Green Eggs & Spam: What's New in the Green Office Environment
It's time for American offices to go green. It's not that hard to do. It just takes planning and commitment.
Businesses consume vast amounts of resources. Statistics from the Worldwatch Institute, an independent environmental research organization, show that companies in the United States inefficiently use 30 million trees and 12.5 percent of all domestic electricity annually. Yet most companies have been slow to incorporate environmental stewardship in goals and initiatives.
A variety of new technologies, "green" products and plenty of benchmarking studies can easily help shape today's workplace culture into one that focuses more on environmental stewardship beyond the ubiquitous blue recycling bin.
You want to recycle, of course, but you also want to reduce waste, conserve energy and purchase smarter. And to do this, everyone in the company must be on board and actively participate in the initiative.
Getting Started
Begin your commitment to "going green" by writing an environmental vision statement. All players, from the principal to part-time employees, need to understand, and buy into, the school's environmental mission and goals. State your intention to respect the environment in the design, production and distribution of your products and/or services and strive to go beyond compliance.
Next, create an "environmental" team of employees who will promote the mission and goals throughout the school. They can head up internal education programs, tout environmental purchasing efforts, and track the initiative's success in their respective departments.
Also involve your vendors and customers. Seek out vendors who use environmentally responsible manufacturing processes, offer green products, and run their business with a similar vision as your own. Explain your environmental stewardship vision to others and encourage them to become involved in a similar program.
Reducing Waste
Waste reduction is the biggest initiative any company can undertake while going green. Wasted materials are wasted money.
To begin reducing waste in your school, use fewer products and raw materials. Establish a school-wide policy of photocopying on both sides of the paper. Use the back side of printed material for draft documents. Send reports via e-mail instead of making printed copies. Use outdated forms and letterhead for in-house memos - or, better yet, e-mail them. Try to move to a more electronic platform. It saves money - and resources - immediately.
Next, recycle. Stop discarding printer and copier cartridges in the trash. Set up recycling stations in the office not only for paper and printer accessories, but also for plastic and glass or even food compost.
Another way to eliminate or manage waste is by making sure employees work at peak efficiency.
Purchase Green
Additionally, you should institute green thinking into your purchasing process. Set specific criteria to follow when making buying decisions.
For example, determine that paper purchases must contain at least 50 percent post-consumer recycled material or that products must be purchased from companies that institute good environmental initiatives at the manufacturing level.
Many manufacturers now focus on a "cradle-to-grave" life cycle for their products. They take into account the environmental impact their products have from the raw materials to manufacture, sale, use and dispose. Along the way, they identify opportunities to improve efficiency, reduce waste, improve quality, save money, and, in the end, provide more environmentally appealing products.
Making It Work
Ask yourself if your school is doing as much good for the environment as you want it to be doing. If it's not, then do something about it. Start mapping out that strategy because it does matter. Greening your school office can save money, boost productivity, earn respect, and make a significant impact on the environment.
This information is courtesy of The HON Company, a leader in the design and manufacturing of workplace furniture, www.hon.com.
Sidebar
More Office Greening Tips
By Sidney Porter
Conservation is a great way to help preserve the earth's natural resources, as well as a means to save money. With all the waste that companies around the country produce, one of the biggest trends for 2008 is conservation.
That being the case, here are some things you can do with office supplies to further conservation efforts and save some cash for your school.
1. Go paperless (or pseudo-paperless).
Paper is great for presentations and reading documents. However, each piece of paper you use costs your school money. Additionally, heavy paper usage causes deforestation, as paper is made from certain parts of trees. The average American currently uses approximately 580 pounds of paper annually - or more than1 1/2 pounds per day!
The solution is to cut down on the amount of needless printouts you use in and around your school. To determine true needs from waste, conduct a "waste assessment." Simply peek into your trash bins on a daily/weekly basis to see what's being thrown away. It's typical for paper to account for up to 50% of the waste.
The goal then becomes to identify ways to reduce what you see. In many cases, it's a matter of simply changing how we communicate-substituting print with e-mail or a face-to-face conversation.
2. Order reusables - and reuse them.
Disposable pens, pencils, markers, and all sorts of other items can often be purchased in bulk inexpensively. However, inexpensive disposable items like these are oftentimes made with inexpensive parts, causing them to break easily. Plus, they must be thrown away when the user is done, contributing to the weekly garbage.
An easy way to avoid this scenario is to buy your staff reusable items. Though slightly more expensive on the initial purchase, they will save your school money in the long run, as well as helping to keep the Earth a little greener for years to come.
3. Organize your supply cabinet.
There's nothing worse than ordering office supplies and finding that you have duplicates beyond simple back-up systems. This creates waste and even uses up fuel from delivery trucks when ordering more than you need. Most office supply online retailers can help you track inventory and can even send reminders when it might be time to reorder vital supplies, such as toner and paper.
4. Think recycling.
Most office supply companies feature recycled products, especially paper. The cost difference is usually small. When ordering any office supplies, ask about recycled products.
5. Buy energy-efficient electronics.
Look for the ENERGY STAR label on printers and computers. This energy efficiency can cut a printer's electricity use by more than 65 percent, and when computers lock into a "sleep" mode when they're not in use, can save impressive energy costs.
Your school wins every time when green becomes part of the buying decision. Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle your way into an environmentally friendlier school.
Sidney Porter is the associate market manager - public sector for Quill Corporation, www.quill.com .
