Office Greenery 

There are many ways to stay green around the office that are simple and easy to implement on a personal and office-wide level. Business owners can also access a great tool to green their businesses at: http://www.nrdc.org/enterprise/greeningadvisor/default.asp

-       If you buy new work clothes, consider clothes made with organic or recycled fibers. Avoid clothes that need to be dry-cleaned, and if they can’t be machine washed, seek out your local "green" dry cleaner. Regular dry cleaners often use harmful chemicals that pollute the atmosphere.

-       Office workers in this country use millions of staples every year. Try a paper clip instead—it will make it easier to copy or scan the document later and can be used.

-       Put a plant on your desk. Plants help filter the air we breathe—on our planet, and in our office. Indoor plants can remove up to 87% of air pollutants in just 24 hours.

-       Make it a habit to recycle everything that crosses your desk—fax paper, envelopes, and junk mail can be recycled.

-       Make sure you are re-using inter-office envelopes as much as possible. That is what all the lines—front and back—are for!

-       Help your office go green and cut back on costs by using your own mug for coffee each morning. Doing so will reduce the amount of trash thrown away each day.

-       If you need to use colored paper, aim for the pastel colors whenever possible. Dark or vibrant colors interfere with recycling because heavy dye amounts are difficult to remove during the recycling process.

-       Always remember to recycle old toner cartridges. Some companies ship toner with prepaid shipping stickers so sending it back is free and easy.

-       Make sure your copy machine is set to go on standby when not in use to conserve energy.

-       Evaluate whether a meeting needs to be conducted face to face. Technology helps connect people without garnering costly travel and conserves the energy it would have taken to transport you to your meeting.