 
At Work
- Computers, cell-phone chargers and other electronics continue to use electricity even when you turn them off. Nationally, this amounts to the energy used by 17 power plants! Plug items into a power strip that can be turned off when not in use.
- Recycle at the office. Paper, phone books, post-its and envelopes are recyclable. So are Fed-ex boxes and Jiffy paks.Goldenrod envelopes and those padded with bubble wrap can't be, but you can reuse them.
- Start cutting down on your paper use today. Designate a draft tray and fill it with pages that are blank on one side. Or set your printers to print double-sided.
- 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.
- 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.
- Cut driving miles. Each gallon of gas your car burns releases about 22 pounds of atmospheric-warming carbon dioxide. Cutting your driving by just five miles each day would contribute to keeping tons of carbon dioxide from entering the air.
- Be thrifty with paper. Don't print out each memo or email you receive. Read and delete the ones you don't need to save and electronically file others you might refer to later. Make sure your office copier can make two-sided copies, and badger everyone to get into the habit of doing so. If people don't take the hint, arrange to have your copier's default set to the two-sided rather than one-sided option. High-speed copiers that are set to automatically make two-sided copies reduce paper costs by an average of $60 per month -- and, of course, save paper. Save even more paper by using the blank sides of used sheets of paper for note-taking and printing drafts.
- Use reusable utensils for office parties. If you work in one of those offices where there's no excuse too small for a mid-afternoon get-together, encourage the office manager to invest in a set of dishes, cups, and utensils that can be used each time, rather than breaking out plastic utensils and paper plates. If you have an event where reusable items are not an option, choose disposable items that are biodegradable and made out of easily renewable resources like corn, potato and wild reed.
- Try telecommuting. Is it possible to work from home one or two days a week?
- Maintain your vehicle. Fixing a faulty oxygen sensor can improve mileage by as much as 40 percent, saving you gas and money.
- Drive the speed limit. It's safer and less expensive. Gas mileage usually decreases rapidly above 60 miles an hour. Generally, each five miles you go above 60 is like paying an additional 20 cents per gallon for gas.
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