(Courtesy: www. environmentgreen.info)
Save Electricity by:
- Please turn of the monitors on your PC when you leave the office for the day, or leave for some break (especially during weekends).
- Switch the office lighting to LEDs (Light Emitting Diode) based Lamps or CFLs (Comapct Fluorescent Lamps), they are low on energy consumption and as bright as the ordinary lamps we use.
- When your meeting in the conference room is finished, take the initiative to turn off the lights in the conference room as you leave. If you have an enclosed office, do the same.
- Turn off all task lighting at your desk when leaving for lunch or at the end of the day.
- Turn off your computer and your power strip and eliminate those “vampire” devices sucking a little energy when off—your monitor, your cell phone charger . . .
- Replace tinted window panes with transparent ones wherever possible so that we use sunlight efficiently instead of turning on electric lights.
- Install compulsory power settings for all the office monitors.
Save Paper, reduce e-waste by:
- Make/Set double-sided prints as the default print style on your Office Printer. This will help in saving lots of paper and also in reducing wastage.
- Minimize printing and copying! What did they make the computer and e-mails for, if you keep on taking prints of everything all the time?
- Use the trusted USB drive/Pen Drive to transfer data electronically from one computer system to the other, don’t waste CDs to do these inter-computer transfers…
Reduce. Reuse. Recycle the Office discard:
- Corporate offices should have two bins – one for the stuff that can be recycled (like paper, refill pens, clips, pins, used envelopes, cardboard boxes, files, aluminium cans, glass bottles etc.) and other bin for non-recyclable goods
- Pantries should have disposable, bio-degradable wooden stirrers instead of plastic ones.
- Don’t throw away your Printer Cartridges, get them refilled. It will also save your office some money and may be just earn you some much-needed brownie points for helping with a cost cut!
While you eat or drink at work:
- Bring a coffee mug from home and use it rather than paper, Styrofoam or plastic cups.
- Bring silverware or a plate and bowl to reduce the need for disposable cutlery and paper plates in the breakrooms.
- Provide some stainless steel spoons to be used within the pantry. Those who wish to use plastic straws may continue to do so, but the consumption of plastic will reduce.
- Take the required quantity of food during the first serving, and don’t hesitate to have a second helping.
- Avoid spilling food while serving and creating a mess. This will also ensure the plastic covering stays clean and the caterers don’t need to change it repeatedly.
- Only fill as much water needed for the day from the water cooler as you need in one go and drink it all before it turns warm. Doing so, will prevent the water (in your filled bottle) from turning warm (as it lies unused/undrinkably warm) and getting you to throw it before refilling your bottle/cup again, the next time you feel thirsty.
In the Toilet:
- Avoid using the toilet rolls and tissue paper. Get your Office management to install jet-sprayers instead on all the flushes to prevent your hands from reaching out for the toilet rolls.
- Install the half-flush system on your flush, it will help save half the quantity of water that normally gets used every single time you flush your waste down the drain…
- Avoid wasting water while you cleanse up your face as you try to unwind after completing an arduous assignment at work. Keep both, your emotions and the tap flow under control!
(Credits: With inputs from Ashish Pal)
JAAGRUTI® - 
