It’s Not Easy Being Green

When Earth Day rolls around each year, talk turns to the environment and “going green.” Fantastic! Environmental consciousness is a good thing. Large or small, every company, every office, every employee can change the size of the footprint they leave on Earth. Purchasing departments are often tasked with the role of locating and obtaining “green” products that are sometimes more expensive than their environmentally- challenged counterparts. Reduce, reuse, recycle doesn’t apply to purchasing only.

Office supplies are not the only environmentally friendly options to green up the office, but they are an easy place to start. Consider making adjustments to the top 10 most frequently replenished items in your company. Don’t assume that your best price on eco-friendly products will come from the large, box store for office supplies either. Often the best service and biggest savings will come from online venues like SupplyGeeks, who understand and love office supplies just as much as you do.

If your office loves the Pilot G2 Gel Pens (and whose doesn’t?), try the Pilot Be Green B2P Bottle Gel Rolling Ball Retractable Ink Pen.The pen is composed of 89% post consumer waste. B2P stands for “Bottle to Pen” and is the world’s first recycled pen made from plastic bottles.

Paper accounts for nearly half of the recycleables collected in the United States. According to the EPA, “About forty-four million tons of paper and paperboard were recovered in 2012”, but that’s a recycle rate of only 65 percent. If your office doesn’t already recycle paper, investigate the options available to you. And if your printers spit out thousands of pages per month, thus contributing to the demise of nearly as many trees, making a change to 100% recycled copy paper can have a sizable environmental impact.

Decorating can be earth-friendly as well.  Consider the environment when re-decorating or renovating workspaces. Bamboo flooring, eco-friendly furniture, file cabinets, LED lighting and even recycled chair mats are available. “Green” paints like the Benjamin Moore Natura™ line of paints have no VOCs and little to no odor, reducing their impact on the environment. Thermal blinds, curtains, and window tinting not only dress up windows but also keep offices cooler, allowing you to raise that thermostat a notch or two to save energy.

Have you ever thought of your coffee cup as Earth-friendly? How many cups of coffee do you drink per day? Two? Four? Grabbing that paper cup from the local coffee shop or a styro foam cup in the breakroom each time creates a ton of trash. Bring your own refillable mug to the coffee shop (many are happy to fill yours instead) or leave a favorite mug at work for your afternoon coffee break. Sure, you will need to wash your mug, but you will significantly reduce your impact on the environment. Just don’t leave the water running!

Encourage telecommuting. Employees–especially those who drive to work–who do not need to report to the office could work from home at least a few days each month. The reduced commute time increases their productivity time while reducing the carbon emmisions from their vehicles into the atmosphere.

Keep the office ship-shape with non-toxic cleaning supplies. If your office purchases cleaning supplies directly, consider trying one of the environmentally friendly options like Orange TKO, Method or Nature Clean. Ask your janitorial company to use green cleaning products, or switch companies to one that will.

Make everyday Earth Day in your office. Remember to Reduce-Reuse-Recycle. In addition to the above short list of changes you can make, you can conserve energy by turning off lights and electronics that are not in use, bring a bag lunch packed in reusable glass containers, or bike to work tomorrow.  Despite Kermit the Frog’s protestations to the contrary, it IS that easy being green.