One way or another, we’re all in business to provide solutions to our customers. This could mean anything from offering advice, to providing a particular product or service in order to enhance the way our customers work and live.

THE PROBLEM
But the nature of the hectic pace we all share in handling day-to-day business means that sometimes we inadvertently neglect the most important ‘customer’ we have in common…

More than 8 billion disposable cups are trashed in Canada every year

75 % of Canadians drive to work by themselves every day

Every discarded empty ink and toner cartridge adds approximately 1.4 kilos of waste to landfills… waste that will take as long as 1000 years to decompose

The environment. A very patient customer that’s been good at tolerating a lot of neglect lately… but when finally pushed to its limits, even this most patient customer will one day have enough and leave in favour of better customer service—and for all of us here on Earth, that wouldn’t be a good thing.

THE SOLUTIONS
However, there are a lot of simple things we can all do, in and out of the office, in order to stay productive and environmentally responsive…

Instead of using paper or Styrofoam cups:
Switch to reusable mugs/travel mugs… even ask your favourite coffee shop
to fill your reusable mug instead of wasting a disposable.

Instead of driving to work by yourself:
Car pool with co-workers who live close by… take turns driving—or even walk,
bike or take public transportation (Statistics Canada states that transit ridership in Canada’s largest cities is growing… why not follow the trend!)

Instead of throwing away empty ink and toner cartridges:
Recycle them! Grand & Toy offers ‘THINK!’, a program created specifically to
make it simple for businesses to recycle their empty ink and toner cartridges.

Did you know that up to one-third of a company’s budget can be eaten up by energy costs?

Save money on heating costs by keeping the drapes and blinds at work open on sunny days—the natural light will warm the office, and to keep the heat in, close the blinds when the sun goes down.

Instead of using the air conditioner:
Install a ceiling fan at work—they cool air in the summer and move hot air off the ceiling in the winter.

Filling your office space with plants is another great way to keep your workplace cool and will save your company money on power costs because you won’t have to use the A/C as much.

Other positive plant facts…

• Shade-loving plants in the office clean indoor air by filtering out gases
• In just 6 hours, a spider plant can absorb 85 percent of a room’s formaldehyde

Instead of leaving your computer on:
Shutdown at the end of the day. Letting your computer go into ‘Sleep Mode’ still
draws power from the outlet.

Instead of operating energy-depleting older office equipment:
Lower your energy usage by upgrading to computers, photocopiers, printers, etc. that are certified as being energy efficient

Instead of leaving the lights on:
Switch to motion-sensor lighting and turn off desk lamps at the end of the day. Installing Compact Fluorescent Lights at work is also one of the easiest ways to reduce your office’s environmental footprint. Just one of these bulbs can use up to 75 % less electricity than a standard bulb.

140,000 tonnes a year of ‘e-waste’, or computers, Mp3 players, cell phones and
other gadgets are tossed into Canadian dumpsters each year!

Instead of throwing away that old office equipment:
Donate it to a local school or non-profit organization, or ask local electronics dealers
if they take back old devices for recycling.

Did you know that one tonne of printing paper made with 100 % post-consumer material saves between 12-24 trees?

Instead of printing/photocopying multi-page documents on one side of the paper:
Set your office printer/photocopier to print double-sided by default and save half the amount of paper your company would normally use!

Instead of printing that email:
Create a folder on your computer and organize it into subfolders by name or subject, and refer back to the folder when you need to draw information.

Instead of using fresh paper for your fax machine:
Start a box next to the fax machine for recycled office paper and use this stock for incoming faxes.

Do you have a GREENOFFICE Problem/Solution? Share it with us by sending it to greenoffice@grandtoy.com and you just might see it posted right here!