Create a “Green” Culture
- Utilize earth friendly products whenever possible.
As office products and supplies are order make environmentally friendly choices. Some examples are:
- Purchase post consumer recycled paper products including business letter head, envelopes, copier paper, napkins and paper towels.
- Use reusable plates, cups and utensils when possible. When not possible, use biodegradable products.
- Do not use Styrofoam cups or plates.
These simple changes encourage use of reusable resources rather than disposable.
- Decrease paper consumption.
Decreasing paper consumption not only saves trees and landfill space…it also saves money. Here are a few suggestions:
- Produce double-sized documents.
- Encourage emailing instead of paper notes and memos.
- Keep electronic files rather than paper files.
- Encourage others to print emails only when necessary. The following tag line on emails can be effective:
Save a tree, please don’t print this e-mail unless absolutely necessary.
- Save gas and stress.
The daily commute to and from work can be a headache for your employees and the environment…promote car-pooling, public transit and alternative modes of transportation. Here are a few suggestions:
- SEPTA offers a pretax program that allows employees to use up to $100 of their pay pretax to purchase transit passes. The program is called “Commuter’s Choice.
- Remind employees there is a bike rack on the property if they would like to use it.
- Offer incentives to employees to car-pool, ride their bicycles, mopeds, etc.
- Use ecologically responsible cleaning products.
All cleaning products are not created equal. Many common cleaning products are toxic to the environment and employees alike. In conjunction with other earth friendly buying decisions, cleaning products should be earth friendly and contain no petrochemicals.
