Green Houston

Another good article - related to this one - about how to make your office/company greener! Anyone have any other good ideas?

Sure, your office has those blue bins and uses recycled paper, but how much is your company really doing for the environment? Chances are, it’s a lot less than Clif Bar. The Berkeley, Calif., company began its earth-friendly makeover by changing the contents of the sports nutrition bars that it makes. In 2001, none of the bars’ ingredients were organic; this year, the company plans to use 20 million pounds of organic material, or 70 percent of all ingredients it purchases. But Clif Bar’s environmentally friendly attitude doesn’t stop at its product. In the past six years, it has also made serious efforts to make its headquarters as green as possible.

You may not have the green resources of Clif Bar, but there are simple things you can do to make your office more eco-friendly:

• Put recycling bins in every office and cubicle.
• Turn off computers and power strips at night.
• Ask your office manager to check out Environmentally Preferable Purchasing, a Web site from the Environmental Protection Agency that offers guidance on eco-friendly office supplies. (www.epa.gov/epp)
• Seek out help from local environmental groups on how to make your office greener.
• Encourage your staff to use scrap paper.

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