How Can My Office Be More Environmentally-Friendly?

Creating an eco-friendly office may seem like an overwhelming process. There are so many ways that we pollute the Earth each year. How do you figure out where to start? The following green living tactics are affordable and easy to implement and will have an immediate impact on the environment.

Use Double-Sided Printing

Most office paper can be recycled. However, a lot of paper gets wasted because employees only use one side or throw their paper remains in the garbage instead of the recycling bin. Select double-sided printing as the default for all office printers to cut down on paper use. Employees can still choose single-sided printing, but they’ll do so less often when it isn’t the default. Keep paper that has only been used on one side in a scrap bin that employees can grab for tasks that don’t require new paper, such writing down phone messages or jotting personal notes during a meeting. Make recycling bins readily available throughout the office so that the task is as simple as possible.

Select Energy Efficient Settings For Electronics

Most electronic devices have standby or sleep settings, which will cut down on power use during the work day. Choose the most energy efficient setting and set it to turn on after 10 or 15 minutes of idle time. Encourage employees to turn off all appliances before leaving the office at the end of the day, as standby and sleep settings still draw power. To make this process easier, plug electronics into power strips with on/off switches so that employees can turn off multiple appliances with a single switch.

Supply Reusable Water Bottles And Coffee Mugs

Each year Americans throw away approximately 25 billion Styrofoam coffee cups and 2.5 million plastic water bottles. The average office worker in the United States uses around 500 disposable cups annually. Supplying employees with reusable aluminum water bottles and ceramic coffee mugs requires an initial investment but will save the company lots of money in the long run and cut down significantly on plastic bottle and Styrofoam cup use.

Shredding And Recycling Documents

Recycled paper requires 60-70 percent less energy and 55 percent less water to produce as compared to virgin paper production. Whenever possible, use recycled paper and then shred and recycle the paper when you’re done with it. Shredding ensures that confidential company information stays confidential and recycling the paper puts it back into production to make more recycled paper.

UCI is a full-service copier and document shredding company serving the Texas Panhandle. To learn more about our services and what we can do for your company, contact us today.