How To Be More Eco-Friendly

It’s easier than you think to go green, it just take a few small steps to help make a better world. Have a read through the following ideas and commit to start doing a few of them and see what a difference it makes...

Put your PC into hibernation.

Set your PC’s energy settings to hibernate when you’re not using it and switch if off before you go home. The EcoButton make this easy for you - one quick press when you leave your desk will put your PC to sleep and another when you return wakes it up again.

Turn your computer screen off when not in use.

Turning your computer screen off when not in use saves more energy than a screen saver or power save mode. Get into the habit of pressing the button when you leave your desk for meetings and lunch and turn it off when you go home.

Unplug your telephone charger.

By unplugging your telephone charger once your battery is fully charged, you will save energy and money.

Re-use Packaging Materials.

Reuse packaging materials like padded envelopes, bubble wrap and packing peanuts to keep them out of landfills and to save you buying them new.

Think when you fill the kettle.

When filling the kettle put in only the amount of water that you actually need rather than just filling it and this will save a considerable amount of electricity.

Use your own mug.

Take your own mug along instead of taking a disposable cup when you buy coffee on the way to work in the mornings. A small investment will buy you a travel mug so that you don’t spill anything and it stays warm for longer. Also use your own mug instead of plastic cups from the vending machine at work.

Change to electronic billing and bank statements.

This will save on paper and delivery and many places will actually reduce your bill if you choose electronic billing.

Switch things off at night.

Remember to switch off lights, computers, photocopiers and all other electrical equipment at night.

Think before you print.

Do you need all that pages that are going to be printed? Can you avoid long footers on emails and other unused pages? How about printing double sided where possible and so potentially halving the amount of paper used?

Recycle your printer cartridges.

There are organizations to which you can send your empty cartridges who then sell them on for re-use and use the proceeds for charity and when your ink cartridges run out buy recycled one's instead.

Start using recycled stationary.

The amount of stationary that you use throughout a year in the office would come as a big surprise to most of us, so by just changing as many of these items as you can for there recycled equivalents would help make a big difference.

Use the stairs rather than the lift.

Lift usage can be between 5 and 15 percent of a company's electricity usage so it can make a considerable saving and it'll help you get fit at the same time.

Car sharing.

Think about car-sharing every time you travel. If there are people who live near or pass each other on the way to work then it makes sense to take just one car so that you are reducing your CO2 emissions and saving on petrol at the same time.

Turn your cars engine off when stuck in traffic.

It uses less fuel to start the car than it does to idle for more than 30 seconds.

Take reusable bags with you.

Take your own reusable bags to the shops with you which are stronger and more comfortable to use.

Recycle whatever you can.

Be aware of what you can recycle and make it easy for everyone to do this as a natural part of their day. See what can be recycled in your area.

When you're finished with all that, you can check out our full range of eco-friendly goods here.