Mind flex: Easy ways to go green at work

With Earth Day being celebrated in April, spring is the perfect season to take action to make your workplace more environmentally friendly. Use these simple tips to go green at work, and also save money in the process.

Buy reusable pens

Did you know that Americans throw out over four million disposable pens daily? Consider purchasing reusable pens instead. 

Go paperless— and print prudently

Of course, the greenest path is to not print anything you don’t have to. However, when you do need a hard copy of something, try using a software program like GreenPrint, which identifies areas of waste in printing, alerts users to possible wasted space and recommends how to eliminate it. 

Monitor mailing lists

This is an often overlooked tip. When your company’s mailing lists are up to date, you avoid sending out unnecessary letters, thus saving the paper, printing and postage. 

Unplug!

A significant amount of office power is consumed by machines that are off, but still plugged into a live outlet. Standby power is a huge energy waster and expense. You can use a program like Surveyor, which automatically powers down company computers at night, to end this environmentally unfriendly situation. 

Maximize natural light

Did you know that artificial lighting represents 40 percent of electricity consumption in a typical office building? To reduce this waste, turn off the lights and open the blinds to let daylight in wherever possible. 

These are just a handful of ways to help you go a little greener at work this spring. Consider surveying your employees to find other environmentally friendly ideas to keep your office, workspaces and the Earth healthy 

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