Here’s 10 simple steps to make our offices more eco-friendly

On a global scale, carbon emissions recorded for the IT industry equal those of the aviation industry. That’s not to say your home computer powers up like a jet, but it does sound a warning bell.

Because, even if you only have one, you should know that it takes around 1.8 tonnes of chemicals, fossil fuels and water to manufacture every average PC. In turn, the unit generates 100 kilograms of carbon dioxide per year and is generally obsolete after three.

When it’s time for an upgrade, worldwide around 31 million PCs are discarded with common household rubbish every year, contributing to the saturation of landfills. But it’s not only computers that leave a scar on the planet – CDs and DVDs, paper, staples and batteries are all home-office tools used without second thought.

What if you used a portable flash drive to store and transport information? Not only would you cut back on printing paper, you’d throw away fewer discs. And if you swapped staples for reusable paper clips? Or printed on both sides of the paper?

So, cast an eye around your home office and see which of these tips could work for you. At the very least, you’d cut down your stationery consumption (read bill), thus making your office, and the world, a greener space.

- When scouting for office furniture look for items made from reclaimed materials (for example, recycled railway sleepers, plastic or metal) or wood that’s been grown and harvested sustainably. Make a point of choosing furniture that’s durable.

- Staple less. Friends of the Earth, an international environmental organisation, calculated that, if each person on the planet used one less staple a day, we’d save as much as 120 tonnes of steel each year. Be conscious of what you consume and how much, from pens to glue sticks, paperclips and rubber bands. It all adds up.

- Make your next monitor a flatscreen model. Not only will it free up desk space, a LCD monitor uses less than half the energy of its cathode-ray tube counterpart. When powering down, remember to switch off the monitor as it often draws more energy than the hard drive itself uses.

- Computers use substantially less energy while computing than they do when idling – the energy you save by turning off your computer overnight could laser print two reams of A4 paper. Consider getting a laptop, which can use as little as 10 percent of the electricity a PC needs (and will come in handy during bouts of load shedding). When not in use, switch off all computer-related gadgets, including your printer, fax machine, scanner, copier and speakers. Turn them off at the wall – even on stand-by they still require significant quantities of power.

- Storing documents in electronic format makes them easier and faster to search, and cuts down on your paper consumption. If your computer’s memory isn’t very big, discuss the possibilities of an external hard drive with your computer consultant.

- Use environmentally-friendly supplies. Recycled pencils and a sustainable bamboo computer mouse may be hard to find on the local front but you can easily opt for envelopes made from recycled paper. If you regularly receive and send items by post, reuse the boxes, padded envelopes, bubble wrap and other packing materials. And if you have to have that bamboo mouse, order it online from www.thegreenoffice.com. (and make sure you offset the CO2 emissions it will take to get it here).

- Using a solar-powered calculator will cut down substantially on the number of batteries that end up in landfills. If you do need battery-operated office tools, rather use rechargeable batteries that are available at most supermarkets, stationers and hardware stores.

- Pause before you print and you could cut carbon emissions by 2.5 kilograms for every kilogram of paper you save. When you do print, use both sides of every page – it’s called duplex printing and most modern printers can be easily set to do it. If you are in the market for a new printer, choose the inkjet variety, which is generally more energy efficient than the equivalent laser printer. Unless you require high quality print-outs, opt for the draft mode, which uses less ink. Also recycle printer cartridges by returning them to the shop when getting new ones.

- Use ecofriendly printer paper. Read the labels and look for chlorine-free paper produced mostly from recycled paper and a smaller percentage of sustainably grown fibres. Paper represents about 70 percent of office waste, so dodge the debris and read emails on screen. Waste paper that hasn’t been used for jotting down notes and messages should be taken to a recycling depot. Visit www.paperpickup.co.za. to find a paper bank near you.

- Send virtual faxes. There’s a range of software programs that allow you to send documents from your PC to a fax machine, and receive faxes from either source as an email. Alternatively, if you have a scanner, simply scan documents and send them as email attachments.

Source: women24.com