Stephen Harper and other world leaders have thrown their considerable heft behind the voter-driven, consumer demand for an environmentally sustainable future. Al Gore won an Oscar for his environmental slideshow. Celebrities from Susan Sarandon to Oprah lend their images and names to “green” initiatives. And all of a sudden the age-old environmental movement is aflutter with relevance, interest, pizzazz and support.
Ray Anderson, the “greenest executive in America”, may be the first CEO turned environmentalist to appear on the Oprah show, meet with national presidents and appear on the cover of Fortune 500 magazine. Why? Because he turned his “big footprint” company into an environmentally sustainable, minimally disruptive and financially successful company.
Reduce and Reuse
Offices use a lot of paper – approximately 73 kilograms per person per year, so they are a prime target for waste reduction. A paper reduction campaign is a focused effort to use less paper, reuse paper where appropriate and recycle waste paper. Here are some ideas to start the process.
• Use both sides of the page when printing.
• Cut up scrap pieces of paper for note pads.
• Limit copies of documents by using email.
• Reduce font size. It may sound simple, but it works.
• Decreasing margins and create up to 25% more text per page.
• Don’t fax documents with a cover sheet. Include your fax number and contact info on your document.
• Proof documents on screen and preview before printing.
• Use light weight office paper for office memos and internal documents.
• Use electronic and voice mail.
• Don’t print labels. Print addresses directly onto envelopes.
• Circulate memos, periodicals and reports rather than distributing individual copies.
• Circulate the daily newspaper and magazines.
• Reuse old file folders by re-labelling them.
Promote a “think before you copy” attitude. Make sure you really need the copies or prints you’re making and don’t make excess copies.
Adopt a policy where all documents will be two-sided. Let people know that two-sided copying not only saves paper, it saves postage (from reduced mail volume) and storage space. Remind people by posting signs near your copiers and shared printers. Set up computer software for default two-sided printing including word processing, spreadsheets, electronic mail and others.
Keep copiers and printers in good repair and make it policy to buy copiers and printers that will do two-sided copying reliably.
Encourage reuse of envelopes, etc. Your office can buy recyclable labels with the office address and logo to place over addresses on envelopes. Encourage people to reuse items such as file folders; excess reusable items can be centrally collected.
Developing Your Campaign
To make your environmental campaign successful, management and staff participation and support are essential. Many people will have good ideas about how to reduce paper usage; ask for and encourage those ideas.
Form a small committee to plan and carry out the paper reduction campaign; include representatives from management and all levels of staff. The committee should do the following:
• Identify different types of paper in your waste stream. Typical types of paper include white office paper, envelopes, coloured paper, newspaper, boxboard and cardboard.
• Set your priorities, considering how much of what particular paper type contributes to your office’s waste stream and ease of implementing reduction practices.
• Develop measurable goals, strategies and a timeline
for implementation. Get everyone on side.
• Design logos and develop slogans for use in the campaign.
• Have a formal kick-off event. Explain the campaign to all staff; announce formal goals.
Making It Work
Implement the campaign in phases so that people aren’t overwhelmed. Try out new ideas as pilot projects in a few areas to obtain feedback before expanding office wide.
Acknowledge and respond to people’s concerns. Some ideas for reducing waste may work better than others and every office will be different.
Be patient: new behaviours are often required to reduce waste and there may be some frustration on the part of staff or management who need to be persuaded to change the way they do things.
Be flexible, persistent and willing to try new ideas.
Keep People Motivated
Make the campaign fun by holding contests, posting interesting visual displays and putting out entertaining reminders and announcements.
Give awards for reducing paper use, good ideas and general waste reduction efforts.
Publicize successes. Let people know when goals are met.
Be sure that new employees are informed about in-house waste reduction policies, practices and projects.
Encouraging Recycling
Choose appropriate recycling containers. The size and style of recycling equipment varies and most office supply stores carry a variety of containers for business recycling programs and larger storage dumpsters. Locate recycling bins strategically and label them clearly.
Place recycling bins in heavy traffic areas, common work areas, and most importantly, in locations where recyclables are typically generated.
Monitor recycling containers for contaminants on a regular basis. Also check trash cans for items that should be recycled.
Make it your policy to purchase and use products made with recycled materials. This “closes the recycling loop” by ensuring that there are end markets for recycled materials. Ask your suppliers and contractors to make recycled-content products available.
We don’t need to re-invent the wheel. It doesn’t have to cost a lot. It’s not painful. It’s good for everyone. And, all it takes is a slight focus shift. “Get conscious – Go green” is about becoming environmentally aware and acting on it. Corporate Canada is embracing this “old-new” movement in the most inspiring of ways. Now it’s our turn.
We’d like to continue this discussion. Have you found the key to solving the world’s environmental dilemmas? Have you got some great ideas for office recycling? Please visit our website at www.mbmagazine.ca to post ideas for making your office green and great. We’ll follow up by publishing your ideas and other articles on sustainability.
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