The Production Office

Office Supplies

Energy Consumption

Computers/Electronics

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Office Supplies

·          Rent or purchase energy efficient EPA Energy Star equipment, and look for products thathave also received approval by EPEAT (Electronic
Product Environmental Assessment Tool), whose much broader evaluating criteria also includes elimination of toxic chemicalsduring manufacture, and product longevity.

·          Try to use laptops, which are more energy efficient than older desktop models.

·          Turn off computers when not in use, and enable the "sleep mode" feature on your computer, to conserve energy. In Windows, the settings are found on the control panel. For Mac users, the energy saving settings is under system preferences in the apple menu.

·          Leave peripherals unplugged until you need them.

·          Use Blackle, the environmentally friendly black version of the Google search engine that saves energy by lowering the amount of energy required by your monitor to display a black screen.

·          Donate or recycle any unwanted electronic equipment.

·          Purchase renewable energy credits from the local utility company.

·          Set the thermostat in winter to 68 degrees or less, and 78 degrees or more during the summer. Use fans instead of air conditioning whenever possible.

·          Turn off space heaters and fans when leaving the room.

·          Keep doors and windows closed when heat/air conditioning is on.

·          Turn out the lights in unused rooms, and work by daylight whenever possible.

·          Use compact fluorescent or led light bulbs, instead of halogen and incandescent.

·          Many appliances continue to draw power even when turned off, and chargers continue to use energy even when the equipment is fully charged or disconnected from the charger. To reduce these “phantom loads”, plug your equipment into power strips that can be turned off when not in use to eliminate their "standby" consumption.

·          Make sure to turn them all off at the end of the work day. Unplug all chargers when not in use and leave all seldom used equipment unplugged until needed.

·          Use rechargeable batteries instead of disposables for small electronic devices.

·          Use batteries and chargers powered by alternative energy.

 The Breakroom/Lunch

Water

·          Use tap water. Municipal tap water is filtered, disinfected, and subject to strict pollution controls by state and local governments, as well as the EPA. Bottled water is subject to far less stringent testing, and the bottles themselves can leach the elemental metal antimony, a suspected carcinogen, into the water.

·          If you do not trust the quality of your tap water, you can rent a bottleless water cooler, a filtration system that removes chlorine and other contaminants.

·          Another alternative is using water coolers instead of single use, disposable plastics bottles.

·          If you must drink bottled water, make sure to choose a brand with a local water source to minimize the amount of fuel used during transport. Always recycle the bottles, the plastic caps, and any cardboard or plastic film the bottles were packaged in.

Coffee/Tea

·          Buy organic, fair trade coffee and tea in bulk, to save money and to avoid excess packaging.

·          Use your own travel mugs and take them with you when going out for coffee. If you forget to bring one along, don’t purchase coffee sold in styrofoam cups, and make sure to recycle the disposable #6 plastic lids.

·          Use washable, reusable spoons instead of disposable stirrers. If you use disposables, recycle them.

·          Choose a coffee maker that uses washable, fine mesh filters instead of disposable paper filters. If you are using a model that uses paper filters, buy them unbleached.

·          Thermal carafe coffee makers are also a better choice, as the coffee will stay hot without needing electricity to keep a burner on warm.

·          Unplug the coffee maker when not in use.

·          Bringing your own lunch can eliminate a lot of wasteful packaging, to go containers, bags, etc. It also gives you more control over the carbon footprint of your lunch, and is more economical.

·          Stock the lunch area/breakroom with reusable plates, cups, mugs, and utensils instead of disposables, and encourage the crew to wash their own dishes. The extra time it takes is minimal, and will keep an enormous amount of non biodegradable material from being unnecessarily thrown away

·          Any disposables provided should be made from biodegradable, compostable material, not petrochemical plastic.

·          Taking your own utensils will also prevent more single use plastic from being sent to landfill. Many different types are available at camping supply stores, or you can simply purchase some from a local thrift store.

·          Avoid using all styrofoam.

·          Use biodegradable trash bags.