Every office and household has a responsibility to be considerate about the resources that it uses as well as adopting the mentality to understand that even a small number of changes to the daily activities can have a large impact on the environment. If you have not yet heard of the 3Rs then here goes:

•    Reduce the resources you use
•    Reuse resources as much as possible
•    Recycle as and when you can

But on a practical note here are several tips for you to employ, the more people that adopt this thinking the greater the impact we will have on future waste problems:

1) Don’t dump unwanted office furniture. Give Intelligent Marketing a call as we have a materials exchange scheme called the Green Office project we look in re-inventing office furniture into something ‘new’.

2) Minimize the amount of power taken from ESKOM, there are many local based projects that create energy from renewable sources. This ‘green’ power is then pumped back into the ESKOM grid.

3) Buy products with a high recycled material content. There is a difference between that which is recyclable and that which has actually being made from post consumer waste.

4) Buy Smart:
•    Choose energy-efficient devices, if you are unsure – ask or investigate...
•    Consider all the impacts your purchases (e.g. printer cartridges, plastic cups, refills, retail packaging, plastic carry bags & sachets)
•    Change tungsten bulbs to energy-efficient, compact fluorescent lamps and slim-line tubes

5) Wasting water? Report water leaks and drips that need to be fixed. Fit controllers on urinals systems to ensure that cisterns flush only during office hours. If refurbishing, consider waterless urinals and push-button taps.

6) Turn down the heat:
•    Manage heating and cooling with timers and sensor controls and correct rather than overriding.
•    Turn off in empty rooms, making sure they are well ventilated to prevent condensation and mould.
•    Set a gap or ‘dead band’ between heating and air conditioning control temperatures of about five degrees to avoid them operating at the same time.

7) Control that stationary cupboard! Hold an annual stationary amnesty and you may be surprised at the amount of materials returned for re-use.

8) Look at your paper use:
•    Does the document really need to be printed?
•    If it does, print 2-sided where possible.
•    Use scrap paper for message pads.
•    Reuse envelopes for internal communication.
•    Cancel publications and printed newsletters.
•    Recycle what ever is left.

9) Run a Switch-off campaign. Make sure equipment is turned off out of office hours wherever possible, turn off monitors when away from your desk and it is always cheaper to switch off lights, however short the time period.

10) Reduce vehicle use (e.g. by home working, car sharing), use public transport wherever possible and provide incentives to do so.