Being an environmentally aware company not only looks good to customers and the community, it can also significantly reduce costs. So, what can be done to make a company greener and cleaner?

Reduce Waste Where Possible - Practically every company produces waste of some sort, whether it be paper or left over raw products, and where there is waste, there is a way of reducing it. Being more careful and precise when creating products, using less packaging, and sending invoices electronically, are just a few examples of ways that wastage can be reduced.

Re-Use Paper - Paper is often the highest volume waste stream in the workplace and, even if a recycling system can not be set up, simply reducing and re-using paper can result in significant waste and cost savings. So, Print documents double-sided and keep a tray of scrap paper next to the printer for use with internal documents etc. Better still try to avoid printing where possible.

Purchase Recycled Paper - Producing one tonne of recycled paper saves 3000 liters of water and 78% energy use. Air emissions of gases such as CO2 are cut by 95% and there is less pollution because recycled paper is not bleached with chlorine. As for purchasing recycled paper, it is no more expensive than virgin paper, and nowadays the quality is as good.

Recycle Printer Cartridges - Printer cartridges that are thrown away are a real problem for the environment, and are also the cause of unnecessary extra costs being incurred for companies. Once a printer cartridge has run out, the best and cheapest option is to just refill it yourself, alternatively though, you can send it back to the supplier, who will then sell you a recycled one, that works as good as a new one, for as little as half the price.

Re-Use Cups - Around 8% of global annual oil production is currently used in the manufacturing of plastics and the process of production uses harmful chemicals. (Waste Online, 2008) Plastics are non-biodegradable and may take hundreds of years to decompose. So, if an office has a vending machine, employees can re-use a plastic cup throughout the day or perhaps keep their own mug at their desk.

Recycle Aluminum - Aluminum can be recycled indefinitely, and the production of a recycled aluminum product emits just 5% of the amount of CO2 that is emitted when a brand new aluminum product is produced. So, considering the benefits, surely setting up an aluminum collection point next to vending machines, and in canteen areas, is the right thing to do.

Tags: Recycling