10 Smart ways to work

sustainably
UNSW Sustainability

1. Purchase environmentally responsible paper, remanufactured

printer cartridges and other preferred products.

2. Purchases socially responsible locally-produced, fair trade and

organic products.

3. Conserves paper use through double-siding photocopying and

printing, on recycled paper. Using once-used paper for all drafts,
notes and internal documents. Reuse unused single-sided sheets for
scratch paper

4. Reduce energy use by activating power management settings and

turn off computers, lights and equipment when not in use. Lighting
constitutes 30% of UNSW’s electricity use. Work toward installing
motion sensor .

5. Use durable crockery, cutlery, cups and bags to avoid

unnecessary waste from non-biodegradable disposables.

6. Recycle everything you can, including paper, bottles and cans,

printer cartridges, cardboard, batteries, IT and furniture.

7. Promote sustainable transport. Walk, cycle, catch public

transport or carpool to and from work and meetings. Utilize the
TravelPass Payroll deduction to pay for a yearly travel pass. Check
out car-sharing options like GoGet. Forgo air travel whenever
possible.

8. Promote environmental responsibility amongst new staff,

students, visitors, contractors and suppliers.

9. Promote wellbeing by encouraging employees to participate in

activities that promote a work/life balance.

10. Monitor environmental progress through regular assessments,

and continue to strive for innovative, best practice solutions to
environmental issues.

5 Power down computers and appliances when not in use

Utilise sleep settings and unplug appliances when not in use.

UNSW Sustainability
 For more sustainable tips visit www.sustainability.unsw.edu.au.
Take the Green Office Pledge and sign up for UNSW Sustainability news and updates. Printed on recycled paper.

UNSW Sustainability
8 Smart ways to work in the lab
sustainably
1. Shut the sash. Close the sash on fume hoods to reduce energy use due to
air circulation

2. Complete the Green Labs online training

8 Smart ways to live sustainably

For the colleges and at home

From Stanford College dorm

8 Make your next event a zero-waste party

Encourage participants to bring reusable mugs and cutlery. Minimize
paper fliers and handouts.

In the bathroom
How many buckets a Day?
If you had to carry water in a bucket, how many buckets would you use per day?
The average UNSW College student uses xx litres of water each day, every day of the University year. That's 76
full buckets.
The Kensington Colleges heat around 200 litres of water or 2 buckets per day for use in the showers, the laundry
and the kitchen. There are many ways to save water, from changing our daily habits to choosing water efficient
appliances

Measuring well being

What matters most in your life? Your health, family, money, lifestyle or the environment? The things you value
will influence your actions.

A society's values change over time, often triggered by the action of individuals or small groups. Our attitudes to
the natural and urban environment are changing. The University of New South Wales, together with growing
community involvement and government initiatives, is working to set the stage for a transition to a sustainable
future.

For too long we have measured our countries and institutions success by economic financial growth, which is just
a measure of money exchanged. There are other measures that added that recognize the value of our
environmental and social well being.

8 Smart ways to learn about

sustainability at UNSW
1. Choose subjects that includes sustainability

2. Volunteer

3. Aspire to

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4. Prepare for and seek our green jobs

UNSW Sustainability
5. Smart ways to keep a
sustainable Kitchen
Poster for workplace kitchens

Much of the waste that is created during the day in an office is takeout food containers,
coffee cups, water bottles. If you have a kitchen, use it. Simple things can make a huge
difference.

1. Fill a cupboard with reusable mugs, plates, glasses, and utensils. Stick a bottle of eco
dish soap by the sink.
2. Put in an under the sink water filter. Plug a coffee maker into the wall. Take it a step
further by filling it with Fair Trade/organic coffee and putting organic milk in the fridge.

3. You don't need plastic or wood stirrers; you have spoons in the cupboard. Sugar and
tea also come in Fair Trade/organic versions. Bulk sugar has less packaging than
individually wrapped paper packets. Coffee filters, like all paper products, now come in
unbleached versions. A good choice.

4. If you have a microwave, put a few microwave safe glass containers in the cupboard.
It's not a good idea to put plastic in the microwave.

5. If you have a bottle of hand soap or sanitizer in the kitchen, make sure it doesn't
contain an antibacterial (like Triclosan).
Buy bulk food to reduce packaging waste
Next time you're ordering sugar, creamers, snacks, or beverages for your office kitchen,
look into family-style servings.
Offer staff good drinking water from the tap
Kick the bottle habit! Make good quality water available to your employees by providing
filtered, refrigerated water instead of single-serving bottles.
Provide reusable water bottles for staff
Give your employees reusable bottles they can fill and keep at their desks or take on the
road. You'll be surprised by how much you can save.
Choose eco-friendly food service items over paper plates and plastic cups
Stock your office kitchen with reusable plates, cutlery, glasses, and mugs made from
recycled or biodegradable materials rather than the disposable options.
Choose reusable or recycled coffee filters
Brew your office's morning joe with eco-friendly filters instead of bleached, disposable
ones. Choose from nylon, hemp, bamboo, oxygen-bleached cotton, and even gold.

Where to buy the stuff?

UNSW Sustainability
UNSW Sustainability
1. Audit your kitchen using the tOES kitchen audit form located here. The audit will take
just a few minutes and it will help you identify the variety of ways that you can green up
your kitchen

2. Send your completed audit to us at the Office of Environmental Sustainability. You can
either email it to us (recommended) at environment@adm.UNSW.edu.au or mail it to us
at:

Green Kitchens
Sustainability Office

We’ll use the audit to assess what your kitchen needs to go green and then we’ll send
you a box of information as well as items such as plugs, green cleaning materials and
stickers to prompt green actions.

3. Tell your colleagues why and how your kitchen is greener, and stay informed with
our Green Kitchens web-guide at http://fsd.UNSW.edu.au/environmental-
sustainability/how-you-can-help/t...

Small things you can do at work to help the environment

Small things add up. If 100 people do 100 small things it starts to make a big difference.
Let’s help UNSW demonstrate how we can all work and sustainably. It’s not hard. Are you
in?

UNSW Green Kitchens

Audit Checklist
Complete the following audit of your kitchen/tea room, and identify where your kitchen
area can reduce its’ environmental impact.
Return this audit checklist to Green Program Co-ordinator, Office of Environmental
Sustainability, Clayton Campus for a free sample pack of environmentally preferred
products.
ENERGY

Is your Fridge:

Set to 4°C to 5°C? Yes  No 

Positioned away from direct

sunlight and in a cool, ventilated Yes  No 
place?
Yes  No 
Free of fluff and dust on its coils?
Yes  No 
Sealing correctly? (strong seals
can hold a thin piece of paper in
position when closed)

What is its Energy Star rating (if

any?)

Is your freezer:

Set between -15°C and -18°C? Yes  No 

UNSW Sustainability
Free of frost (it should be Yes  No 
defrosted if it has more than 5mm
of frost)

Does your boiling water unit have

a 7-day timer attached or have its Yes  No 
internal timer set?

Do you have stickers on your light

switches reminding people to turn Yes  No 
the lights off when they leave?
WATER

Do you have a plug for your sink? Yes  No 

Do your kitchen taps leak? Yes  No 

If yes then please take

action: submit a BEIMS request
through your workplace BEIMS
rep

Do you have stickers on your sink

reminding people to turn the tap Yes  No 
off?

If you have a dishwasher:

• What is its water-smart rating (if
any)?
• What is its energy smart rating
(if any)? Yes  No 
• Do you use it only when you
have a full-load of dishes?
CLEANING

Do you have re-usable micro-fibre

cloths for cleaning dishes and Yes  No 
kitchen surfaces?

Do you use cotton tea-towels for

drying dishes rather than paper Yes  No 
towels?

Does your kitchen have cleaning

materials containing harsh

UNSW Sustainability
 chemicals such as bleach and Yes  No 
ammonia?

Does your kitchen have a recycling

bin for co-mingled recycling Yes  No 
(yellow labels)?

Does your kitchen have a Bokashi

bucket or other composting system Yes  No 
for organic waste?
PURCHASING

Do you purchase Fairtrade

products such as tea, coffee, Yes  No 
sugar, hot chocolate etc?

Do you have crockery available in Yes  No 

your kitchen area for staff to use?

Do you use crockery for any Yes  No 

training /events you conduct?

Tips For Greening Your Kitchen

ENERGY
Fridges
Fridges consume a large amount of the energy used in a kitchen, but you can reduce its
energy use quickly and easily:

• Position the fridge in a cool, well-ventilated location away from direct sunlight.
Keep it away from hot objects such stoves. Restricting ventilation can add 15% to
energy use.
• Keep the fridge and freezer seals clean and in good condition. Strong seals will
hold a piece of office paper in place when the door is closed. Also, keep the coils
free of dust.
• Allow food to cool before you put it into the fridge or freezer, or else the hot food
will increase the temperature in the unit and it will have to use more energy to
cool down.
• Avoid using your fridge as a pantry - if the food or drink doesn't need to be
refrigerated, put it on a shelf.
• Keep your freezer frost-free to save energy. Defrost whenever the ice has
collected on the evaporator to a thickness of 5 mm.
• Set your fridge at 4° C and the freezer between -15°C and -18°C.
The only reliable way to set your fridge and freezer temperature is to use a
thermometer. A good-quality indoor / outdoor thermometer or a special fridge
thermometer will suffice. If you don't have access to a good thermometer, then
the Office of Environmental Sustainability has some thermometers that you can
borrow. Simply send an email with your request to
environment@adm.UNSW.edu.au with your workplace address and we'll send it to
you by internal mail in a multi-use envelope so you can send it back to us.

UNSW Sustainability
Sources:

http://www.sustainableliving.sa.gov.au/html/slc_appliances.html
http://www.dtei.sa.gov.au/energy/energy_action/household/saving_energy/r...
Boiling Water Units
Boiling water units such as wall-mounted urns are common in UNSW University's kitchens
and are popular because they offer the convenience of instant boiling water - but boiling
water units that are left on all day, every day use far more energy than necessary. This is
because many units remain on for all 168 hours of the week, even though most
University workplaces are occupied for only 50 to 60 hours a week.
To minimise the impact of a boiling water unit, we recommend that workplaces either:

1. For BWU's built into the sink: set the unit's own timer (most new units have a
timer already installed, but it needs to be set. You will find the timer-function on
the control panel, which is usually located in the cupboard under the sink)
2.
3. For BWUs mounted on a wall: buy and install a seven-day timer for the unit. A
simple automated, plug-in timer is adequate for most BWUs, and can reduce up to
50 per cent of the electricity used for boiling water.

Source: http://www.environment.gov.au/settlements/challenge/members/greenhouseti...
TOES tip: some workplaces in UNSW have attached timers to their boiling water units
and discovered that their boiling water units begin to heat water only once water is
expressed from the tap - not when the timer turns the unit on in the morning. So, if you
install a timer remind people to express some water from the unit a few minutes before
they make their tea or coffee.

WATER
Dishwashers
Use a dishwasher only when you have a full load so that you use its water consumption
as efficiently as possible. If you don't have a full load, it is better to wash the dishes by
hand using the tips and methods detailed in the next section.
Dishwashing by hand
A running tap will use at least 9 litres of water per minute so if you must rinse the dishes
you wash, avoid using a running tap.

• If you have two sinks, fill the second one with rinsing water.
• If you have only one sink, stack the clean dishes in a dish rack and rinse them
with a cup of water.

And no matter what dish-washing method you use, if you want to remove food from
dishes before you wash them, scrape the food into a bin rather use water to blast the
food off. You'll save water and minimise the amount of organic material entering our
sewers and waterways.
Source: http://www.savewater.com.au/how-to-save-water/in-the-home/kitchen
Sink plugs
Use a plugged sink when washing up to save running the tap continuously or even
intermittently. If your kitchen is one of the many in the university that lacks a plug,
simply complete the kitchen audit survey here and return it to the Office of
Environmental Sustainability, and we'll send you your plug as part of Green Kitchen
recycling pack.
Eliminate water contamination from your sink
Many people don't realise that fats, oils and food scraps that are put into our sinks can
not only damage plumbing, but end up polluting our natural waterways.
The problem is that when fats, oil and food cools, it can block plumbing and cause a
sewerage overflow into the environment. Some oils are even too tough for the bacteria
that dine on the rest of the ghastly delights in our sewage to break down, and they are
discharged into Port Phillip Bay as a pollutant.

UNSW Sustainability
Instead of pouring fats and oils down the sink, wipe your pots and pans with a paper
towel and put the paper towel in the garbage bin or - if you have one, a Bokashi bin (see
Kitchen Waste, below).
Sources: http://www.melbournewater.com.au/content/sewerage/a_toilet_is_not_a_rubb...
http://www.citywestwater.com.au/residential/looking_after_the_sewerage_s...
Leaks
UNSW University has around 9000 taps in places such as kitchens, laboratories,
workshops, bathrooms and on its grounds. Leaking taps are a serious sustainability issue
for the university because they can lose up to 50 litres of water a day. So even if just a
small proportion of the University's taps were leaky, they would lose many thousands of
litres of water.
To report a leaking tap, simply ask the person in your workplace authorised to make a
BEIMS* request to report the leak. Facilities and Services will then fix the leak as soon as
possible. (*BEIMS stands for Building and Engineering Information Management System
and it is used to process all works requests at UNSW).

WASTE
Most of the waste disposed of in the University's kitchens is re-usable or recyclable, such
as:

• glass jars and bottles,

• steel and aluminium cans,
• plastics numbered 1 -7,
• long-life milk and juice cartons, and
• take-away coffee cups and their lids.

Most UNSW kitchens and lunch-rooms have a recycling bin for these items - typically a
white bin with a sliding top and yellow recycling sticker. These bins are emptied by the
cleaners as a normal part of their duties.
If your kitchen lacks a recycling bin of any kind, you are missing an easy opportunity to
make your work-place greener. To obtain a recycling bin, simply complete the kitchen
audit survey here and return it to the Office of Environmental Sustainability, and we'll
send you a recycling bin.
TOES waste tip:
To quickly cut down the waste-to-landfill generated in your kitchen, prefer to use re-
usable crockery and cutlery for not only daily food and drink consumption, but also for
events in your work-area.
Organic waste
If you are especially keen, you can recycle your organic waste using a system such as a
Bokashi bucket. Bokashi buckets are 20 litre buckets that you can place in your kitchen
to receive organic material of all kinds - from fruit and veggie scraps to meat. The waste
is mixed with the ‘bokashi', which is a fermented medium made from grains that begin
the process of breaking down the food waste. Correctly done, the process is odourless
and easy to manage. But it does require one or more keen staff members willing to look
after the whole process, including taking the Bokashi bucket home every couple of weeks
to bury it in the back garden (the final part of the process). So, it's not for everyone, but
it's a great system in the right workplace. If you'd like to know more, see the Eco-
Organics website at http://www.eco-organics.com.au/ or contact the Office of
Environmental Sustainability at environment@adm.UNSW.edu.au

CHEMICAL FREE CLEANING

Many of the cleaning materials we commonly use at work and at home contain harsh
chemicals such as chlorine bleaches, phosphate-based detergents, and anti-bacterial
chemicals. These chemicals can affect human and environmental health in a number of
ways, so it pays to avoid using them whenever possible.
The good news is that chemical-free cleaning can be just as effective as keeping your
kitchen hygienic while protecting your health and the health of our air, water and soil.
You can use this table to find a non-toxic cleaning material for your kitchen's surfaces
and appliances:

UNSW Sustainability
 Non-toxic kitchen cleaning*
To clean
Use this:
this:
Dishes (hand-
Pure soap in the water; vinegar to rinse
washing)
Dishes Bi-carb soda and vinegar in the rinse
(dishwasher) section
Put water in a roasting tray and set oven to
a medium temperature for about 30
minutes. This will loosen the grease. Use a
Oven
bi-carb soda, water and a scraper and
scourer to wipe and scrub the grease and
food particles.
Bi-carb soda on a damp cloth will remove
Tiles and
food and grime. You can also use white
bench
vinegar or eucalyptus oil to disinfect
surfaces
surfaces.

In addition, Corporate Express has a range of goods called Earth-Saver that includes
many cleaning items that are less harmful to the environment.
Sources:
*Australian Conservation Foundation GreenHomes Guide
Total Environment Centre Safer Solutions website:
http://www.safersolutions.org.au/index.php

PURCHASING
Buy Fair Trade products
Products that carry the Fair Trade logo are independently audited to guarantee a fair
price above the costs of production is paid to farmers, so that they can buy enough food,
afford medicines and send their children to school. Fair Trade programs also transfer
skills and knowledge to help farmers manage their businesses and defend their rights.
Fair Trade standards exist for many products including coffee, tea and chocolate, and
even wine and footballs! Many Fair Trade products are also organic, which means the
environment, as well as the farmers, has been given a fair go
You can read about Fair Trade in Australia at the Fair Trade Association of Australia and
New Zealand website http://www.fta.org.au/
You can support the Fair Trade movement by ordering Fair Trade tea and coffee for your
department using the Corporate Express codes below:
PRICE (as at CE ORDER
FAIRTRADE BRAND
10/02/05) CODES
Colombian agglomerated instant coffee $8.28 (200g bag) 87010622
Colombian agglomerated instant coffee $28.20 (1kg bag) 87010598
Certified & organic East Timor ground
$6.78 (250g bag) 87010599
coffee
Certified & organic East Timor ground
$25.20 (1kg bag) 87010600
coffee
Certified & organic Ceylon tea $2.61 (50 tea bags) 87010601
$18.00 (500 tea
Certified & organic Ceylon tea 87010602
bags)
Buy energy and water-efficient kitchen appliances
Energy and water efficient appliances will save your workplace money and reduce water
and energy use, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Australian governments have
designed the energy and water labelling schemes (below) to help consumers compare
the efficiency and resource use of many common electrical and water-using products:

UNSW Sustainability
Energy Stars
Kitchen appliances such as fridges, freezers and dishwashers (as well as many other
consumer electrical goods) are labelled with a mandatory Energy Rating Label to show
their energy efficiency and energy consumption.
The energy efficiency rating of the appliance is shown using a scale of one to six stars.
The more stars, the more energy efficient it is. The energy consumption a figure that
shows the kilowatt-hours the product uses in a year (the lower the number, the lower the
energy used).
Source: http://www.energyrating.gov.au/index.html

The Water Efficiency Labelling Scheme

The Water Efficiency Labelling Scheme, or WELS, requires many water-using products to
carry labels that show the products' water efficiency and water consumption each time it
is used (such as per wash for a dishwasher).
The WELS label also uses a star rating of one to six stars to show efficiency (the more
stars, the more efficient it is) and a water consumption figure (the lower the figure, the
less it consumes for each use).
Source: http://www.waterrating.gov.au/

UNSW Sustainability
1. Turn off your lights
Lights are the biggest killer of energy in the corporate world. Massive buildings like the
Empire State Building have millions of lights and they leave them all on, all night. What a
waste. The simplest thing you can do to help the environment is turn off your lights
when you don’t need them. When you go out of the office for lunch or to the toilet turn
your lights off. This makes a huge difference. An average globe uses 60 watts in an hour.
If you turn that light off for one hour a day you will save 22,000 watts of energy in a year.
If 1000 people do it – we’re making a difference.

2. Switch to compact fluorescent lamps

These bulbs are the spiral ones as opposed to the traditional round light bulb. Using one
of these lasts as long as SIX traditional globes and saves up to 75% of the energy. They
cost a bit more off the shelf but save heaps in long term costs. Easy.

4. Turn things off at the power point

At the end of the day we usually just turn things off at their console switch instead of
reaching around and turning them off at the power point. Most people do not realize that
a lot of power is wasted when you leave the power point on.
I was once advised by my local power supplier to turn things off at the power point for
one month and see if my bill was smaller than usual. It was significantly smaller than
ever before.

5. Don’t throw out printer cartridges

The toner that you use in the printer shouldn’t get thrown out. Printer cartridges are
designed to be refilled. Refilling them is cheaper than buying a new one.
At my university there is a massive box next to the printer. Every time a printer cartridge
runs out they throw them in the box and then once a month get them refilled. They are
saving a lot of money and also not sending thousands of reusable plastic items into
landfill.
This kind of system is going to save a firm a lot of money. Perhaps putting this idea to
your boss could win you some brownie points!

6. Catch the bus to work

There really is no advantage in driving to work unless you have to leave and come back
during the day. The bus is cheaper and it is much better for the environment. Each car
that you take off the road saves thousands of pounds of greenhouse gases ever year. By
catching the bus you will be saving money and helping the Earth.
I quite like catching the bus. It is a very humbling experience as you get to meet lots of
people, see lots of things and get over the personal stigma of “only poor people catch
the bus”. This is a mental trick we should all try to work with.
Here is another post we did on things to keep your entertained on the bus.

7. Clean your Air Conditioner filter

If you live somewhere hot like Australia the air conditioner is always on at work.
Something you can do to save a lot of power is replace the filter (or clean it) to make
sure that it is not struggling to operate and is running at peak efficiency. Again, a small
tip but one that makes a difference.

8. Turn your A/C down one degree

Every degree that you turn the air conditioner down saves a lot of energy. It really is
amazing the amount of power you save if your a/c is set to 18 degrees instead of 16
degrees. In fact, if you set your a/c to three degrees higher you will save over 400
pounds of carbon dioxide per year. Remember, you don’t need to be frozen on hot days,
you just need to make yourself comfortable.

9. Make sure the work kitchen fridge is not leaking

Fridges that leak air out the side because of poor seals waste a lot of energy. Be the one
to glue it back on or if the job requires more attention submit an anonymous complaints
saying that the fridge is a safety concern and needs to be fixed before the authorities are
notified. This should get management off their butts!

UNSW Sustainability
10. Don’t eat meat for lunch
Many people are not aware that the meat industry causes more damage to the
environment than all the cars and airplanes put together. The massive amounts
of land that are cleared for farming, the food produced for the cows to eat, the trucks
needed to move them around, the gas that the cows fart out… it is all very bad for the
environment.
Try eating a vegetarian meal a few times a week. You don’t have to eat some hippie
meal like tofu – just have a spaghetti napoletana or some other risotto without meat.
Have a salad or some nice vegetarian dumplings from China town. The list is endless.

Covering email
Any other environmentally friendly ideas?
Fell free to amend this poster to suit your workplace by adding smart tips of your own.
Post it up on your door, near your photocopier. We would also love to hear all of the idea
you have about saving energy and helping the environment around the office. Share your
ideas … leave us a comment. [link back to wall]

Going Green at Work: Top Tips

1. More Work, Less Energy
For many people, a computer is the central tool at work. Optimizing
the energy settings for computers and other devices can be more
than a modest energy saver. Set computers to energy-saving
settings and make sure to shut them down when you leave for the
day (“standby” settings will continue to draw power even when not
in use). By plugging hardware into a power strip with an on/off
switch (or a smart power strip), the whole desktop setup can be
turned off at once (make sure to power down inkjet printers before
killing the power—they need to seal their cartridges). Printers,
scanners, and other peripherals that are only used occasionally can
be unplugged until they’re needed. And of course, turn off lights in
spaces that are unoccupied.
2. Digitize
It does seem a bit strange that in the “digital age” we still consume
enormous amounts of mashed up, bleached tree pulp, most of which
gets used once or twice and then tossed or recycled (“downcycled,”
as McDonough and Braungart would call it). The greenest paper is
no paper at all, so keep things digital and dematerialized whenever
possible. The more you do online, the less you need paper. Keep
files on computers instead of in file cabinets (this also makes it
easier to make offsite backup copies or take them with you when
you move to a new office). Review documents onscreen rather than
printing them out. Send emails instead of paper letters. New
software like Greenprint helps eliminate blank pages from
documents before printing and can also convert to PDF for paperless
document sharing.
3. Don’t Be a Paper Pusher
When buying printer paper, look for recycled paper with a high
percentage of post-consumer content and the minimum of chlorine
bleaching. Even recycled paper gobbles up a great deal of energy,
water, and chemical resources in its processing (toxic pulp slurry is

UNSW Sustainability
 the paper recycling industry’s dirty secret). When using the real
stuff, print on both sides of the page when appropriate and use
misprints as notepaper. Try to choose printers and photocopiers that
do double-sided printing. If your office ships packages, reuse boxes
and use shredded waste paper as packing material.
4.
5. Green Sleeves
You might be amazed how sharp work clothes from thrift stores can
look. If you buy new, get clothes made with organic or recycled
fibers. Avoid clothes that need to be dry cleaned, and if they so
demand it, seek out your local "green" dry cleaner. See How to Go
Green: Wardrobe for more tactics on greening those work duds.
6. Work From Home
Instant messaging, video conferencing, and other innovative
workflow tools make effective telecommuting a reality. If you can
telecommute, hold phone conferences, take online classes, or
otherwise work from home, give it a try. It'll save you the time you
would have spent on the trip as well as sparing the air. As a bonus,
you get to work in your pajamas. Telecommuting works for 44
million Americans (not to mention the TreeHugger staff). Also,
consider the possibility of working four ten-hour days instead of five
eight-hour days (a consolidated workweek), cutting the energy and
time spent on commuting by 20% and giving you some lovely three-
day weekends.
7. Use Green Materials
Some paper use can't be avoided, so use recycled paper and
envelopes that have been processed and colored using eco-friendly
methods. Pens and pencils can also be made of recycled materials,
and refillable pens and markers are preferable to disposable ones.
Use biodegradable soaps and recycled paper or cloth towels in the
bathroom and kitchen, and provide biodegradable cleaners for the
custodial staff. Buy in bulk so that shipping and packaging waste are
reduced, and reuse the shipping boxes. Recycling printer cartridges
is often free, and recycled replacements are cheaper than new
ones.
8. Redesign the Workspace
Greening the space in which you work has almost limitless
possibilities. Start with good furniture, good lighting, and good air.
Furniture can be manufactured from recycled materials as well as
recyclable. Herman-Miller and Steelcase are two groundbreaking
companies that have adopted the Cradle-to-Cradle protocol for
many of their office chairs. Incandescent bulbs can be replaced with
compact fluorescents and there is an ever-growing selection of high-
end LED desk lamps that use miniscule amounts of energy (see How
to Green Your Lighting). Not only is natural daylight a free source of
lighting for the office, it has been proven to improve worker
productivity and satisfaction (as well as boost sales in retail
settings). Workspace air quality is also crucial. Good ventilation and
low-VOC paints and materials (such as furniture and carpet) will

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 keep employees healthy (look for How to Green Your Furniture
coming soon).
9. Lunch Time
Bringing lunch to work in reusable containers is likely the greenest
(and healthiest) way to eat at work. Getting delivery and takeout
almost inevitably ends with a miniature mountain of packaging
waste. But if you do order delivery, join coworkers in placing a large
order (more efficient than many separate ones). Also, bring in a
reusable plate, utensils, and napkins. If you do go out for lunch, try
biking or walking instead of driving.
10. Get Others in on the Act
Share these tips with your colleagues. Ask your workplace manager
to purchase carbon offsets for travel by car and plane. Arrange an
office carpool or group bike commute. Trade shifts and job duties so
that you can work four long days instead of five short ones. Ask the
office manager to get fair trade coffee for the break room and make
sure everyone has a small recycling bin so that recycling is just as
easy as throwing paper away. Ask everyone to bring in a mug or
glass from home and keep some handy for visitors so that you
reduce or eliminate use of paper cups.

1. Cleaning Products
Whether you're using an independent cleaning person or the building management has a
staff in place, now is the time to switch cleaning products to greener versions to
drastically reduce indoor air pollution and to avoid adding questionable chemical residue
to our waterways. Obviously this is easier to do when you don't have to go through
building management. But even if you can get a building to change one product to green,
you'll really be making a difference.

2. Energy Initiatives
Change light bulbs to LEDs and compact fluorescents, put up signs reminding staff to pull
the plug at the end of the day on things like coffee makers and microwaves, and to turn
the power off on their computers. Standby times many computers equals energy hog. If
your electric company offers green energy sources like wind power, switch to these.

3. Paper Products
Set up a digital file sharing system and make an initiative to print as little as possible.
Paper should be 100 percent recycled, and either unbleached, or bleached without
chlorine. When you do print, use both sides. (Speaking of printing - refill ink cartridges
rather than buying new and look into soy ink over conventional ink.) And reuse anything
that is printed on one side only as scrap paper, reducing the need for new notebooks in
the office. New notebooks, toilet paper, paper towels, business cards and more can all be
found in eco-friendlier versions. Choose these. If you send out many mailings at work,
revamp your packing materials similarly. Reuse boxes, shred papers for packing
material, look for padded envelopes containing recycled fiber, buy no- or low-VOC
packing tape.

Stickers
Lights Out
Save Water
Posters for kitchen
Buy some Banksi kitchen things

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