Lighting
- Make the most of natural lighting - open the blinds!
- Switch off lights in any rooms not in use.
- Turning off fluorescent tubes frequently does not mean that more electricity is used when they are turned back on and does not have a significant impact on the life of the tube (compared to the energy saved).
- Flickering fluorescent tubes use up more energy. If you see one, report it!
Heating & Cooling
- Check thermostats or measure temperature levels regularly to make sure you maintain the recommended comfort temperature setting of 24°C for summer and 21°C for winter.
- Put on more clothes rather than turning up the heating
- Keep windows and doors closed when the air-conditioning is on.
Paper
- If you have to print a document or email, just print the text you need.
- Use a laptop and projector to run meetings electronically
- Mark junk mail 'Return to sender' or ask to be removed from the mailing list.
- Photocopy and Print double sided.
- Re-use paper that's already printed on one side, and recycle all paper
- Do you really need a hard copy of it? Can you save the message/attachments instead?
- Instead of printing a web page, bookmark it or save the page. Proof the document on screen before printing.
- If you only need the page you are working on, go File > Print > and click on 'Current Page' on the 'Page range' section.
- If you only need a specific number of pages, go File > Print > and put the page numbers in on the 'Page range' section.
- If you do print something, retrieve it immediately. This helps to avoid the need for printing it again (because it has gone walkabout etc.)
Computers
- Turn off your monitor when you go for lunch, a meeting or even a tea break.
- Turn off your PC if you're not going to be using it for a few hours.
Energy Use
- Use timer switches to turn off vending machines when the office is closed.
- Use hand-dryers rather than paper towels.
- Use video- or computer-conferencing to save travel for meetings.
- Switch the printer off at night - the last person to leave the office should do this.
The Green Office Guide - A guide to help you buy and use environmentally friendly office equipment, from the Dept of Environment and Water Resources, Commonwealth of Australia.