Top 5 tips to green up your office

A green office environment can save money and resources.

A leaner, cleaner and greener office can help the environment and a company’s bottom line.

Especially small businesses can make certain choices to “reduce, reuse and recycle” and thereby save money and resources.

Here are the top 5 easy-to-implement tips for a greener office:

1. Make recycling easy and effective
   Separate bins or containers for paper, waste and cans/bottles will make it easy for everyone at the office to recycle.
   Ink and toner cartridges should be recycled and some companies offer a pickup program,
    
2. Use less virgin paper and reuse old paper
   Most people realize that printing every e-mail or document they get is a waste of paper – with backup systems, e-mails are bound to remain in your inbox unless you delete them intentionally.
   Using recycled paper is much more environmentally friendly, and finding other uses for misprints and old papers can go a long way to green up your office. For example, some people staple old misprints and use them for notes. Others turn old papers into small stacks of papers for notes, telephone messages and other quick messages.
    
3. Use refillable, recycled or biodegradable pens
   A refillable pen means less plastic and metal waste. Buying in bulk can also make buying recycled pens possible – some companies offer pens made from 89% post-consumer waste like beverage bottles. Some companies offer pens that can land on the compost after a simple disassemble (since not all parts may be biodegradable).
    
4. Avoid paper handouts
   In meetings and for presentations, a lot more people are relying on electronic methods like a projector and PowerPoint, rather than bulky handouts. Company memos and other information can be sent out by e-mail as well.
    
5. Use less toxic cleaners in the office
   Conventional cleaning products often contain harmful chemicals and fumes that can add to poor indoor air quality and lead to headaches and other possible health effects. Eco-friendly and non-toxic cleaning supplies are available that are not as strongly scented and won’t add more indoor air pollutants.

Source: The Toronto Star

A greener office can be a healthier office

Using less toxic products and materials can help improve the overall air quality in an office, which is often the reason for poor productivity, absenteeism and other problems like Sick Building Syndrome, for example.

Electrocorp also offers portable and very effective air cleaners for the office environment, which help keep the air clean and free of irritating pollutants.

Electrocorp's air cleaner for office printers.

The air cleaners feature a deep-bed activated carbon filter for the removal of volatile organic compounds (VOCs, for example from printing and toner cartridges, electronic equipment, treated textiles on office furniture, carpets, cleaning products), chemicals and odors, a HEPA filter to control dust, particles and pollen and optional UV germicidal filtration for the neutralization of bacteria, viruses and molds.

For offices with large printers and copying machines, Electrocorp has also designed air cleaners for office printers that feature customized intake hood for the removal of chemicals and particles right at the machine’s exhaust.

For more information, contact Electrocorp today!