How to green your business

With 2012 just around the corner, here are some tips to save your office money in the New Year.

General good tips: Does your office have windows? Take advantage of them, natural light is better on the eyes and can lead to a more productive day.

It’s easy to cut down on waste in the office. Providing cream and sugar dispensers, filtered water and reusable cups, and bringing your own lunch in a reusable container are inexpensive ways to cut down. (If you’re really in the mood for some takeout get your whole office to go in on it: then you’re only making one trip).

Equipment Tips: Computers in the business sector waste $1 billion worth of electricity a year. Turn off your computer (and the power strip it may be connected to) when you leave for the day or else your still using phantom energy. If you can, invest in energy efficient computers or upgrade to laptops which generally use less energy, and Xerox printers. Be sure to recycle the old equipment properly. When your office goes on vacation or leaves for the weekend, don’t forget to unplug vending machines.

Go Green with Business Travel: American workers spend an average of 47 hours per year commuting through rush hour traffic. Why not take the Boston express bus once a week and use their free wifi to work or play, while minimizing your carbon footprint?

When traveling for business, try to use public transportation whenever possible. It will help your carbon footprint and may be easier than trying to navigate your way through a strange town.

Print Smart: The average U.S. office worker goes through 10,000 sheets of copy paper a year.

Printing on both sides of paper is a simple way to cut down on paper usage. Instead of throwing away useless papers, reuse them. When buying printer paper, look for recycled paper with a high percentage of post-consumer content and the minimum of chlorine bleaching.

Upgrading to a Xerox ColorQube makes good green business sense. It has a standard two-sided output, cartridge free solid ink, the cleaning unit last 65% longer than most, and can function as a printer, copier, fax and scanner: saving you the energy cost of running multiple machines.