Use Better Paper and LESS of it!

The average office tosses out about 350 pounds of paper per employee, per year. Reducing your waste and purchasing paper with postconsumer recycled content can help save trees and nudge the pulp and paper industry, one of the most environmentally destructive industries in the world, toward a less damaging path.

Set your printers to print double-sided, or designate a draft tray and fill it with paper that's blank on one side.
Buy copier paper with a minimum 30 percent postconsumer recycled content. (100 percent is best!)
Collect used paper separately for recycling, and coordinate with your building manager and waste hauler to set up a recycling system that works for everyone. If you can, also recycle other materials, like aluminum, glass and plastic.
Stock bathrooms with postconsumer recycled tissue products. Tissue manufacturers destroy forests when they turn virgin wood into throw-away paper products. See our guide for ecologically preferable brand.

From NRDC - The Green Business Guides

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Get Energy Efficient

Using less energy reduces the demand on power plants, the nation's leading contributors to global warming pollution and mercury pollution. And it saves a bundle on your energy bills.

Contact your utility company to arrange for a free (or inexpensive) energy audit. An engineer will examine your operations and provide you with a detailed report about how your firm can save on energy costs, from rebates to improved maintenance.
Turn off lights and unplug electronics after hours -- computers and other electronics use energy while they're plugged in, even when they're switched off. (Plug all your appliances into a power strip and you'll only have to flip one switch at the end of the day.)
Set computers to sleep and hibernate when inactive, and lose the screen savers. Flying toasters and slideshows can use up about $50 of electricity in a year. Look for power management or energy saving features on the control panel for Windows, or system preferences under the apple menu for Macs.
Use Energy Star office equipment -- most major brands carry energy-saving models marked with the Energy Star label.

From NRDC - Green Business Guides

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Cut Water Waste

One billion people on our planet can't get safe drinking water. In the United States, some rivers are being drawn down faster than nature can fill them up. Using water efficiently today will help ensure that future generations have access to the water they need.

Install faucet aerators and low-flow toilets
Check for and fix leaks
Recycle water
Landscape for maximum water efficiency

RESOURCES

Building Green: Save Water
EPA Watersense
New Mexico's Water Conservation Guide

Create a Greener Working Environment
Employees are on the front lines of any sustainability initiatives your company chooses to make. Participation from all levels of your staff is a crucial part of any greening effort.

Buy less toxic cleaners to improve indoor air quality and reduce risks to employee health.
Create a green team with members from all divisions of your organization to help implement plans and bring new ideas to the table.

From NRDC - The Green Business Guides

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Induction Cooking - The Safer, Saner, Smarter Way to Cook

With induction cooking, energy is supplied directly to the cooking vessel by the magnetic field; thus, almost all of the source energy gets transferred to that vessel. With gas or conventional electric cookers (including halogen), the energy is first converted to heat and only then directed to the cooking vessel--with a lot of that heat going to waste heating up your kitchen (and you) instead of heating up your food. (The striking image at the left shows how precisely focussed heat generation is with induction--ice remains unmelted on an induction element that is boiling water!)

As a comparison, 40%--less than half--of the energy in gas gets used to cook, whereas with induction 84% percent of the energy in the electricity used gets used to cook (and the rest is not waste heat as it is with gas). There are two important heat-related consequences of that fact: cooler kitchens: of course the cooking vessel and the food itself will radiate some of their heat into the cooking area--but compared to gas or other forms of electrically powered cooking, induction makes for a much cooler kitchen (recall the old saying: "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."); and a cool stovetop: that's right! The stovetop itself barely gets warm except directly under the cooking vessel (and that only from such heat as the cooking vessel bottom transfers). No more burned fingers, no more baked-on spills, no more danger with children around. (The photo at the right--one of several similar ones to be found on the web--shows, like the one above, how only the cooking vessel does the actual cooking.)

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DETERGENTLESS WASHERS

Just coming on the market right now are several new high-tech washing-machine designs launched that eliminate the need for detergent. These machinse works on the hydrolysis principle, where the actual water molecules are split, creating oxygen and hydrogen. The stains on the linens are attracted and retained by ions of OH-, while the clothes are sterilized by the H+ ions.

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How can you minimize energy use and water pollution with your current washer?

• Always wash a full load
• Use ecologically minded detergent
• Set washing machine temps on warm or cold with a cold rinse
• As much as possible, use renewable energy sources.
• Your dryer is the next highest enery hog after your refrigerator. What can you do to help?
• Use the moisture sensor option on your dryer, which automatically shuts off the machine when the clothes are dry.
• If your washer has spin options, choose a high spin speed or extended spin option to reduce the amount of remaining moisture, thus starting the drying process before you put your clothes in the dryer.
• And of course, line dry your clothes whenever possible

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