Green Your Office and be the Eco-Employee of the Year.

The Skinny >>

You feel great about greening yourself and your home, but what about your home away from home (aka the office)? Offices can guzzle up a ton of resources and create tons of excess waste. If you’ve ever read Cradle to Cradle, you know that greening your office can also make for more productive workers. Whether you’re the boss or the employee, be the office hero and green up your workspace with our boot camp tips.

Work It >>

1) Use it or Turn it Off: If there is no one in the copy room for hours at a time, should the lights be on?  Of course not.  This goes for computers, printers and other office machines too.  Many electronics these days come with sleep modes that allow you to program when you want to power down (e.g. after 5 min. of inactivity).    Also, aways be sure to completely power down when you leave for the day.  If you’ve stopped working, your machines should too.

2) Get Rid of Vampires: Just like in the home, vampire energy will suck you dry (40% of the energy used is through phantom loads by turned off appliances).  If you don’t print all that often, leave your printer unplugged unless you need it.  Invest in smart strips and surge protectors to maximize your power efficiency.  Even kitchen items like the communal coffee pot and toaster don’t need to be plugged in unless somebody’s getting a treat. Always remember this rule of thumb:  If it isn’t in use, it doesn’t need juice.

3) Use Paper Wisely: Make sure all your office paper is 100% Post Consumer Recycled (that goes for TP and paper towels too).  When you do have to print, double side it if you can.  Opt for electronic docs whenever possible.

4) Think Before You Ink: More and more ink alternatives are popping up nowadays made from water or soy bases.  These options have way fewer chems compared to conventional petro-based inks and work just as well.  If you do have to use conventional ones, be sure you recycle your cartridges (they take 100s of years to biodegrade).  Even better use find a store that allows you re fill your cartridges and use them again and again.

5) Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Set up a system that allows you to recycle a majority of the waste created by the office.  We’ve created a handy guide for what you can recycle in Los Angeles here but you can find them for most cities.  Also be sure to collect any hazardous or e-waste like batteries or broken electronics and get them to the right place to be disposed of safely.  Earth 911 is a great resource to find these locations near your home.

6) Clean Up the Air With Plants: Not only are plants something pretty, they’ll purify your office air in no time.  You’d be amazed at what a few plants can really do.  Fortunately, we’ve got a great guide to clean indoor air that will teach you all about it.

7) Green Your Clean: Just like at home, using chemical free products to clean your office is the pristine way to go.

Work From Home: It’s not feasible for everyone, but if you can swing it, by working a day from home, not only will you get to live the blogger lifestyle of working in pajamas, you’ll also save money, gas and sanity not having to deal with traffic.

9) Bring Your Own Lunch: Again you’ll not only save money, you’ll probably eat healthier too.  Plus, bringing your own lunch (assuming you use reusable containers) creates way less trash compared to Styrofoam containers and the like you get from many restaurants.  If you do have to eat out, bring your own containers to take home any leftovers.  This may seem weird at first but most restaurants are open to it and after you do it a few times, it will be a habit for you and the staff.

10) Lead by Example: Let’s face it, change doesn’t happen overnight, but if you’re leading the way, people will follow (and hopefully you’ll be credited for being the amazing Eco-Employee of the Year).

Earn Your Stripes >>

Really commit to being paper-free.  To do this all you need is a computer and scanner.  Request documents be sent to you in Word or Text Edit format so you can fill them out on your computer and not have to print.  Avoid printing out documents to sign by simply scanning in a copy of your signature as a jpeg file and inserting it whenever your signature is needed.   If you need more inspiration on going paperless, check out this article from LifeHacker.

Related Content >>

• In Door Clean Air Article on YDT
• Planet Green:  Green Office
• Green Clean Article on YDT

Missed a Few Boot Camps? Catch Up Here >>

Enjoyed this article but aren’t a bootcamper yet? Sign up for YDT’s 20-day on-line Going Green Boot Camp to receive free daily tips on how to go green.