Money

Go green at work
14 December 2010

Here are a few ideas to get you started on greening your workplace.

Stationery

An easy place to start. For environmentally-friendly products try these suppliers:

Green taxis

So far, low-emission vehicles have only been used as taxis in London. The two biggest players are:

Green Tomato cab service which has a Prius fleet, and
RadioTaxis, which operates 2,500 cars and claims to be the world's first carbon-neutral taxi company.

Environmental cleaning services

Ask your contract cleaning firm to uses eco-friendly, non-toxic products. For companies in or around London, try:

Couriers

Use bike (cycle, not motor) couriers wherever possible. In a busy city centre they're usually quicker and you'll be saving the planet 4kg CO₂ for every 10 miles. If you use ten couriers a day you could be saving more than 6.5 tonnes a year.

Shiply helps you find cheap courier services by matching your delivery up with UK couriers and delivery companies already making similar trips.

Printers

Look for a company that uses recycled paper and low VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) ink from vegetable oil rather than mineral-oil based inks.

To find the best printer for your company's needs, contact Print. Paper. Environment. which is endorsed by Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and WWF.

Printer cartridges

Refill your inkjet printer cartridges (try Cartridge Save) and use recycled versions wherever possible. For laser printers, TonerTopUp can supply your business with printer powder that means you can refill, recycle and save money.

Electronics

In a Greenpeace survey (May 2010) the following companies were seen to be the least damaging to the environment (the higher the score out of 10, the greener the electronics company)

Nokia: 7.5
Sony Ericsson: 6.9
Philips: 5.1
Motorola: 5.1
Apple: 4.9
Panasonic: 4.9

One-stop shops

The following organisations offer advice, inspiration, products and services to help you transform your workplace.

Green Your Office
Eco-friendly cleaning solutions, stationery, IT equipment, food and drink - and more.
Greening Your Office
Run by Friends of the Earth Scotland, this resource lets you do an online audit to see how green your office is (and could be).
Green Stationery Company
Plenty of green options to choose from.

This article is based on an extract from How Can I Stop Climate Change?

For more inspiration, read how Ellie Rogers took on the challenge of greening her office.