I often feel guilty that I do not do enough to help the environment. I am not great with things at home, but I know that when I have worked in offices, they have been much worse. Even the temporary census office in which I worked was terrible.
Turn Off Lights
When I worked for the census, every light in every room was on when I was in that building. This was true even when the rooms were not being used. I would have turned off lights if I were allowed to turn them off, but doing that got me in trouble. Sadly, I left lights on that did not need to be left on.
Encourage the Company to Use Energy Efficient Light Bulbs
I had no way to encourage the type of light bulbs used. In fact, I had no way to encourage anybody at that place. If I did, this probably would have been better than many of the lights that were being used.
Turn Off the Computer
There were tons of computers used at the census. Every computer was on from the time the office opened until the time it closed, if not even later. They would often not have any screen saver or sleep screen, either. Of course, the information was not on the screen, but the computers stayed on with a user name and password screen showing the whole time.
Print on Both Sides of the Paper
Tons of paper was wasted while I worked at the census. I hated what I saw and wished they would have used both sides of paper for printing. However, once again, I did not have any influence at that place.
Use Ecofont
I ha d never heard of special fonts before. However, this exists. Ecofont was created by a Dutch communications agency. It uses less ink as the font is filled with little inkless dots that do not show when small text is printed. The text inspired by Swiss cheese because of the holes. This helps to save ink when printing. Download Ecofont from the company website. After reading about it, I saw a text on a screen that looked like it used the font in large letters.
Distribute Memos and Manuals Online
There was a huge binder of information that the census sent out with every employee. At least most of the pages were printed on both sides. However, if these thing were digitally distributed, they would have used less paper. There was no confidential information in them, so it shouldn’t have mattered about others reading the manuals.
Recycle
Every day that I worked for the census, I saw tons of paper being dumped in trash cans. I was sad about this. I wished they had gone with some type or recycling company to pick up the trash. They could even shred confidential materials.
Go Low Flow
Being that the census office was in a rented space, choosing the types of faucets used was not an option. However, if for some reason, I ever have an office or can influence an office, I will tell them to go low flow.
Use Reusable Dishes
I have sometimes fallen into the bad habit of using paper plates at places. However, there are times I try to remember to bring a reusable plate, bowl, cup, and flatware with me that I can wash. I have thought about putting these items into a backsack to take along with me to places that I go so I can easily have them on hand. They can be washed in the bathroom, even though hand soap is not specifically made to wash dishes, it can be used to wash them.
Source:
At the Office – Green Living Tips – Sierra Club. (n.d.). Sierra Club Home Page: Explore, Enjoy and Protect the Planet . Retrieved December 21, 2011, from http://www.sierraclub.org/tips/office.aspx
Personal Experience
