EPA recently launched a new website called Energy Star @ Work. The purpose of the website is to provide business owners, managers and employees with information on how to make their workplace more energy efficient and greener.
Energy use in manufacturing plants and commercial buildings accounts for nearly half of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 50 percent of energy consumption nationwide. In an attempt to initiate change, the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) recently launched a new website called Energy Star @ Work. The purpose of the website is to provide business owners, managers and employees with information on how to make their workplace more energy efficient and greener.
The Energy @ Work site has a number of useful resources which include:
- A range of downloadable publications packed with advice on different ways to be energy efficient
- Tips on how to start a green team with co-workers
- Real stories from other companies who have taken the Energy Star challenge and how they have benefitted from it
- Energy Star tips for employees, building managers, executives and small businesses
One of the great features of the site is an interactive tour of a typical office, which presents some interesting and unexpected ways to save energy and help save the planet. Some of the tips include:
- Keeping window blinds open in cooler weather to take advantage of the sun’s heat and closed in warmer weather to keep the office cool
- Using an Energy Star programmable thermostat to conserve energy
- Unplugging adapters and chargers once a device is fully charged.
- Setting power management tools on PCs to enable them to power down when they are not in use
The website is informative and the office tour is fun to use. It’s definitely worth a look at and perhaps you will get some ideas of how you can make your workspace more energy efficient and a little greener.