There are many ways we can help the future generations live in a healthier world. Nowadays, we see many alternative practices around us; such as using reusable bags in supermarkets, recycling bottles at home, office or even on the go, watching the excessive use of papers and many more options.
As most of you may already know, MTS is a “Go Green” company, and this year it will take part in a big project. On its 13th annual bike event, MTS will plant 100 to 200 trees for each person who attends. For those who cannot participate on that day, you may start to “go green” by saving paper in office and by having other little changes in your life to help Mother Earth become a better place to live in.
Greening the office does not mean spending a lot of money or eliminating creature comforts in the name of sustainable living. In fact, many green choices can save the company money instead of being a fiscal drain. For the most part, greening the office requires conscious choices, choosing reusable over disposable, and conservation over immediate convenience. Given how much time people spend at work, greening the office is a logical extension of people wanting to find eco-friendly solutions elsewhere in their lives.
Paper accounts for more than half of all municipal solid waste (trash). Saving paper will decrease waste going for dump in the outskirts which in turn will reduce pollution, energy usage in production, transportation and recycling new paper products and also majorly reduce the cutting of trees to make new paper. It is indeed a viscous cycle.
- Watch out for excessive paper usage. Avoid making hard copies unless absolutely necessary; use both the sides of paper when printing. Try to choose printers and photocopiers that do double-sided printing. Cut unused half paper for someone else; reduce font size while printing etc. But the ground rule should be – do not print unless very important.
- Shop smart. While buying paper or diaries, look for recycled paper with a high percentage of post-consumer content and the minimum of chlorine bleaching. Even recycled paper gobbles up a great deal of energy, water, and chemical resources in its processing (toxic pulp slurry is the paper recycling industry’s dirty secret).
- Say no to paper cups. Replace disposable paper cups with washable, reusable mugs. Bring your own mug from home instead of using paper cups for water, tea and coffee every day. An office of 15 people replacing their three paper cups a day each with a washable, reusable mug would save 11,250 paper cups from being purchased and tossed. This will not only save paper but also hygienic.
- Be tech savvy. Send electronic files instead of printed documents and let your recipient decide whether to print them. Substituting paper files with electronic ones using the scan-to-file option on multifunction device is also a good option. One 100 Megabyte zip drive can store the contents of a four-drawer filing cabinet and one CD-ROM can hold nearly a roomful of paper! It is also more convenient to store disks and CD-ROMs than roomfuls of paper. You can also save your to-do lists in the computer and set reminders on outlook to remind you.
- Shred or recycle paper after its usage. Only about 50% of all the paper used in North America is recycled. And there is a growing shortage of paper available for recycled products as Asian countries demand more recovered fiber. Shred the paper if it contains confidential information and consider starting a paper recycling program (paper recycling companies can be found on the phone directory in your area).
Being a “paperless” business isn’t easy, but try your best to follow the steps that you can take to get there. Remember, it all starts with you. Please spread the word. If more people “Go for the Green Option” in their daily work life, the positive benefits will multiply. Start by making more personal decisions with the environment in mind. Then help increase awareness by spreading the word to your colleagues, teams, bosses, suppliers and customers. It all adds up!
