Greening your office

Look at your purchasing - where are your office supplies coming from? In this country you can buy unrecycled copier paper from as far away as Brazil! Or you can buy recycled paper from GreenPrint produced in Kent or Scotland from waste paper collected from UK offices.
Switch off monitors when not in use - or set up the power saving options on your pc to shut it off after a few minutes (and avoid screensavers - they keep the machine running as normal).
Vending machines consume vast amounts of energy by keeping water boiling ready for the next customer. A jug kettle and mugs is the lower impact option. And look at your lunch - snack foods and bought sandwiches consume vast amounts of packaging. How about everyone bringing in something for an office lunch? Everyone sitting down together for lunch is a really good way for people to talk to each other without the stress of phones ringing and customers calling. It's also a great environment for discussing what's happening in other people's jobs and for bringing up new ideas.
Look at your energy use - there are nearly 50 Energy Efficiency Advice Centres (EEACs) in the UK which give free and impartial advice to householders and small businesses on cost-effective ways of saving energy. All Energy Efficiency Advice Centres can be contacted on 0800 512012.
Buy renewable energy - see the National Energy Foundation for more information. We purchase ours from Good Energy.
Equipment - Do you really need a new pc/fax/copier/desk? Buy secondhand, share equipment or upgrade your PC. Donate surplus equipment to local schools, campaigns and groups.
Refill your laser toner and inkjet cartridges. Over six million toner cartridges are used in the UK every year and consumption is rising by 15% per year. It is estimated that about 50% of these end up in landfill sites, representing a significant waste of non-renewable resources. Many components of toner cartridges are not biodegradable. The solution - either buy remanufactured cartridges, or refill your own. This takes about 5 minutes and, in our experience, laser cartridges can be refilled 4-5 times. This saves you a considerable amount of money, as well as reducing the amount of waste produced. We use U Refill Toner (0800 376 9922) who supply toner refills for many makes of laser printer. For inkjet users, many can be refilled, most computer shops sell refill kits. When the cartridge is worn out, it can be recycled - call 0800 435576 for info on cartridge recycling that also gives money to charities such as the NSPCC and Tommy's Campaign.
Get your used office paper collected for recycling (after using both sides of course). CROP (01865 321212) collect from Oxford offices weekly. Reuse or recycle everything possible - Oxford City Council produce a guide to recycling in the City. Cardboard packaging can be reused, added to your compost heap or used as a mulch on your veggie patch.
Talk to your suppliers - are they aware of your environmental and ethical considerations? Make them aware of the importance of these issues and investigate alternative ethical suppliers.
What about your bank - do you know where your money is being invested? Talk to ethical banks and investors to see what they can offer. We use Triodos Bank.
Monitor your environmental impact. Best Foot Forward have a carbon calculator (for electric and gas use) and a climate change levy calculator to assess costs. They also offer a range of other tools such as Ecocal to help measure your environmental impact.