Make a difference, one office at a time

(reprinted from The Associated: Jewish Community Federation Sustainability TIPS)

Did you know? One of the top categories of energy consumption in an office is from office equipment.

What can you do? Although you may not control what kind of equipment is on your desk or in your office space, there are several things
that you can do to reduce consumption and conserve resources. It’s as easy as changing a few settings!

Computer Intelligence

  • Save energy by turning off your computer off when not in use and when you leave at the end of the day
  • Set your hibernation and sleep settings to power down hardware but have quick easy access when you are in the office
  • Adjust screen brightness and opt for no screen saver, which draws power to monitor
  • Clean your computer case of clutter and dust to keep your computer cool and running efficiently

Print Wisely

  • Choose “draft,” “fast mode” or “toner save” options to reduce ink. Printing in grayscale of 80% or less or changing resolution
    from 600 or 1200 DPI to 300 DPI will also save ink.
  • Choose narrow fonts to save paper
  • Shrink page margins to 0.75” or less: Shrinking margins could reduce paper consumption by 4.75% in the US according to a 2008 study at Penn State
  • Print double-sided by changing printer preferences
  • Print multiple pages per sheet of paper; works great for rough drafts!
  • Buy recycled paper, with a higher percentage of postconsumer content (up to 100%): One ton of 100% postconsumer paper saves the equivalent of 24 trees compared to just 7 from a ton of 30%). These days, most cannot tell the difference between recycled and virgin paper!

Use these Technology Resources to Reduce your Impact:

Set Your Printer for Green-ficiency

Discover all kinds of environmentally conscious technology solutions in the Green Technology Guide

Use PC Magazine’s Seven Power-Saving Tips

Quantify benefits of better paper choices with the paper calculator

Find out What's in Your Paper

8 Tips for Greening your Print Jobs

1 Reply to "Make a difference, one office at a time"

  • Michael Hoffman
    January 24, 2013 (5:24 pm)

    One of the most significant contributors to most companies’ energy costs is lighting. Replacing traditional lights with energy efficient LED fixtures, occupancy sensors and other energy efficient products can reduce the energy usage for lighting by as much as 80% with a comparable reduction in the entities’ energy footprint.

Got something to say?