How to run an environmentally friendly office

To mark Earth Day on April 22, Xerox Canada issued 10 Office Management Tips on how to reduce environmental waste, improve your bottom line and make your competitors green with envy.
1. Replace older products with new, more energy-efficient ones.
2. Consolidate assets and reduce energy costs: replace individual copiers, faxes and printers with multifunction systems.
3. Take full advantage of power-saver features built into your systems.
4. Buy equipment with recycled and reused parts.
5. Return supplies and spent products for reuse/recycling.
6. Use paper efficiently: print double-sided and recycle used paper.
7. When purchasing office products focus on performance instead on newness.
8. Re-examine office processes: instead of printing paper copies, use e-mail and scan-to-file options.
9. Incorporate green space into your office – nothing keeps the environment top-of-mind like a thriving garden of vegetables and native plants.
10. Create the role of “Green Leader” to perform scheduled environmental check-ups and keep the team “in the green”; designate the role to someone who has gusto and influence.