Going Green! Be Environmentally Conscious at Home and at the Workplace.

Going Green! Be Environmentally Conscious at Home and at the Workplace.

Operating a green home and business is not only good for the environment but good for your pocket book too! Conserving resources and cutting down on waste saves money. Whether you live alone, have a family, run a small or home-based business, or are part of a larger corporation, there are simple things you can do to ‘Go Green’. Try these 9 tips:

  1. Recycle & Reduce Waste – Hopefully many of us are already practicing this. There are local stores now offering drop off areas for recyclable materials like ink, batteries, and electronics, take advantage of them! Buy products made from recycled materials whenever possible.
  2. Conserve Energy – Turn off equipment when it’s not being used, and be sure to shut down and unplug computers at the end of the business day. Doing backups over night? No problem, set the computers to come on early in the morning so backups can be done before your opening hours.
  3. Go Digital. And encourage communications via email – Choose print media and advertising opportunities wisely. Make the shift to digital campaigns whenever it makes sense. Encourage email communications in the office, and think twice before you print those emails off!
  4. Cut down your fax-related paper waste by using a fax-modem – Yes, fax machines are slowly going the way of the dinosaur, but for those that still rely on them, there are paperless options available. These fax communications go directly from one computer to the other without using paper. And if you have to use a traditional type fax machine, don’t use a cover sheet unless absolutely necessary to save on paper when you can.
  5. Use less paper for files by using both sides of the paper. Digitize files when you can. When using paper files, create a system for notetaking on the file folder itself to save paper. And because many communications take place over email, create files in your email system and save those files to a USB stick for easy access instead of printing them out. But remember, if you are in a position where paper files are mandatory for compliance or other reasons, be sure to remain compliant. Conserve in other ways instead.
  6. Be sure to turn taps off tightly to avoid dripping. And if you have a dripping faucet, capture the drips in a pot or jug and use the water to water plants, or boil for tea until you can get the tap fixed!
  7. Place one or two water replacers in your toilet tank – Fill a couple of containers with stones or marbles and place in the toilet’s reservoir. This will displace a couple of litres of water per flush, and result in huge water savings.
  8. Before purchasing new furniture for your home or corporate office, consider recovering or refinishing the furniture you have.
  9. BUY LOCAL! –The closer to home the product originates, the less energy is spent on getting the product to us (i.e. fuel, border paperwork, etc).

Let’s all do our part to enjoy a GREENER tomorrow!