Talk about money in hidden places!

The U.S Department of Energy believes if current buildings were green-improved, the country would use $20 billion less in energy per year.

You can increase the value of your home and your overall bottom line.

Green homes are sustainable, better for the environment, and will lower utility bills.

There are significant financial benefits to reducing energy consumption for businesses.

The US Green Building Council says that on average a “green building” enjoys, 30-50% reduced energy use, 35% reduced carbon emissions, 40% reduced water use and 70% reduced solid waste.

Green living is not just about money.

A U.S. Department of Energy study found that poor indoor air quality not only affects your health, it also affects your brain.

Green businesses improve worker productivity, safety, reduces absenteeism and turnover because of improved comfort.

According to the US Green Building Counsel, “green buildings” save $58 billion of sick time and add $180 billion in increased worker productivity annually.

B.Y.O. (Bring Your Own)

Check out these Bring Your Owns from EarthShare.org:

 

B.Y.O. Bag

Bring your own cloth or fabric bags when you shop!If you grocery shop once a week, in five years you’ll have kept about 250 to 1,000 grocery bags out of our landfills.

 

When one ton of plastic bags is reused or recycled, the energy equivalent of 11 barrels of oil is saved! By bringing your own bag to the grocery store, you can save thousands of plastic bags from ending up in landfills, or even worse in ecosystems where they can harm living creatures.

 

Look for alternate uses for the bags you've collected Old bags make great in-car trash containers. Use them as shoe protectors in the garden. Re-use them to clean up kitty litter, or to pick up dog droppings when walking your pet.Use them in your smaller waste bins around the house. Fill a few with shredded paper and tie them off for cheap, reusable packing materials.

 

They’re also a handy way to maintain the shape of your favorite tote.Cut a slit in your bags and use them to protect clothes from dust, moths, and other pests.Take them with you for easy disposal of diapers.

 

B.Y.O. Flatware for a Green Workplace

 

Plastic silverware might be convenient, but consider this: an office of 100 people can contribute nearly 250 pounds of plastic waste to our landfills each year.

 

Reduce meal-time refuge by bringing your own lunch utensils—and encourage your office to replace plastic forks with their biodegradable counterparts.The Problem with PlasticPlastic has its advantages—it keeps our shampoo bottles from breaking when we sleepily drop them; it’s lightweight (which helps reduce shipping and oil costs), cheap and easy to throw away.BiodegradabilityIt’s the disposable nature of plastic products that leads to clogged landfills.

 

According to the 2006 Environmental Protection Agency’s report on municipal waste, Americans threw away 25,500,000 million tons of plastic. That’s the weight of nearly five of Egypt’s great pyramids. Aside from the sheer mass of adding that much garbage to our landfills, the problem with plastic that it breaks down at a snail’s pace—and some plastic doesn’t break down at all. In fact, a plastic soda bottle can take between 450and 700 yearsto decompose!

 

Energy CostsIn addition to taking centuries to decompose, producing plastics like the flatware found in our offices uses up a precious commodity: energy. A study by the American Chemistry Council found that 10 percent of U.S. oil consumption is used to make plastics. Furthermore, the Metabolix National Online Survey on Plastic, the same study, found that over 70% of Americans are unaware that plastic is made from oil.

 

Innovation in PlasticTo meet the demand of lunchers on the go, scientists have come up with new, biodegradable plastic products which are made from eco-friendly sources. Take SpudWare—disposable flatware made of potatoes and soy. This cool cutlery disposes in a mere 180 days and is to be bought in bulk, creating an affordable, earth-responsible solution for offices everywhere.

 

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

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

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