If you work in a home office, you’re already one up on making your office greener. The simple fact that your commute is measured in steps walked, rather than miles driven, guarantees that your office is at least a little more eco-friendly than other options. You can make your office greener, though.
Perform an energy audit
It can be hard to tell how much energy you use both before and after you make your home office more environmentally-friendly. But most local utility companies will perform a free energy audit in your home and give you ideas of what resources are available in your area.
Change your office lighting
If you switch the light bulbs in your home office to compact fluorescent bulbs, your office will become more energy efficient. Even better: switching just one incandescent bulb to a CFL will save you about $6 in just one year, and CFLs last an average of six years.
Choose Energy Star electronics
Energy Star electronics are rated by the U.S. Department of Energy as the most efficient electronics of their kind. Energy Star rates a variety of office electronics.
Aim for paperless
It’s hard to go entirely paperless even in a home office. But you can minimize the amount of paper, especially if you think twice before printing anything out. As long as you regularly back up your computer files, your data is equally safe on your computer as it would be in your filing cabinet. And there’s an added bonus: you can buy less printer paper.
Recycle the paper that does come into your home office
Even if you go mostly paperless, some paper is bound to creep in, if only from the junk mail the post office delivers daily. Make sure that paper gets to a recycling bin.
Lower the thermostat
Just lowering the thermostat a few degrees can be enough to save a significant amount of energy. But if you spend most of your day in your home office, you can do more. Why not turn the thermostat for the whole house way down? Just heat the space you’re actually using, with a space heater.
Ditch the water bottle
If you’re like most people, you have some sort of bottled drink at your desk, even in your home office. Many of those bottles aren’t recyclable, even if you want to. Instead, switch to a reusable bottle or cup.
Work with other green businesses
If you want to make your business as sustainable as possible, work with vendors and suppliers who are also green. Not all sustainable vendors are as cheap as their less green counterparts, but they provide higher quality goods and services. There’s a green version of just about everything from printer paper to office chairs.
