Eco-Friendly Office Supplies
Having an eco-friendly office sounds good, but what does it really mean?
For Alex Szabo, CEO of The Green Office, it means creating “workplace run exclusively on green products and driven by sustainable practice.” Mr. Szabo brought his expertise from his former work as a sustainability consultant and educator into The Green Office and created a business that strives to model ecological sustainability.
The Green Office ranks “greenness” of each item on their website to help aspiring green offices make their selections. They also have categories like “Cheapest Green Option” to help with the bottom line. Each office supply item shows its total and post-consumer recycled content, whether it is compostable, its reduced chemical content, and lists any third-party certifications.
From The Green Office: Sustainability: “Our goal is to green the office products industry and the workplaces it serves by promoting the most sustainable products and practices of our time.”
GreenHome also offers a variety of green supplies for your home or office, including furniture and breakroom items.
From GreenHome: Green Office: “All of our products and office supplies are geared toward helping you green your business, one item at a time.”
Even more important to greening your office with eco-friendly office supplies is using less items to begin with. Going paperless (or at least reducing the amount of paper used in the office, and then only using post-consumer recycled paper) is probably the most well-known way to reduce your company’s carbon footprint. Reducing energy use is also important, and can easily be achieved by turning off lighting and office equipment when it’s not in use.
Sustainable procurement should also be considered when ordering goods for your business. This might take a little more work and research on your part, but if the result is that you are able to improve your company’s triple bottom line (economic, social, and environmental), then it’s definitely worth the effort!
If you want one more way to green your company, encourage your employees to bike to work!