How to cut waste and inefficiency in your office

Businesses around the world have begun to “go green” in the way they perform their everyday tasks. You might think there is little you can do to bring your office into the environmentally friendly world, but this is definitely not the case. There is something everyone can do, and the great thing is: it doesn't have to be a big undertaking. Protecting the environment doesn't mean sacrificing productivity or finding an inconvenient way to do things. In fact, often times, increased efficiency and green techniques go hand in hand.

Three areas make the biggest impact on the environment in the typical office setting -- lights, paper, and electricity. Few offices around the country exist without using a lot of each of the three. Perhaps you have found that your office does the same. Lets start with lights and work our way down the list.

The Lighting Effect

Light bulbs, in their currently used form, are one of the most destructive tools we use to the environment. Incandescent bulbs (which make up the vast majority of the light bulbs we use in America) exert four times the energy that is necessary to light a room. Compact fluorescent light bulbs are slightly more expensive upon first purchase but last up to ten times longer than their incandescent or halogen counterparts. They don’t cost anywhere nearly ten times the amount, so the amount you are saving in the long run is immense.  Also, consider the tremendous amount of time savings by only having to change your light bulbs every 5-10 years.

The Paper Tree

 The average American office worker tosses out as trash over two hundred pounds of paper a year. How many people work in your office. Ten? Fifteen? A hundred? Multiply that by the average and you see how much your company wastes in paper each and every year. Put aside the environmental effects of this kind of waste and just look at it from a bottom line perspective. How much money you could save by simply making better use of your paper? Every office can adopt measures to capture this huge savings.

• Use a duplex printer to print on both sides of a piece of paper when possible. You've already cut your paper consumption in half.
• Use paper that has only been printed on one side as scratch paper instead of getting a fresh sheet.
• Conduct as much business as through e-mail and electronically to save money and trees.
  
• Use recycled office paper.
  

Duplex printers drastically reduce the amount of paper wasted in your office.

Recycled office paper saves trees and costs about the same as standard office paper.

Enviro-electricity For Your Office

Electricity in general is the final big culprit. Studies show that almost forty percent of the carbon we produce comes from our generation of electricity. Of course, no office can run without electricity, so what are you supposed to do about it? Well, there are many things you can do that cause very little inconvenience, but can make a big difference.

• Purchase multifunction machines when possible. It's far better to get one printer that copies and faxes than buying three separate machines. A great deal of the electricity we waste comes from the production of products. Multifunction machines saves on manufacturing costs to the environment. 
• Turn off computers and other devices when they are not in use. Many offices get in the habit of leaving these machines on when they leave at night, simply wasting electricity.
• Look for Energy Star labels on the electronics you buy for the office. These products have been certified as being more energy efficient that those without it. OnTimeSupplies.com stocks hundreds of Energy Star products in the Technology section.

Multifunction machines are more efficient to produce than separate printers, fax machines and copiers.

Energy Star certified electronics are more energy efficient than other office electronics.