Getting Started

Here are some simple changes you can make to improve your environmental performance. Contact the project team to find out more.

10 Tips for Environmentally Conscious Businesses

To save paper: print only when necessary; print double-sided if your printer has the option to do so; use the reverse side of waste paper for draft printing or note taking; and encourage the use of electronic formats e.g. email.
- The typical office worker can use up to 10,000 sheets, or 200 reams, of paper annually. This is approximately 1/8 of the total paper produced from a single tree.
Purchase recycled paper as opposed to a non-recycled alternative.
- One ton of paper from recycled pulp saves 17 trees, 3 cubic yards of landfill space, 7,000 gallons of water, 4200 kWh (enough to heat a home for 6 months), 390 gallons of oil, and prevents 27 kg of air pollutants being released.

During the winter, set thermostats to a constant and comfortable 19-20°C (14°C in less inhabited areas e.g. corridors) and utilise individual controls on radiators if available.
- For every 1°C reduction in building temperature, bills can be reduced by 8%.
To save energy and costs, ensure lighting and electrical equipment is switched off when not in use.
- Every £75 of energy saved avoids the release of one tonne of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Use natural light wherever possible. To improve natural lighting further, keep windows and skylights clean and paint walls light colours.
- Utilising natural light is one of the easiest ways to reduce costs and become more energy efficient.
An energy saving light bulb uses around one quarter of the electricity and can last up to twelve times longer than an ordinary bulb, resulting in a significant reduction in overall lifetime costs.
- It has been calculated that if every house in the UK fitted three energy saving bulbs the energy saved could light all of our cities at night.

Dripping taps are just one type of water leak that can create significant costs - it costs only a few pence to replace a washer.
- A tap that drips once every second can waste up to 4 litres of water per day. If the drips break into a stream, wastage is about 90 litres per day.
Placing a brick (or similar object) in a toilet cistern to displace water will result in a reduction of up to 40% water use per flush.
- Water minimisation is one of the easiest and most inexpensive ways to achieve cost savings - simple initiatives can reduce figures by 50%.

Reuse incoming packaging materials (e.g. boxes, bubble wrap, pallets, envelopes etc.) for outgoing products to save resources and money.
- Approximately 4 million tonnes of waste packaging are sent to landfill sites each year.
Cut down on the junk mail and faxes your organisation receives by contacting the Mail Preference and Fax Preference Service on 0845 703 4599.
- You will receive an average of 20 kg of unwanted direct mail over the next year, the majority of which, unless recycled, will end up in landfill - a significant amount when considering the number of households and businesses in the UK.