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Earth Day at Work: 3 Ways to Go Greener

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There’s a whole wide world out there beyond your office window, even if it doesn’t feel like it when project deadlines loom. The good news is that there are a lot of tiny, simple changes you can make, to make the earth a better place — even if you’re celebrating this Earth Day in your cubicle.

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(Photo Credit: Beth Scupham/Flickr)

1. Nix the one-shot coffee cups.

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Those single-serving coffee machines look neat, but they’re essentially trash-manufacturing devices. Think about how much less waste goes into making your average pot of drip coffee than the equivalent amount of single-serving coffee. And we bet no one in your office is taking the time to separate the foil from the plastic cups to put them in recycling.

2. Skip the printouts.

We might never achieve the dream of the truly paperless office — even in this age of cloud computing and instant data transmission, there are some people who need to see things in black and white. But whenever you can do without a paper copy, do it. And if you absolutely can’t work without a printout in your hand, recycle when you’re through.

3. Turn it off.

Leaving the room? Turn off the lights. Powering down your computer for the night? Switch off the monitor. Bonus points if you remember to unplug everything when you’re done or turn off the power strip. Even when your devices are switched off, the chargers and wires drain power from the system. (Exactly how much is up for debate, but every little bit counts — especially if you have older devices on hand.)

Tell Us What You Think

What changes did you make at the office this year, to be more environmentally friendly? We want to hear from you! Leave a comment or join the discussion on Twitter.

Jen Hubley Luckwaldt
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