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Easy Ways to Go Green
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 Buy green products for cleaning around your company.
- Use less paper.
- Recycle paper products including newspapers, magazines,
printer paper and grocery or other bags.
- Telecommute from home one or two days a month.
- Recycle old computers and peripherals.
- Check with the building landscapers and lawn treatment
companies to see if they are or can use green products.
- Buy biodegradable office supplies.
- If applicable, switch company-owned vehicles to hybrids.
- When constructing new buildings, build green.
- Buy organic food or raw materials to use in manufacturing
other products.
- Provide recycling bins for soda and drink containers.
- Use energy-efficient light bulbs, and purchase equipment and
supplies that conserve power.
- Use the back side of old printed materials for notes and
scratch paper.
- Use double-sided printing for reports, and use a digital
infrastructure that allows documents to be transferred digitally
to reduce printing costs.
- Eliminate unnecessary photocopying and reuse packaging for
shipping.
- Improve insulation and install timers to turn lights off
automatically.
- Provide reserved parking for carpoolers. Offer transit
passes to employees who take the bus or subway and bike racks
for cyclists.
- Let workers telecommute.
- Tell suppliers that you're interested in sustainable
products and set specific goals for buying recycled,
refurbished, or used. Make the environment, and not just price,
a factor when purchasing.
- Consider the petroleum it takes to ship and receive
products. Evaluate the impact of products you buy or sell, and
find ways to mitigate that impact.
- Inform suppliers and customers about your efforts. And get
in touch with local regulatory agencies, many of which offer
financial incentives to businesses that clean up their acts.
- Call your local utility which most likely offers advice on
how to reduce energy use and save money.
- Encourage e-mailing. When paper is necessary, photocopy on
both sides and use old letterhead for scratch.
- Teleconference instead of traveling. For must-go trips, keep
track of the miles driven and flown and buy "carbon offsets"
from a reliable company or nonprofit to make up for the
greenhouse gas emissions.
- Many offices have toxic substances, such as used batteries
and copier toner, at hand. Talk to suppliers about
alternatives to toxics, and make sure you properly dispose of
the ones you can't avoid using.
- Create a team to lead the company's eco-efforts and
determine where you can have the biggest impact for the least
amount of money.
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