for office waste issues, especially paper and consumables etc

www.carbontrust.co.uk/ for energy advice and tips including FREE energy survey and report!

www.bco.org.uk for general information relevant to the offices sector, they have a particularly good publications team and have recently done a report on setting up a Green Travel Plan. This is particularly important as if you add up the carbon impact of a typical office over its life, the carbon produced for energy for the building is actually about the same as the carbon produced by travelling to and from the building by the staff.

As you probably have already found out, there is so much info on the web you could spend your life researching this! Hope this helps you to narrow it down a bit anyway...

Good luck! Pxx

DominiConnor · 31/07/2006 23:10

It must be remembered that "Carbon Neutrality" by trees isn't what we people wot do numbers call "true".
Yes you may plant N trees which will suck up the carbon your activity generates.
What precisely to you think happens to the carbon in the trees whan they die ?
Trees are a useful buffer, but they are not a sink.

notasheep · 31/07/2006 23:12

DC is back,that post was rather brief

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