It’s always fascinated me that there are a thousand and one books out there to help you lose weight when the truth is we all know there are only two proven ways to do it: eat less and exercise more. Still, sometimes, it seems to help when we have someone giving us some guidance.
It turns out that, whether you’re operating a home-based enterprise or a small office, the ways to make your business greener are pretty straightforward too and GreenBiz has put together this informative, downloadable PDF checklist [ http://www.greenbiz.com/business/research/report/2007/07/18/greening-your-business-primer-smaller-companies ] to get you going. Among the steps you can take right away:
1. Measure and track your waste: “Your audit may be as simple as counting or weighing trash bags your company disposes of… or checking energy utility bills. Or it may involve bringing in professionals to assess your company and make recommendations on how to reduce energy, redesign products and other efforts to reduce waste and save money.”
2. Rally the troops: Assemble a team of employee volunteers to promote environmentalism in the workplace and “consider creating incentives, rewards and recognition for employees who take leadership in your company’s environmental efforts.”
3. Reduce office waste: “Start with reducing paper use: establish a company-wide policy of photocopying on both sides of the paper, using the blank side of printed material for creating draft documents and emailing reports instead of making printed copies.”
4. Create a reuse and recycling culture: Set up a recycling system for paper, plastics, aluminum and glass, plus consider composting food waste and finding area recycling programs to dispose of old electronics equipment.
5. Green your fleet: If your business leases or buys vehicles, choose those with high fuel economy or ones that use alternative fuel sources like electric or hybrid. Whatever cars or trucks you choose, make sure to have them tuned and serviced regularly.
6. Make your meetings matter: Teleconference when you can and stay in green hotels when you have to travel. And let your clients and employees know that you’re committed to sustainability.
7. Reduce commutes: “Give your employees the option of telecommuting, putting in a reduced workweek or working variable hours… Arrange for computer hookups, extra phone lines or other low-cost technologies to allow employees to plug in to the main office from home.”
For more great tips, check out Ecology Ottawa or GreenYour.com
Have you begun instituting eco-friendly policies in your office or in the products or services you offer?
You’re launching a new business and you want to outfit your home office with budget-friendly tools and supplies that provide quality and reliability. Before you grab a shopping cart, you might want to consider why switching to 
When you’re shopping for lighting, choose bulbs and fixtures with an Energy Star rating. They use up to two-thirds less energy than the regulars. And—not to sound like the boss of you or anything—don’t forget to turn the lights off when you leave a room.
Not only do laptop computers provide you with use-anywhere mobility, they also consume one-eighth the power of a desktop computer. According to Winter, multiple laptop users under one roof performing a variety of tasks will still not use as much power as one desktop computer!
Flatscreen or LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) monitors use less than half the energy of traditional CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) monitors, plus they’re lighter and easier to adjust. With sharper quality and no flickering, text is easier to read and there’s less strain on your eyes.
Many everyday items that we toss away without thought can be reused. The back of used paper—daily desk calendars, sticky notes, etc.—makes great notepaper for jotting ideas or diagrams. Use the two-sided setting on your printer and copier to reduce paper consumption, and again, instead of throwing away already-printed-on-one-side paper, use the backside as notepaper. When you do purchase paper, choose brands made from recycled materials and approved by the Forest Stewardship Council of Canada. Save elastic bands from newspaper deliveries. Buy rechargeable batteries and refillable ink and toner cartridges. Did you know that it takes up to 1,000 years for one cartridge to decompose in a landfill? Instead of trashing them, drop your electronic waste, finished rechargeable batteries and old ink and toner cartridges at a 
Online banking is secure, saves you time and reduces paper trails. Have payments deposited directly into your account instead of accepting cheques. Sign up for monthly online statements. At the same time, sign up for online billing. Many companies now offer this service, as well as allow you to make automatic payments through monthly bank account debits. Not only will you save trees by cutting back on the paper trails, you’ll also save money on envelopes and postage. And—bonus!—electronic files take up much less space than file folders and shoeboxes!
Buying used is very fashionable these days. Scour flea markets and yard sales for used office furniture and other items in good condition. It really is true: “one person’s junk is another person’s treasure”… And the extra treasure in my wallet is nice too!
Why choose non-toxic cleaning products when you can get cheaper stuff at a dollar store? Because while you’re sanitizing your office and home, you and everyone else under your roof are inhaling a cocktail of chemicals such as chlorine bleach, ammonia, petrochemicals and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The result? Indoor air pollution as well as environmental pollution through drainage. Non-toxic products might cost a little bit more, but clean breathing air and groundwater is priceless. (Check out STAPLES’ line of 
