With World Environment Day just having passed, Water Hour around the corner and the continual success of Earth hour, it’s apparent that the issue of environmentalism has emerged as a significant concern in our everyday lives.

Although all the above mentioned environmental movements are done on a larger scale, it's important to take some time to think about ways that we can make a difference individually. For most of us, the majority of our time is spent at the office. So why not start there? Why not make our habits at the office more environmentally friendly? I'm sure these thoughts have occurred to you before but they were never acted upon or have been unsuccessful. Well, here are a few simple ways that you can go green at the office.

Use Less Paper

There are countless ways you can save paper while at the office.  Do you really need to print that e-mail you’re reading? Don’t print stuff that you don’t really need! Or if you do need to print, consider using the backside of scrap paper or printing documents on both sides of the paper. Many companies have already defaulted their printers to print double-sided. This may not seem like much, but every little bit does help!

Water Bottles

Many offices use to come stocked with a water cooler, but as times changed, and people got lazier, offices began stocking their fridges with bottled water. Yes, it is very important to drink water and stay hydrated but to be more environmentally conscious, you can bring your own water bottle. That way, you can spare all those paper and plastic cups that would otherwise be used.

Electricity

I know it's tempting to leave your computer on at the end of the day so that you pick up where you left off when you get back to the office. But try making it a habit to shut down your computer or at the very least keep it on standby; this reduces the energy used significantly. Try to save work periodically and bookmark any web pages that you may want to view later instead of leaving your computer running when you’re not at the office. This will save more energy than you think. Also, if possible try to turn off any unnecessary lights.

Carpool or Public Transportation

Companies are constantly talking about reducing their carbon footprint. One way of helping with that is to consider the way you commute to work. This may not be possible for everyone, but you can consider talking to buddies at the office about setting up a carpool system. This saves the frustration of being stuck in traffic yourself, while saving the environment for everyone else. Other ways can be to take the bus, subway or event walk (if you're close enough that is). By doing all this, you are creating less pollution for our green earth, while keeping more “green” in your pocket.