With another Earth Day behind us let's keep our planet-saving initiatives moving forward. Washington DC has more conservation efforts than ever and we are happy to do our part working with our buildings to reduce our carbon footprint in the community. Looking for more ways to reduce yours? In the spirit of Earth Day here are some small steps we can all take in our own offices to help ease our impact on the environment.
Conserve Energy
- Power Down- Turn off your computer and other electronics at the end of the day. Not only can leaving electronics turned on 24/7 wear out your devices faster, but standby settings will continue to draw power.
- Black Out- One of the biggest ways to waste energy is by leaving the lights on after you have gone home for the day. Flip the switch when you walk out each evening.
- Cut Commute Emissions- Live within walking distance to a Metro station and still drive to work? Avoid the aggravating DC traffic and use the Metro or local bus to commute. Better yet bike to work or walk; physical activity will help you wake up in the morning and also provides time to mentally prepare for the day ahead.
Recycle and Reduce Waste When You Can
- Avoid Unnecessary Printing- When possible, review documents digitally. Often we print things out to use one time and we end up throwing them away an hour later. If you can't work digitally make sure to recycle old papers and shred documents with sensitive information.
- Print Smarter- If you must print out materials set your computer default to print documents on both sides of a page. Printing this way saves you paper and also reduces the overall volume of paper used each year. Previewing documents before printing can also prevent wasting paper.
- Properly Dispose of Electronics- Recycle old computer hardware, batteries, CD's and other technology that you no longer use to keep harmful chemicals out of landfills. Our centers also provide battery and electronics recycling programs that work to properly dispose of discarded devices and refurbish computers that can be donated to the community.
Remind yourself why it is important to recycle and be aware of our energy consumption. Little efforts add up to big savings over time and we are here to help make it as easy as possible for all of us to do our part and conserve our environment's resources. Compete within your company to see who can go the longest without printing or challenge your team to make a conscious effort to reduce energy consumption. Let's remember what Earth Day is all about and continue to keep these ideals in mind all year long. To learn more about AdvantEdge and how we work to reduce our carbon footprint click the link below.
