I’ve decided to make my company as carbon neutral as possible and assumed the best place to start is our office which houses four members of staff. I’ve already started making sure equipment is only on when being used and we have an ‘only print if necessary’ policy, but what other steps can I take to make the office greener?

Isabel Duckworth writes:

Businesses of all sizes are now having to think about what they can do to reduce their energy use which in turn means saving money and doing their bit for the environment. 

Office equipment currently accounts for 15% of energy consumption in the UK. It’s an alarming figure, but hardly surprising given that even the smallest office is full of electrical equipment such as computers, printers, lighting, heating, and hot water.

You are making a good start ensuring equipment is switched off and only printing when necessary.  But make sure your staff don’t think leaving their monitors on standby is the same as switching them off.  Of the 15% figure I mentioned previously, 60% of this is being used by equipment and appliances left on standby, or switched on when they are not in use.

Energy monitoring systems are a good way to get started on the way to becoming carbon neutral. They will measure the amount of carbon (as well as the energy and cost) that equipment is releasing.  You can then identify which pieces are wasting energy in being left on or perhaps are just not very efficient. Monitors will give you a report of your energy use, but it is what you do with the collected data that will ultimately lead to savings.  Equipment can be accessed remotely and even programmed to come on and off at certain times, ensuring the water and heating for instance is only on when you need it.

There is also the option of  compensating for your unavoidable emissions by paying someone to make an equivalent greenhouse gas saving, known as Carbon Offsetting. Offsetting won’t reverse the effects already caused by greenhouse gases but by saving an equivalent amount of greenhouse gas elsewhere you can help to minimise current global emissions.

When purchasing offsets, you should look out for the various international standards (VCS, VER+, Gold Standard, CDM CER) to ensure that they receive recognised and reputable credits. CERs are verified by the UN and meet the requirements of the Kyoto Protocol. To help guide you on the quality of offsetting schemes, the government is developing a code of best practice for companies which sell offsets.

You may also look at becoming ISO14001 compliant. The ISO 14001 aims to reduce the environmental carbon footprints that many businesses leave behind today because of not taking the right steps to be environmental sustainable. This standard promotes the decrease in the waste of necessary business resources and also reduces the pollution that can sometimes be a by-product of a business.  It can be a lengthy and expensive process, but is very worthwhile and your clients may look favourably on it. 

Alternatively for a small business have a look at the BS 8555 scheme which has been designed with small to medium-sized businesses specifically in mind. It breaks down the process of gaining ISO 14001 into six clear steps. Providing an SME with a phased approach to implementing an Environmental Management System and gives them better control over the process. BS 8555 details six clear phases and provides an organization with clear milestones by which they can demonstrate their achievements to their customers both internally and externally.

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Isabel Duckworth is from Monitor My Workspace which provides energy saving devices and monitoring kits