Work facts

• Surveys show about 90 per cent of staff want their employers to be greener.

work: key steps

• Reduce car/air travel. Commute and go to meetings by public transport, cycling or car-pooling.  Use tele-conferencing and email to reduce business travel. Work from home once or twice a week. Make your company fleet more fuel-efficient. Replace company cars with public transport season tickets.   Install showers for cyclists.
• Reuse and recycle. Recycle bottles, containers and packaging. Use paper on both sides and only print when necessary. Recycle waste paper and reuse jiffy bags and envelopes. Buy recycled paper.
• Use less lighting. Reduce lighting in low-traffic areas. Fit energy saving lightbulbs. Install skylights. Fit reflector strips behind lights to increase their effectiveness.
• Turn it off. Switch off computers, copiers, lights, etc, when leaving the office. Fit sensors to turn off lights.

want to do more?

• Turn it down. Turn your office's heating and air-conditioning/heating down 1 or 2C.
• Refill printer and photocopier toner cartridges or recycle them (Cartridges 4 Planet Ark).
• Save water with dual-flush toilets, aerating push-button taps and a waterless urinal.
• Use recycled toilet paper, and towel rolls instead of paper towels.
• Ask your cleaners to use natural cleaning products.
• Ask the canteen to use real crockery and cutlery, even if you take food back to your desk. Use real cups for coffee/tea. Buy tea/coffee that's organic (and fair trade).
• Use the stairs: lifts can use 5-15 per cent of an office building's electricity.
• Buy second-hand office furniture and donate or sell your old office furniture.
• Upgrade computers with more memory, etc, instead of replacing them. Or use laptops: they can use 90 per cent less energy than desktop PCs. When you do get rid of computers, donate them to charities or schools or recycle them.