How To Be A Green Leader

You can be a green leader at work and help save the planet and money for your business, by following these practices and instilling these habits with your employees:

Photocopiers: Use the "standby" button on your copiers and that will lighten your energy load by 70 percent. This is particularly important, considering the average office worker uses 10,000 sheets of copy paper each year.

Fax Machines: Avoid a cover page when possible and you'll save paper on both ends. Or, better yet, use Internet faxing.

Paper: Recycle and use only recycled paper.

Postage Meters: Try printing online stamps instead of using a postage meter. You'll save on equipment and meter maintenance.

Printers: Print double-sided pages and use an inkjet if you can. Laser printers use three hundred watts of electricity, while inkjets use only 10.

Computers: Activate the power management function, or sleep mode, on your monitors and CPU boxes. If just ten employees did it, they would collectively save nearly $500 in energy costs per year. If you're buying new computers for your employees, consider laptops instead of desktops. Laptops require fewer materials and less energy -- saving you about $20 on your annual electricity bill per laptop.

Electronic Payments: Pay vendors electronically and eliminate paper invoices and checks.

Payroll: Encourage employees to use direct deposit instead of mailed paychecks.

Lighting: Use more efficient lighting systems, such as those with motion sensors, particularly in your office bathrooms.

Learn more about how to be "green" at work, and at home, by picking up a copy of The Green Book for $5. The 2007 book, authored by Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas M. Kostigen, is a New York Times bestseller.

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