Ten point plan
EnviroSMART has come up with ten easy ways to make your office more sustainable:
- Conserve energy: Simple tasks like pushing a button and flicking a switch can make the world of difference. Turn equipment off when it's not in use.
- Save water: Watch out for wasted water. Report leaking taps.
- Recycle: Recycle everything! Visit the Visy Recycling website to find out what can and can’t be recycled.
- Paper: Saving paper is easy. Print only when necessary, learn how to print double sided and make it your default setting. Use once used paper in your laser printer or as a note pad. You can also reduce your font size and page margins.
- Kitchen: Use durable, reusable mugs and crockery in your kitchen.
- Filing: Are hardcopies necessary? Try filing online or on disks. Offices at Glenn College have halved their paper use by filing on disks. Most offices have a scanning facility on their photocopier so you can keep records electronically.
- Sustainable transport: There are many ways to get to work without driving a car. Tips are available on the TravelSMART page or pick up a TravelSmart map from Traffic and Parking. Live far away? Take public transport or join the Carpool. A staff members can opt the only release their details to other staff members.
- Purchasing: Buy recycled paper and other sustainable products.
- Awareness: Does your office follow these steps in theory but not in practice? Encourage others in your department to make green office practices part of their routine. Tap into your artistic flair and make posters, distribute an email or discuss it over a cup of coffee.
- Green your lifestyle: Don't abandon you green practices at 5pm when you leave the office. Living sustainably at home can save you money. Take short showers, recycle, use a jumper instead of the heater! Investigate the mark you leave on the world by calculating your Ecological Footprint.
Don't forget the three R's:
- Reduce
- Reuse
- Recycle