Green Speak – Saving Energy at Work!

In celebration of World Environment Day on June 5th, TTGBC begins its series of Green Speak with some energy saving tips!  Here’s how you can get started on your energy saving journey! 1)     Switch off! Small changes in electricity usage not only help the environment and reduce energy bills but can also help make your organization become more environmentally conscious.  Electric lighting can burn up to 25% of your average energy budget.  Don’t hand it over to T&TEC. Simply turning off lights and other small devices when not in use will save you money on your utility bills. 2)     Avoid hidden power usage Many devices have ‘standby’ settings that draw power — sometimes as much as 5 to 10 watts — even when they're turned off. These are sometimes called “vampire” loads because they suck on energy and you don’t even realise it’s happening. To make sure that your computer, monitor, printer, photocopy machine, television, etc. are all the way off, pull the plug rather than flipping the switch before heading out the door. To make it easier, try plugging devices into a power strip with an on/off switch (or a smart power strip). That way the entire desktop setup can be turned off with a flip of a switch. 3) Computer energy settings Set the computer to sleep mode when you are away for short periods of time. Do you know that your screensaver actually doesn’t save energy? It uses energy rather than saves it.  You are much better off relying on the power management features to power down to lowest energy use, or sleep mode. A computer in sleep mode can save 60-70% of the power. 4) Go Green – Literally! Make your office literally green with plants! They absorb airborne pollutants (which are rampant with off-gassing office furniture) and emit healthy negative ions and oxygen into the air as well as making the office environment look more homely.  Try Mother in Law’s tongue or a Peace Lily or ask at your local plant shop or ask a relative who knows about plants. 5)  Monitor your energy usage One tip I always give that was given to me by a wise sage was:  “what gets measured gets done”.  Many simple “plug and play” devices are available at hardware stores and online which allow you to measure energy use. So measure or monitor to use less energy. 6) Be Energy Efficient If you’re using the office microwave to warm up lunch and forget it there – do you turn it on again for a quick blast of heat?  Or boil the kettle for tea of coffee?  Then only boil enough water for what you need to use. Be efficient with your energy use even if you are not paying for it. Every watt of energy we save takes some strain off the environment. 7) Go digital and print less We all like to feel what we write on but the greenest paper is no paper at all, so keep things digital and paperless whenever possible. The more you do online, the less you need paper. Keep files on computers instead of in filing cabinets. Review documents onscreen rather than printing them out. Send emails instead of paper letters. Also, software such as Greenprint helps eliminate blank pages from documents before printing and can also convert to PDF for paperless document sharing. Looking for a more structured program to demonstrate environmental stewardship and reduce utility costs at your organization? Contact us at info@ttgbc.org to learn about The Smarter Building Network Marcia Cliffin VP PR TTGBC