With the rising threats of climate change and deforestation, it's no wonder that many companies are implementing green strategies to reduce their carbon footprints. Green business plans are a fantastic way to make sure your business is operating in a conscientious way—and it can be a simple shift to make. Here are a few easy ways to reduce your everyday carbon footprint.
- Use both sides of every paper you print on
- Recycle paper
- Reuse unwanted paper for scratch paper
- Reuse and then recycle cardboard boxes
- Print in black-and-white when available; color printing uses more ink
- Recycle your toner cartridges
- Email when you can instead of distributing paper memos
- Store manuals and forms online instead of printing
- Encourage employees to walk or bike to work instead of driving; offer incentives and prizes
- Encourage employees to work from home when able; this will reduce your energy usage
- Offer bike parking in your office
- Responsibly recycle your e-waste such as computers, cell phones, and printers
- Buy only high-quality equipment to reduce waste
- Set your thermostat to a comfortable but reasonable temperature: over-cooling or over-heating can eat up energy
- Program your thermostat to have after-hours settings that reduce energy usage overnight
- Set your office equipment to energy-saving modes
- Only purchase printers, copiers, and computers that are Energy Star rated for efficiency
These are just a few of the ways you can reduce our company's environmental impact. To learn more about green office strategies such as printer standardization and document management, contact us.