A few years ago being “green” was all the buzz. It seems to us at TelSpan that lately you don’t hear as much about it as you used to. What happened? We all still care about the environment don’t we?
I believe that as the economy has become more challenging, initiatives such as “greening” have taken a back seat to the basic functions needed to keep our organizations financially viable. There is also a perception among some that “going green” is expensive.
While construction costs of a LEED certified building may indeed be cost prohibitive, there are many little things that almost any organization can do to help “green” their business:
1. Ban styrofoam cups, disposable plates and silverware and instead provide employees with a reusable cup.
2. Start up or improve a recycling program by putting labeled bins in common areas. If your trash provider charges extra for recycling pickup, see if employees will volunteer to take turns hauling out the recycling and dropping it off or adding it to their home bin.
3. Reduce electricity usage. Artificial lighting accounts for about 44 percent of office building electricity use. Turn off lights when you leave a room and use natural light whenever possible.
4. Improve your printing habits. The average US office worker goes through 10,000 sheets of copy paper a year. Utilize two-sided printing, reuse the backside of papers as scrap paper, avoid color printing, and when possible, don’t print at all.
5. Store documents online. Instead of printing and filing, maintain an electronic document filing system.
Next week we’ll discuss more tips for Greening Your Business!
