At Work

Use CFL lightbulbs
Replace regular incandescent light bulbs with compact flourescent light bulbs, or CFLs. Each bulb saves 300 pounds of carbon dioxide and $60 per year.

Turn out the lights
Lights are the number one use of energy in buildings, and turning them off can make a big difference. Encurage your co-workers to turn them off when no one is in the room, and consider installing motion sensors on lights to turn them off automatically. Look for ways to increase the natural light in your office during the day so you can keep your lights off during the daylight hours.

Set up a recycling program
Make sure your office has bins for cans, plastic bottles, and paper. Recycle used ink and toner cartridges.

Use recycled products
Recyclable paper takes seventy to ninety percent less energy to produce and prevents the loss of forests worldwide. Many offices use as many as twenty packs of paper per week, and by using recycled paper could save 100 pounds of carbon each week.

Think before you print
Set printers to print or copy on both sides of the paper as default. Use both sides of each sheet of paper for writing and drawing as well. Re-use scrap paper, and print documents only when necessary.

Reduce waste
Use ceramic cups and mugs instead of wax and plastic.

Unplug it
At the end of the day, turn off and unplug electronic devices like TVs, computers, and printers. Simply turning them off saves thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide each year, and since they use energy even when turned off, unplugging them makes the savings even bigger.

Set thermostats on timers
Use timers for air conditioners and heaters, and set them to save energy during the evenings and on weekends when the office is empty.

Buy energy efficient appliances
When the time comes to buy new appliances for the office, purchase appliances with the energy star label. Energy star appliances can save thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide.

For more ideas, visit Energy Star's Bring Your Green to Work website.