The office oracle
April 1st 2005

By Martin Gibson, programme director, Envirowise

So much for the paperless office! Computers have revolutionised the way we work, but they have not been able to bring about the radical change promised, and offices today use more paper than ever. In fact, the average office worker chucks out around 100 sheets of paper every day. And half the waste in a typical office is paper-based.

So before you make the next print out, think about whether you really need a hard copy. If you really must, make sure that you print on the other side or re-use it as scrap. Finally make sure that paper is recycled.

To illustrate that the effort is worth making,here is an example:The Oxford Group,a small consulting and training company with 40 staff,implemented a number of paper saving initiatives, including using recycled paper for all internal and corporate stationery, double-sided printing and copying as standard,and a ‘Ban the Manual’ campaign to encourage clients to receive manuals electronically to avoid the use of hard copies.This saved £40 000 a year.Not small-fry.

The above example is taken from our booklet – The Green Officiency Guide – which we think of as our office oracle.Downloadable from the web site, or available by post through the Helpline, it is full of tips on how to make your office less wasteful.

Although around 70% of office waste is recyclable,an average of only 7.5% actually reaches a recycling facility.This figure is staggering,as most office waste comprises items,which can be easily recycled,not only paper, but also cans, ink cartridges and so on.

The golden rule is to follow the waste minimisation hierarchy – eliminate, reduce, re-use and recycle your office waste.Many businesses lose around 4% of turnover as waste, offices are no exception.Develop a structured, managed campaign to reduce your waste, save money and your impact on the environment.

Don’t forget the utilities.Over twothirds of water use in the average office takes place in the washroom, where substantial savings can be made. Energy consumption is the largest controllable outgoing in an office. Experience shows that simple good practice measures can easily reduce office equipment energy costs by up to 50%.

So to help get you on the straight and narrow, here are a few office commandments:

Paper

1. Don’t print unless absolutely necessary.Use electronic communication where possible.
2. Use double-sided format on recycled paper.
3. Cancel junk mail and unwanted publications.
4. Re-use paper for draft and scrap message pads.

General waste

1. Choose minimally packaged products.
2. Use china mugs with vending machines rather than plastic cups.
3. Avoid disposable catering products such as milk jiggers and sugar sachets.
4. Upgrade old computers.Ensure redundant equipment is collected and you receive revenue for the residual value.Send unwanted items to local resource centres and charities.
5. Recycle, eg glass, cans and toner cartridges.
6. Recycle.

Water

1. Turn off taps – a 5 mm stream of water wastes 528 000 litres of water a year.This could cost between £250 and £705 a year.
2. Fit a water displacement device, such as a ‘hippo’ bag supplied free by most water companies, in toilet cisterns to reduce the amount of water per flush.
3. Fit an automatic flush controller on urinals to ensure that the cistern flushes only during office hours or after use, rather than continuously.

   These devices can reduce water use and costs by 50%.

4. Fit push-button taps to save up to half the water used through conventional taps.
5. Check pipes for leaks.

Energy

1. Switch off lighting and equipment when it is not in use – especially at the end of the day. It is always cheaper to switch off however short the time period.
2. Reduce heating temperature by one degree; it is unlikely that anyone will notice and you could cut the heating bill by as much as 10%. Most staff are comfortable at 19°C.
3. Similarly, set air conditioning not to come on below 24°C.
4. Turn off heating and cooling in unoccupied rooms.
5. Buy energy efficient equipment.

Follow these rules, and you will make a difference. For example, a company which uses approximately 1440 printer cartridges a year organised a recycling scheme and donated the profits to charity.This reduced waste sent to landfill by 2.9 tonnes a year. In addition, the company switched to buying remanufactured toner cartridges, at a saving of over £8000 a year.

In another example, a water use survey at a head office showed that consumption per member of staff was a third higher than industry averages and nearly 300 litres an hour were being used for overnight urinal flushing alone! A series of water efficiency measures, including the installation of low flush toilets, waterless urinals, tap regulators and redesigned gardens with water butts, resulted in a 50% reduction.

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