Business Ways To Save
With all the hype about “going green,” you may have already started replacing household cleaners with organic ones or maybe you’ve even traded in that gas-guzzling car for a hybrid, but why stop there? Check out some office-greening opportunities below. The possibilities are endless!
11/28 Update under #4
1. Replace petroleum-based ink with soy-based ink
Ink made from soybeans is not only better for the environment but better for your company’s bottom line, as well. Soy ink has lower levels of volatile organic compounds than ink made from petroleum, so it emits less harmful toxins into the air. Soy ink produces brighter and sharper colors because of the innate clearness of the soybean oil, which petroleum and other vegetable oils don’t have.
Paper with soy ink is easier to recycle because soy-based ink is easier to remove in the de-inking process of paper recycling than petroleum-based ink. Prices for color soy-based ink are comparable to those for petroleum-based ink, but less soy ink is needed per print job and soy ink reduces paper waste, so you are actually saving money! If those reasons aren’t enough, by using soy-based ink, you are also supporting American crops rather than relying on the foreign oil industry.
Soy ink is currently only available for commercial printers, however, and can’t be used for personal printers or ballpoint pens. Most ink manufacturers produce at least one soy ink, so check with your local ink manufacturer about purchasing soy ink.
Quick Stats
Soybeans only use about 0.5 percent of the total energy that is needed to create the ink.
About 90 percent of the country’s daily newspapers with circulations of more than 1500 use soy ink.
About one quarter of commercial printers in the United States operate using soy ink.
When soy ink reaches its full potential, it will consume 457 million pounds of soybean oil a year.
EPA Project Summary: Waste Reduction Evaluation of Soy-based Ink
Soy is “Greening” the Toner Cartridge Industry
2. Eliminate vending machine waste
Coffee-making vending machines may save you from caffeine-withdrawal headaches in the morning, but they don’t help out the environment. If your office vending machine dispenses its own cups, make sure they are recyclable or see if the machine allows you to use your own reusable mug instead of dispensing a plastic cup each time it makes a beverage.
Even better, provide machines that allow employees to make their own beverages. This cuts down on waste and energy usage! If you don’t think you can go without a vending machine, however, consider asking the machine provider to de-lamp the machine. This will save a significant amount of energy, considering the lights and ballasts in a typical refrigerated vending machine use about 180 Watts. You can also add an occupancy sensor on the machine that reduces the vending machine’s power requirements during periods of inactivity.
Quick Stats
A typical refrigerated vending machine consumes 400 Watts — at a rate of 6.39 cents per kWh, that’s an annual operating cost of $225.
De-lamping vending machines can save $100 every year.
Energy Efficient Beverage Vending Machines
VendingMiser Energy Controls For Vending Machines
3. Cut down on office transportation
Offer carpool-matching services that allow employees to find co-workers that live near them. Also, encourage biking and walking to work by providing bike racks outside of the office. Then reward those who do take advantage of these environmentally friendly transportation options! Parking incentives such as parking spots close to the office or shaded/covered parking may entice workers to buddy up for their commutes. Improve e-mail and video teleconferencing capabilities to allow for more telecommuting, and try to provide flexible work schedules for employees, so they can work four 10-hour days instead of five 8-hour days.
Check out Sharetheride.com for a Phoenix-wide carpool matching service provided by Valley Metro.
Quick Stats
Driving 10 percent less, by walking, cycling, carpooling, or taking public transit, can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 0.2 to 0.8 tonnes per year, depending on the vehicle.
According to AAA, the cost for owning and operating an average size car is 52.2 cents per mile, when driven 15,000 miles per year.
Carbon dioxide is the number one contributor to the greenhouse effect, and cars produce about 30 percent of the nation’s carbon dioxide emissions.
Car Sharing – use cars only when you need them
Carpool Crew – search for people with similar interests with whom to carpool
Learn About Carpooling from the U.S. EPA
4. Switch out certain light bulbs and monitoring lighting usage
11/28 Lighting A Business - NY only
We obviously can’t work without lighting, but we can do our best to cut down on unnecessary use of lighting, especially in the evenings and on weekends when no one is in the office. Since exit signs are lit up 24/7, they use up a lot of energy and therefore add a lot to your office electricity bill. Make sure all office exit signs are illuminated using compact fluorescent lamps (CFL), light emitting diodes, neon lighting or electroluminescent lighting technology. These will cut down on energy use and lower your electricity bill.
Replace old fluorescent lighting fixtures that are likely using T-12 lamps with T-8 fluorescent lamps. With T-8 lighting, you’ll get better color, less flickering and T-8 lamps use 20 percent less energy than T-12 lamps.
Occupancy sensors are a good idea for areas of the office that aren’t used as much as others, such as the break or conference room. These sensors will detect when a person enters the room and turn on the lights. When they sense no one is in the room, the lights will turn off. These are easy to install and relatively inexpensive.
Visit WattStopper to browse occupancy sensor options.
Quick Stats
Replacing tungsten bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps typically makes an immediate cost savings of between 50-80 percent, and CFLs last up to ten times longer.
Over its life span, a fluorescent tube will save 640 kWh of electricity compared with the equivalent 100-watt standard bulb. This reduces the production of carbon dioxide, a green house gas, by half a ton and sulphur dioxide, which causes acid rain, by 3 kg.
According to a US Department of Energy (DOE) end use study from 1995, lighting accounts for about 29 percent of the energy use in a typical office.
ENERGY STAR Lighting – save the planet and save your money
Department of Energy - tips on how to improve your lighting and save energy/money
Economics of Energy Efficient Lighting for Offices
5. Make the most of your office equipment
According to the Department of Energy, office equipment accounts for 16 percent of an office’s energy use. The use of computers, printers, copiers and fax machines adds up, but simply turning your computer’s sleep mode on when you’re not using it can save energy.
It is a myth that activating a computer screen saver saves energy; it actually wastes more of it. In addition to putting your computer to sleep when you are away, make sure to turn the machine off when you leave the office for the night. Certain printers, copiers and fax machines also have sleep modes that can be automatically activated when the machine senses inactive periods. Also, consider consolidating these machines by purchasing a machine that performs multiple office functions.
If you’re looking to purchase new office equipment, visit ENERGY STAR to browse office equipment that cuts down the use of energy and reduces pollution.
Regularly cleaning the coils of your office refrigerator and defrosting the freezer will cause the refrigerator to operate better. It will also operate better if it is kept full, so if you’re refrigerator is too big for the amount of people in the office, fill the extra space with water bottles.
Quick Stats
A Lawrence Berkeley Lab study from 1999 estimated that one workstation (computer and monitor) left on after business hours is responsible for power plants emitting nearly one ton of CO2 per year.
If every US computer and monitor were turned off at night, the nation could shut down eight large power stations and avoid emitting 7 million tons of CO2 every year.
IBM estimates it saved $17.8 million worldwide in 1991 alone by encouraging employees to turn off equipment and lights when not needed.
EPA - Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions at the Office
EPA - Conservation Tips for Business
Guide to Help you Buy and Use Environmentally Friendly Office Equipment
6. Keep an eye on your paper usage
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, each employee in a typical business office generates 1.5 pounds of waste paper per day. That’s a lot of paper – most of which can be recycled or not used at all. There are several ways to cut down on how much paper you use, but if you must use paper, make sure to recycle it! This will not only help out the environment, but it will also benefit your bottom line.
Ways to use less paper
Make hard copies only when necessary. View documents on your computer instead of printing them out, and use e-mail to send documents rather than printing them or sending them via “snail mail” or fax.
Use a stick-on label on the first page of a fax instead of a full cover sheet.
Reuse paper that only has printed material on one side. Keep a bin for this paper by any printers, fax machines or copiers to use as draft paper.
Make sure all printers and copiers are set up to print on both sides of each sheet of paper. Some older machines may not have this function, but as those machines wear out, replace them with ones that have a double-sided printing function.
When buying paper
Buy recycled paper. Make sure to purchase paper with the highest percentage of post-consumer recycled content available.
Only buy paper that is PCF (processed chlorine free). According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, PCF paper contains recycled content produced without elemental chlorine or chlorine derivatives. Any virgin paper in the product is totally chlorine-free (TCF). PCF paper is preferred over TCF because recycled content is used in the former type of paper.
Use unbleached and uncolored paper. If you need to use colored paper, use pastel colors.
Buy products in bulk to minimize packaging.
Quick Stats
A single-sided 10-page letter costs $0.55 to mail; that same letter, copied onto both sides of the paper, uses only five sheets and $0.34 in postage.
A ton of 100 percent recycled paper saves the equivalent of 4,100 kWh of energy, 7,000 gallons of water, 60 pounds of air emissions, and three cubic yards of landfill space.
In the U.S., over 40 percent of municipal solid waste is paper – about 71.8 million tons each year.
The Green Office - Buy Environmentally Friendly Office Supplies
Conservatree - Find Information on Different Types of Recycled Copy Paper and More
7. Monitor heating and cooling systems and water usage
According to a TIME magazine article, heating, cooling and powering office space are responsible for almost 40 percent of carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. and eat more than 70 percent of total electricity usage. You can save about 10 percent on your electricity bill by just adjusting that thermostat by one or two degrees.
Ways to save money and energy
Use automatic setback thermostats. These thermostats automatically adjust the temperature settings for weekends and evenings when people are not in the office.
Consider outside air economizers that use outside air to cool down buildings when the air outside is cooler than the air inside.
Think about solar shading. You can use a reflective roof coating and/or window films and shading to reduce the amount of heat from the sun that penetrates your office building.
Keep the blinds closed. In the winter, this will conserve heat in the office, and in the summer, it will keep heat out.
Save on utilities
Add aerators to existing faucets. This can cut faucet water usage in half and save energy when using hot water.
Fix leaks. One dripping faucet can waste up to 20 gallons of water per day.
Quick Stats
Heating, cooling and ventilation accounts for 39 percent of the energy use in a typical office.
An adjustment of only a degree or two can cut heating or cooling bills by two to three percent. Extending that to three or four degrees can produce savings of 10 percent or more.
Water heating in an office can account for nine percent of the total energy load.
Leaky faucets that drip at the rate of one drop per second can waste up to 2,700 gallons of water each year.
EPA - Using Plants to Reduce Heating and Cooling Needs
EPA - Water Efficiency for Businesses
8. Consider all of your options
Hire an energy manager or transportation coordinator. It may be beneficial to have someone in the office whose sole job it is to set up carpooling or keep track of office recycling and energy use. The money spent on paying somebody to hold this position will be well worth it when you get your utility bill and help save our planet.
Use non-toxic cleaners or insist your janitorial service use them when cleaning your office. According to the Portland Office of Sustainable Development, cleaning products are responsible for 10 percent of the poisonings reported to poison centers nationally. A lot of cleaners wind up going down the drain and toxic chemicals sometimes then end up making their way into groundwater or waterways. Chemicals from these cleaners also end up in your office air and can have negative health effects.
Join Energy Star to promote energy efficiency. Energy Star is a joint program of the U.S. EPA and the U.S. Department of Energy that looks to help companies save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices. According to the Energy Star Web site, with the help of ENERGY STAR, Americans “saved enough energy in 2006 alone to avoid greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 25 million cars — all while saving $14 billion on their utility bills.”
Make sure all business meetings and conventions follow specific green standards..
Sources:
Wikipedia
EPA
egeneration
Oregon.gov
TIME.com
NRDC.org
Carpooltool.com
Clean Air Campaign
Bannock Planning
11/28 Update under #4
1. Replace petroleum-based ink with soy-based ink
Ink made from soybeans is not only better for the environment but better for your company’s bottom line, as well. Soy ink has lower levels of volatile organic compounds than ink made from petroleum, so it emits less harmful toxins into the air. Soy ink produces brighter and sharper colors because of the innate clearness of the soybean oil, which petroleum and other vegetable oils don’t have.
Paper with soy ink is easier to recycle because soy-based ink is easier to remove in the de-inking process of paper recycling than petroleum-based ink. Prices for color soy-based ink are comparable to those for petroleum-based ink, but less soy ink is needed per print job and soy ink reduces paper waste, so you are actually saving money! If those reasons aren’t enough, by using soy-based ink, you are also supporting American crops rather than relying on the foreign oil industry.
Soy ink is currently only available for commercial printers, however, and can’t be used for personal printers or ballpoint pens. Most ink manufacturers produce at least one soy ink, so check with your local ink manufacturer about purchasing soy ink.
Quick Stats
Soybeans only use about 0.5 percent of the total energy that is needed to create the ink.
About 90 percent of the country’s daily newspapers with circulations of more than 1500 use soy ink.
About one quarter of commercial printers in the United States operate using soy ink.
When soy ink reaches its full potential, it will consume 457 million pounds of soybean oil a year.
EPA Project Summary: Waste Reduction Evaluation of Soy-based Ink
Soy is “Greening” the Toner Cartridge Industry
2. Eliminate vending machine waste
Coffee-making vending machines may save you from caffeine-withdrawal headaches in the morning, but they don’t help out the environment. If your office vending machine dispenses its own cups, make sure they are recyclable or see if the machine allows you to use your own reusable mug instead of dispensing a plastic cup each time it makes a beverage.
Even better, provide machines that allow employees to make their own beverages. This cuts down on waste and energy usage! If you don’t think you can go without a vending machine, however, consider asking the machine provider to de-lamp the machine. This will save a significant amount of energy, considering the lights and ballasts in a typical refrigerated vending machine use about 180 Watts. You can also add an occupancy sensor on the machine that reduces the vending machine’s power requirements during periods of inactivity.
Quick Stats
A typical refrigerated vending machine consumes 400 Watts — at a rate of 6.39 cents per kWh, that’s an annual operating cost of $225.
De-lamping vending machines can save $100 every year.
Energy Efficient Beverage Vending Machines
VendingMiser Energy Controls For Vending Machines
3. Cut down on office transportation
Offer carpool-matching services that allow employees to find co-workers that live near them. Also, encourage biking and walking to work by providing bike racks outside of the office. Then reward those who do take advantage of these environmentally friendly transportation options! Parking incentives such as parking spots close to the office or shaded/covered parking may entice workers to buddy up for their commutes. Improve e-mail and video teleconferencing capabilities to allow for more telecommuting, and try to provide flexible work schedules for employees, so they can work four 10-hour days instead of five 8-hour days.
Check out Sharetheride.com for a Phoenix-wide carpool matching service provided by Valley Metro.
Quick Stats
Driving 10 percent less, by walking, cycling, carpooling, or taking public transit, can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 0.2 to 0.8 tonnes per year, depending on the vehicle.
According to AAA, the cost for owning and operating an average size car is 52.2 cents per mile, when driven 15,000 miles per year.
Carbon dioxide is the number one contributor to the greenhouse effect, and cars produce about 30 percent of the nation’s carbon dioxide emissions.
Car Sharing – use cars only when you need them
Carpool Crew – search for people with similar interests with whom to carpool
Learn About Carpooling from the U.S. EPA
4. Switch out certain light bulbs and monitoring lighting usage
11/28 Lighting A Business - NY only
We obviously can’t work without lighting, but we can do our best to cut down on unnecessary use of lighting, especially in the evenings and on weekends when no one is in the office. Since exit signs are lit up 24/7, they use up a lot of energy and therefore add a lot to your office electricity bill. Make sure all office exit signs are illuminated using compact fluorescent lamps (CFL), light emitting diodes, neon lighting or electroluminescent lighting technology. These will cut down on energy use and lower your electricity bill.
Replace old fluorescent lighting fixtures that are likely using T-12 lamps with T-8 fluorescent lamps. With T-8 lighting, you’ll get better color, less flickering and T-8 lamps use 20 percent less energy than T-12 lamps.
Occupancy sensors are a good idea for areas of the office that aren’t used as much as others, such as the break or conference room. These sensors will detect when a person enters the room and turn on the lights. When they sense no one is in the room, the lights will turn off. These are easy to install and relatively inexpensive.
Visit WattStopper to browse occupancy sensor options.
Quick Stats
Replacing tungsten bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps typically makes an immediate cost savings of between 50-80 percent, and CFLs last up to ten times longer.
Over its life span, a fluorescent tube will save 640 kWh of electricity compared with the equivalent 100-watt standard bulb. This reduces the production of carbon dioxide, a green house gas, by half a ton and sulphur dioxide, which causes acid rain, by 3 kg.
According to a US Department of Energy (DOE) end use study from 1995, lighting accounts for about 29 percent of the energy use in a typical office.
ENERGY STAR Lighting – save the planet and save your money
Department of Energy - tips on how to improve your lighting and save energy/money
Economics of Energy Efficient Lighting for Offices
5. Make the most of your office equipment
According to the Department of Energy, office equipment accounts for 16 percent of an office’s energy use. The use of computers, printers, copiers and fax machines adds up, but simply turning your computer’s sleep mode on when you’re not using it can save energy.
It is a myth that activating a computer screen saver saves energy; it actually wastes more of it. In addition to putting your computer to sleep when you are away, make sure to turn the machine off when you leave the office for the night. Certain printers, copiers and fax machines also have sleep modes that can be automatically activated when the machine senses inactive periods. Also, consider consolidating these machines by purchasing a machine that performs multiple office functions.
If you’re looking to purchase new office equipment, visit ENERGY STAR to browse office equipment that cuts down the use of energy and reduces pollution.
Regularly cleaning the coils of your office refrigerator and defrosting the freezer will cause the refrigerator to operate better. It will also operate better if it is kept full, so if you’re refrigerator is too big for the amount of people in the office, fill the extra space with water bottles.
Quick Stats
A Lawrence Berkeley Lab study from 1999 estimated that one workstation (computer and monitor) left on after business hours is responsible for power plants emitting nearly one ton of CO2 per year.
If every US computer and monitor were turned off at night, the nation could shut down eight large power stations and avoid emitting 7 million tons of CO2 every year.
IBM estimates it saved $17.8 million worldwide in 1991 alone by encouraging employees to turn off equipment and lights when not needed.
EPA - Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions at the Office
EPA - Conservation Tips for Business
Guide to Help you Buy and Use Environmentally Friendly Office Equipment
6. Keep an eye on your paper usage
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, each employee in a typical business office generates 1.5 pounds of waste paper per day. That’s a lot of paper – most of which can be recycled or not used at all. There are several ways to cut down on how much paper you use, but if you must use paper, make sure to recycle it! This will not only help out the environment, but it will also benefit your bottom line.
Ways to use less paper
Make hard copies only when necessary. View documents on your computer instead of printing them out, and use e-mail to send documents rather than printing them or sending them via “snail mail” or fax.
Use a stick-on label on the first page of a fax instead of a full cover sheet.
Reuse paper that only has printed material on one side. Keep a bin for this paper by any printers, fax machines or copiers to use as draft paper.
Make sure all printers and copiers are set up to print on both sides of each sheet of paper. Some older machines may not have this function, but as those machines wear out, replace them with ones that have a double-sided printing function.
When buying paper
Buy recycled paper. Make sure to purchase paper with the highest percentage of post-consumer recycled content available.
Only buy paper that is PCF (processed chlorine free). According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, PCF paper contains recycled content produced without elemental chlorine or chlorine derivatives. Any virgin paper in the product is totally chlorine-free (TCF). PCF paper is preferred over TCF because recycled content is used in the former type of paper.
Use unbleached and uncolored paper. If you need to use colored paper, use pastel colors.
Buy products in bulk to minimize packaging.
Quick Stats
A single-sided 10-page letter costs $0.55 to mail; that same letter, copied onto both sides of the paper, uses only five sheets and $0.34 in postage.
A ton of 100 percent recycled paper saves the equivalent of 4,100 kWh of energy, 7,000 gallons of water, 60 pounds of air emissions, and three cubic yards of landfill space.
In the U.S., over 40 percent of municipal solid waste is paper – about 71.8 million tons each year.
The Green Office - Buy Environmentally Friendly Office Supplies
Conservatree - Find Information on Different Types of Recycled Copy Paper and More
7. Monitor heating and cooling systems and water usage
According to a TIME magazine article, heating, cooling and powering office space are responsible for almost 40 percent of carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. and eat more than 70 percent of total electricity usage. You can save about 10 percent on your electricity bill by just adjusting that thermostat by one or two degrees.
Ways to save money and energy
Use automatic setback thermostats. These thermostats automatically adjust the temperature settings for weekends and evenings when people are not in the office.
Consider outside air economizers that use outside air to cool down buildings when the air outside is cooler than the air inside.
Think about solar shading. You can use a reflective roof coating and/or window films and shading to reduce the amount of heat from the sun that penetrates your office building.
Keep the blinds closed. In the winter, this will conserve heat in the office, and in the summer, it will keep heat out.
Save on utilities
Add aerators to existing faucets. This can cut faucet water usage in half and save energy when using hot water.
Fix leaks. One dripping faucet can waste up to 20 gallons of water per day.
Quick Stats
Heating, cooling and ventilation accounts for 39 percent of the energy use in a typical office.
An adjustment of only a degree or two can cut heating or cooling bills by two to three percent. Extending that to three or four degrees can produce savings of 10 percent or more.
Water heating in an office can account for nine percent of the total energy load.
Leaky faucets that drip at the rate of one drop per second can waste up to 2,700 gallons of water each year.
EPA - Using Plants to Reduce Heating and Cooling Needs
EPA - Water Efficiency for Businesses
8. Consider all of your options
Hire an energy manager or transportation coordinator. It may be beneficial to have someone in the office whose sole job it is to set up carpooling or keep track of office recycling and energy use. The money spent on paying somebody to hold this position will be well worth it when you get your utility bill and help save our planet.
Use non-toxic cleaners or insist your janitorial service use them when cleaning your office. According to the Portland Office of Sustainable Development, cleaning products are responsible for 10 percent of the poisonings reported to poison centers nationally. A lot of cleaners wind up going down the drain and toxic chemicals sometimes then end up making their way into groundwater or waterways. Chemicals from these cleaners also end up in your office air and can have negative health effects.
Join Energy Star to promote energy efficiency. Energy Star is a joint program of the U.S. EPA and the U.S. Department of Energy that looks to help companies save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices. According to the Energy Star Web site, with the help of ENERGY STAR, Americans “saved enough energy in 2006 alone to avoid greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 25 million cars — all while saving $14 billion on their utility bills.”
Make sure all business meetings and conventions follow specific green standards..
Sources:
Wikipedia
EPA
egeneration
Oregon.gov
TIME.com
NRDC.org
Carpooltool.com
Clean Air Campaign
Bannock Planning
Labels: article, business, energy conservation, Environment
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