Reduced consumption and waste translate into financial savings, as any initial expenditure needed to transform an office into being “green” are offset by the resulting long-term savings.

The following suggestions will work for every business environment. However, the application of just one or two is a step towards responsible environmental management.

Go Blue

Buy blue boxes for the office and lunch room and separate recyclables such as paper, cardboard, plastic containers, bottles, etc.

Reduce Energy

• Power down all electronic computer equipment at the end of the day.
• Invest in shared photocopiers and printers rather than purchasing a printer for each office.
• Encourage a “lights out” policy when personnel leave the office. Install timers, or motion detector switches.
• Switch all lighting fixtures to the new fluorescent bulbs.
• Programmable thermostats will help reduce energy consumption. Increase the temperature at which the air conditioner comes on. Decrease the temperature for heating.

Spend Now to Save Later

• Purchase new equipment that is more power efficient (most new equipment will indicate the power consumption rates).
• Switch to a high-efficiency furnace or heat pump to warm and cool your building. You can reduce your cost with federal and provincial grants, and incentives from suppliers.
• Install low-volume toilets to reduce water consumption and electric hand-dryers or automatic paper dispensers to reduce paper usage.
• Switch to a heat-on-demand water heater or reduce the thermostat on the hot water heater.
• Purchase a water cooler (eliminate the use of individual plastic bottles).
• Equip the kitchen with a refrigerator, coffeemaker and microwave (eliminate the purchase of fast food in non-recyclable containers).
• Provide coffee, reusable mugs, plates and utensils (eliminate the use of Styrofoam cups and plastic utensils).

Travel Smarter

• Purchase smaller, more fuel-efficient or hybrid company vehicles.
• Encourage personnel to observe speed limits.
• Ensure regular maintenance of vehicle.
• Car pooling may be encouraged but management are advised to seek legal advice before suggesting that employees ride together (liability issues).
• Supply transit passes to encourage staff to use public transit.
• Review your cartage needs. It may be more efficient to hire vehicles as needed or use a courier rather than purchasing a vehicle for occasional deliveries.

Communicate Electronically

• Contact your suppliers and customers and arrange for purchase orders and invoices to be sent by e-mail.
• Arrange with your bank for your payroll to be online.
• Make a policy that all clients, suppliers or sales prospects should be located on the Internet. Refuse delivery of bulky telephone directories.
• Determine that all marketing and advertising will become environmentally responsible. Establish a website and use radio or television for advertising. Provide clients with e-mail advertising instead of print mailing (be sure to get their permission first because of privacy concerns).

Be Flexible

• Encourage employees to work at home.
• Equip all computers with webcams to allow office/employee connection to reduce the alienation of working off-site.
• Shorten the work week to four days (the employees work extended hours for four days).

Getting Started - the Greening Process

• Get senior management involved - their backing is important. Emphasize the savings!
• Assign responsibilities - establish an informal committee to coordinate efforts, share information and take responsibility that changes will happen.
• Review existing practices and assess where change is needed.
• Set priorities for change - this is a long-term project.
• Communicate - everyone needs to understand what is required and how to do it. Provide feedback on targets and achievements to motivate personnel.
• Ongoing review of processes and equipment to ensure long-term improvement.

Environmentally Responsible Resources

• For further information, Google “green office (and your province's name)” for ideas and incentives in your province.
• GreenBiz offers a free service providing daily news on external websites (go to GreenBiz.com and sign up for their free news feed (RSS) or newsletters (GreenBuzz Box) featuring news, columnists and resources.

Finally …

Going green is not easy. Fundamentally it means changing long-term habits. However, the challenge of change will provide your company's employees with the satisfaction of meeting their goals together, while improving the bottom line and benefiting us all with a greener environment.