Greening your desk: save the planet from your office
18 August 2008
'Saving the environment' is a notion that often conjures mental images of planting trees, rainwater tanks and complicated irrigation watering systems: time-consuming measures that busy workers immediately dispose into the 'too hard' basket. But surprisingly, taking care of our world can start at your very desk.
When each individual does their own small part to conserve energy and reduce waste at work, this almost grandiose idea of 'saving the planet' can start to look achievable. A recent study from TIME Magazine revealed that the efforts of just one person can slow global warming and cut carbon emissions.
The office is the best place to start and takes little effort. As a starting point, these five simple steps to 'green your desk' can make a great difference to the well-being of our planet:
1. Conserve paper and avoiding unnecessary printing. The University of Sydney uses over 100 million sheets of paper a year - that's over 300,000 trees' worth. Try to use both sides of the paper, and save old paper as scrap paper to use for taking notes or as a scribble pad by the phone. 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.
2. Enable power saving features on all equipment and remember to shut off your computer at the end of the day. A screen saver is not an energy saver. The average desktop computer, not including the monitor, consumes from 60 to 250 watts a day, and the University spends over $4 million on electricity each year. So always make it a point to turn off all computers, printers and copiers overnight - after a while it will become a habit.
3. Make sure you turn off all the lights before everyone leaves. Assigning an office switch-off monitor might sound like primary school, but it can cut carbon emissions by reducing electricity use, not to mention extending equipment life and lowering maintenance costs. It's as simple as taking an extra two minutes to ensure that computers, monitors, desk lights, printers and fax machines are turned off daily. Air conditioners and overhead lights can be timed for turnoff.
4. Pay your bills online. Not only does this reduce your time away from the office paying bills at the bank or post office, it eliminates your paper trail. Additionally, banking and paying bills online does more than save trees, it also helps reduce fuel consumption by the trucks and planes that transport paper bills. Worried about security? If you know how to be careful, you don't need to be. Ignore e-mails "phishing" for personal data, and monitor all electronic statements for any unauthorized debits. Report problems immediately, and your credit won't take the hit.
5. You may not consider commuting to be a part of your office's environmental impact, but the way you travel to work can make a large difference. If you drive to the office each day, reconsider your commute to work: carbon dioxide is the number one contributor to the greenhouse effect, and cars produce about 30 percent of the nation's carbon dioxide emissions. Driving 10 percent less, by taking public transport or carpooling can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 0.2 to 0.8 tonnes per year, depending on the vehicle. Telecommuting is also encouraged, whenever possible.It only takes each staff member to clean up their act a little to make a collective, positive, and significant contribution to our environment.
More information about the University's Sustainable Campus Projects can be found at: http://www.facilities.usyd.edu.au/projects/environ/about.shtml
