Environmentally friendly office 1 October 2004
Ellie Rogers and her partner took on the challenge of "greening" their surveyors business in North London to make it more environmentally friendly. They are hoping to start a domino effect.
Green worker: Ellie Rogers
Why did you decide to take on the challenge of greening your workplace?
I'm a bit of an obsessive about being eco-friendly at home and it seemed natural to carry this attitude over into the office. The impacts of climate change will be felt far and wide and I feel very strongly that we are holding the Earth and her resources in trust for future generations and that it's vital that we all do our bit.
By changing the way we send information to our clients we save energy and resources.
Ellie Rogers, Surveyor
What changes have you made?
Previously we printed and posted large drawings and designs using huge amounts of paper, plastic, packing materials, toners and energy in production and transport.
By upgrading our software and installing broadband, we no longer need to send out hard copies, which is great for the environment.
How have you encouraged your office to reduce energy use?
We have bought a new photocopier that has an automatic power down system to reduce energy consumption and have put up "save energy" stickers to remind people to turn lights and appliances off.
We have also decommissioned our old hot water urn that used to boil almost constantly, and replaced it with a much more efficient system.
How easy was it to make these changes?
The costs of the new software were already budgeted for and using email to send our drawings out has actually saved us money. We're lucky in that our suppliers always do their best to reduce prices - they know we're environmentally aware.
What have been the benefits?
I like to think that the attitudes I encourage at the office rub off on the staff and they will in turn start to think about the way they use and recycle goods in their own homes.
If we can encourage people and show them that it's actually easy to go for the environmentally friendly option then hopefully this attitude will spread - a sort of domino effect.
Other ways to green your workplace
Improve your company's energy efficiency
Reuse or recycle resources (PDF format)
More information
If you are inspired by Ellie's story, why not take on your own Climate Challenge?
†To view PDF files you will need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader. Visually impaired users can get extra help with these documents from access.adobe.com.
Images: © Jill Perry/Friends of the Earth
© Jill Perry/Friends of the Earth
