-
Turn off your
lights. Lights
are the biggest
killer of energy
in the corporate
world. Massive
buildings like
the Empire State
Building have
millions of
lights and they
leave them all
on, all night.
What a waste.
-
When you go out
of the office
for lunch or to
the toilet turn
your lights off.
This makes a
huge difference.
An average globe
uses 60 watts in
an hour. If you
turn that light
off for one hour
a day you will
save 22,000
watts of energy
in a year. If
1000 people do
it - we’re
making a
difference.
-
Switch to
compact
fluorescent
lamps. These
bulbs are the
spiral ones as
opposed to the
traditional
round light
bulb. Using one
of these lasts
as long as SIX
traditional
globes and saves
up to 75% of the
energy. They
cost a bit more
off the shelf
but save heaps
in long term
costs.
-
Change from
Google to
Blackle. Google
has a white
background. Most
websites do.
However, we
spend a lot of
time on Google.
Most people have
Google as their
homepage. If
Google made
their homepage
black instead of
white it would
save thousands
of tonnes of
greenhouse gases
every year.
Blackle is an
alternative to
Google. It is
powered by
Google so you
get the same
searches; it’s
just black.
Switch to this!
-
Turn things off
at the power
point. At the
end of the day
we usually just
turn things off
at their console
switch instead
of reaching
around and
turning them off
at the power
point. Most
people do not
realize that a
lot of power is
wasted when you
leave the power
point on.
-
Don’t throw out
printer
cartridges. The
toner that you
use in the
printer
shouldn’t get
thrown out.
Printer
cartridges are
designed to be
refilled.
Refilling them
is cheaper than
buying a new
one. Every time
a printer
cartridge runs
out they throw
them in the box
and then once a
month get them
refilled. This
kind of system
is going to save
a firm a lot of
money. Perhaps
putting this
idea to your
boss could win
you some brownie
points!
-
Catch the bus to
work. There
really is no
advantage in
driving to work
unless you have
to leave and
come back during
the day. The bus
is cheaper and
it is much
better for the
environment.
Each car that
you take off the
road saves
thousands of
pounds of
greenhouse gases
ever year. By
catching the bus
you will be
saving money and
helping the
Earth. It is a
very humbling
experience as
you get to meet
lots of people,
see lots of
things and get
over the
personal stigma
of “only poor
people catch the
bus”. This is a
mental trick we
should all try
to work with.
-
Clean your Air
Conditioner
filter.
Something you
can do to save a
lot of power is
replace the
filter (or clean
it) to make sure
that it is not
struggling to
operate and is
running at peak
efficiency.
-
Turn your A/C
down one degree.
Every degree
that you turn
the air
conditioner down
saves a lot of
energy. It
really is
amazing the
amount of power
you save if your
a/c is set to 18
degrees instead
of 16 degrees.
In fact, if you
set your a/c to
three degrees
higher you will
save over 400
pounds of carbon
dioxide per
year. Remember,
you don’t need
to be frozen on
hot days, you
just need to
make yourself
comfortable.
-
Make sure the
work kitchen
fridge is not
leaking Fridges
that leak air
out the side
because of poor
seals waste a
lot of energy.
Be the one to
glue it back on
or if the job
requires more
attention submit
an anonymous
complaints
saying that the
fridge is a
safety concern
and needs to be
fixed before the
authorities are
notified.
-
Carry Your Lunch
In A Lunchbox.
Stop using paper
or plastic bags
that you wind up
chucking at the
end of your
break and carry
your sandwich in
a lunchbox,
instead.
-
Don’t Print
E-Mails. Only
print out very
important
e-mails and save
paper.
-
Use Scrap Paper.
Do you really
need to write
down a phone
number on a
brand new piece
of 8″x12″? The
envelope from
today’s mail,
the back of your
Page-A-Day
calendar or an
old printed
e-mail will work
just fine.