MedClick

A green lifestyle is no longer out of reach. It is practical and fun, and may even save you money both in the home and work environment. Here we present you some easy tips to help you 'green your office' enabling you to make a difference today.

• For your hot drinks, using a washable mug is an environmentally friendly alternative to a non-biodegradable polystyrene or plastic cup. Leave a cup and reusable water bottle at work, to eliminate buying bottled water or drinks, which get served in plastic cups. 80% of plastic bottles are recyclable, but only 20% are actually recycled.

  
  

• When you need scrap paper to make a list of things to do or any for office messages, use the back of an old document reducing your paper usage.

  
  

• If there is no office recycling system, start one yourself. Recycling our rubbish actually assists in our efforts to reduce global warming emissions. It is estimated that 75% of what is thrown away with the rubbish could actually be recycled; although the current proportion is only around 25%.

  
  

• When you absolutely must have a paper copy, make sure you default your printer option to use both sides, this is an easy tree-saver.

  
  

• Most computer accessories such as ink cartridges, CDs and DVDs are made of materials that could be reused. Computer leads and speakers are fairly standardised, meaning they can be used for a variety of computer models and makes.

  
  

• Hide your equipment. We don't mean staples - but large pieces of office equipment like printers, scanners, and fax machines give off gas or other harmful chemicals and create electromagnetic fields that can sap your energy. Contain them in a cupboard or room that has vents, minimising the exposure to you and your colleagues.

  
  

• Lower the carbon footprint of your office by seeing computers, monitors, printers, copiers, speakers and other equipment is turned to the energy saving feature and always turned off at the end of the day.

  
  

• Turn off all unnecessary lights, especially in unused offices and conference rooms.

  
  

• If you are in search of something to personalise your workspace, look no further than the humble houseplant. Houseplants are good for the environment because they remove quantities of pollutants present in the air and generally improve the quality of the air around us. Ferns, in particular, are decorative and highly efficient at this task.