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Greening Your Office
Hey, don't you hate how expensive it is to replace inkjet and laser printer cartridges? Well, guess what, you can have them refilled with new ink that's mixed on site at Cartridge World for about half the price of new ones! How cool is that? They have one location in downtown San Francisco at Steuart and Mission and several locations throughout the Bay Area.
Refilling printer cartridges and keeping them out of landfills is one example of how a company can reduce office waste and increase their bottom line while helping the environment. Businesses are catching onto the benefits of going green, and there are many resources out there to help get them started. Presidio School of Management has created a useful Sustainability Dictionary, and large corporations can consult Environmental Defense, a nonprofit that has helped Wal-Mart, McDonald's, DuPont and Fed Ex "do well by doing good."
Pictured above is Adobe Systems' LEED-certified, green building in San Jose.
After the cut, we've hightlighted some ways that we all can help our companies start reducing waste right now.
Paper
Try to send emails instead of paper memos as much as possible. Send PDFs instead of faxes. Print your files double-sided, or use discarded printouts as scrap paper.
Buy tree-free or recycled paper. With the help of Forest Ethics, Staples and Office Depot have been influential in transforming the paper industry by increasing their recycled paper supply. (Office Max is still dragging its heavy feet.) Kinko's now carries 50 different kinds of post-consumer recycled papers, and has recently upgraded its standard white recycled paper's brightness rating from 84 to 92.
When in doubt about the quality of certain papers, seek the help of San Francisco's Conservatree or Environmental Defense's handy calculator and their general tips for a greener office.
Office Supplies and Furniture
Waldeck's Office Supply is conveniently located downtown, and they specialize in green office products. The Green Office, whose headquarters are located in Cole Valley, provides carbon neutral delivery with their recycled, environmentally-friendly and sustainable business products and school supplies. You can design your own green workstation/cubicle through Green Office Systems or purchase a used one. Or join Recycled Products Cooperative and receive big discounts on green office supplies.
Green your office's kitchen by replacing Styrofoam cups with mugs and disposable cutlery and plates with real silverware and dishes. Replace disposable coffee filters with a permanent, reusable filter or 100% unbleached pulp filters. Buy organic, fair trade coffee and tea. Bring your own hand towel and cloth napkins to work or use recycled and chlorine-free ones.
Recycling
SF Environment is a great resource for helping your business set up a recycling program, and they've provided a list of incentives. You can donate your old computers and electronics to Goodwill, and the aforementioned Waldeck's Office Supply will recycle pretty much everything for you for free.
Energy Use
Use CFLs and task lighting instead of overheads whenever possible. Turn off your computer monitor when away from your desk for more than a few minutes. Turn off equipment at the end of the day.
Encourage employees to use public transit by participating in the Commuter Check program, organize a carpool or vanpool, and check out 511's Commute Rewards. If your company's big enough, consider setting up a shuttle bus or van. Offset your employees' carbon emissions for any work-related travel. If your company delivers, get some green delivery vehicles. UPS now uses alternative fuel trucks and FedEx has gone hybrid electric.
Get your office building LEED-certified like Adobe did. According to CNET's News.com, "Adobe estimates that cutting waste and energy has saved them $1 million annually, not including utilities rebates." Adobe has also created LiveCycle, a business solutions software that has streamlined the LEED application process, cutting the submission time by 50%.
And remember, if you're the last one to leave your newly green office, be sure to turn off all the lights!