Green at Work

You may consider yourself green in your personal life, but are you green at work? Do you crank up your space heater, in order to ensure your toes are nice and toasty? Do you pick up your lunch and bring it back to your desk in a plastic bag? Is sustainability at work someone else's job?

On February 9, 2009, The Wall Street Journal published "How to Go Green in Hard Times." The authors list 10 ways to help the environment and save money. My challenge to readers of this blog is to consider how many of these are applicable at work as well as at home.

1) Install high-tech, programmable thermostats.

This one hits home for me. My office is in my house. It doesn't make sense to keep heating my entire house, while I spend the majority of the day in my office. I've set my thermostats at 62 degrees from 9 a.m. to  4 p.m., and I use a new electric space heater, with a thermostat, in my office. (This has the added bonus of motivating me to work, because I get way too cold sitting on the family-room couch.)

2) Implement drain-water, heat-recovery systems, which warm up water by capturing the heat from waste water as it travels down the drain.

Speaking of water, are you turning it off when you soap your hands and brush your teeth? This can save three to five gallons of water every minute.

3) Seal air leaks.

Think about this in particular with regard to warehouses and loading docks.

4) Install low-flow showerheads and faucets.

5) Lease solar panels: While buying the panels may be cost prohibitive, many companies don't charge anything upfront for the panels. They promise to immediately reduce your electric bill by about 11 percent.

6) Replace air filters.

Maybe your office building's operations team needs a little nudge about this. If you have a window unit in your office, you might be able to take care of this yourself.

7) Use compact fluorescent lights.

Duh. This one is so easy. These bulbs use 75 percent less energy than a regular light bulb, and they last 6 to 12 times longer. This is a great initiative for warehouse managers to undertake.

8) Install motion sensors that turn the lights off when the room is unoccupied.

9) Use window treatments: they can help bring down bills for air conditioning in the summer, and they can help keep heating bills in check in the winter.

At work, think about closing your office shades when the sun is shining in during the summer months.

10) Insulate your attic.

 

No matter what your role is within your organization, you do have a voice. You make decisions everyday. Are you making those decisions with sustainability in mind?

Jennifer Proctor, Editor-in-Chief, APICS magazine

For more information on green and sustainabilty, check out the March/April issue of APICS magazine, which includes special "Bottom-Line Green" content.

You may consider yourself green in your personal life, but are you green at work? Do you crank up your space heater, in order to ensure your toes are nice and toasty? Do you pick up your lunch and bring it back to your desk in a plastic bag? Is sustainability at work someone else's job?

On February 9, 2009, The Wall Street Journal published "How to Go Green in Hard Times." The authors list 10 ways to help the environment and save money. My challenge to readers of this blog is to consider how many of these are applicable at work as well as at home.

1) Install high-tech, programmable thermostats.

This one hits home for me. My office is in my house. It doesn't make sense to keep heating my entire house, while I spend the majority of the day in my office. I've set my thermostats at 62 degrees from 9 a.m. to  4 p.m., and I use a new electric space heater, with a thermostat, in my office. (This has the added bonus of motivating me to work, because I get way too cold sitting on the family-room couch.)

2) Implement drain-water, heat-recovery systems, which warm up water by capturing the heat from waste water as it travels down the drain.

Speaking of water, are you turning it off when you soap your hands and brush your teeth? This can save three to five gallons of water every minute.

3) Seal air leaks.

Think about this in particular with regard to warehouses and loading docks.

4) Install low-flow showerheads and faucets.

5) Lease solar panels: While buying the panels may be cost prohibitive, many companies don't charge anything upfront for the panels. They promise to immediately reduce your electric bill by about 11 percent.

6) Replace air filters.

Maybe your office building's operations team needs a little nudge about this. If you have a window unit in your office, you might be able to take care of this yourself.

7) Use compact fluorescent lights.

Duh. This one is so easy. These bulbs use 75 percent less energy than a regular light bulb, and they last 6 to 12 times longer. This is a great initiative for warehouse managers to undertake.

8) Install motion sensors that turn the lights off when the room is unoccupied.

9) Use window treatments: they can help bring down bills for air conditioning in the summer, and they can help keep heating bills in check in the winter.

At work, think about closing your office shades when the sun is shining in during the summer months.

10) Insulate your attic.

 

No matter what your role is within your organization, you do have a voice. You make decisions everyday. Are you making those decisions with sustainability in mind?

Jennifer Proctor, Editor-in-Chief, APICS magazine

For more information on green and sustainabilty, check out the March/April issue of APICS magazine, which includes special "Bottom-Line Green" content.