Greening Tips #1-26
Greening Tip # 1 - Get involved with Greening at the IDB.
Greening depends on each and every one of us. There are many ways that you can reduce your environmental impact by making small changes in your day-to-day work routine. We want to hear from you with your ideas about what the Bank can do, and what employees can do to become more environmentally responsible.
Greening Tip # 2 - Save energy, turn off lights.
Remember to hit the switch on your way out of the office for your lunch break, a meeting or at the end of the day. Modern lights do not need a lot of energy to turn on. The idea that it uses more electricity to turn lights off/on as against leaving them on is false. Even if you are leaving your room for 10 minutes it is still worth turning the lights off.
Greening Tip # 3 - Save Paper, print double sided.
Limit the use of paper and printing by setting duplex printing as your computer’s default, and printing drafts of color documents in black and white. When printing rough drafts or documents for internal purposes, change the printer’s settings to economy mode and avoid color if possible.
Greening Tip # 4 - Save energy, put your monitor to sleep.
If you’re out for a few minutes let your screen saver kick in, any longer than that, change the settings on your monitor to automatically sleep or shut it down when not in use.
Greening Tip # 5 – Sign up for E-Statements
AMEX now allows you to swap your paper statements for E Statements. Sign up online at www.americanexpress.com.
Greening Tip # 6 – Save Water, turn taps off.
Turn the taps off when you brush your teeth. This action can save up to 5 liters a minute! Even a dripping tap can waste 10,000 liters of water per year.
Greening Tip # 7 - Reduce, Reuse and Recycle!
Last year alone the IDB recycled over 100 tonnes of paper, aluminum and glass. As the Bank looks for ways to improve the recycling facilities, including improved signage, you can help by using the correct receptacles in offices and pantries.
Greening Tip # 8 - Take a look at the new Greening website.
The IDB Greening website is now live! Visit us at www.iadb.org/greening and learn more about what the Bank is doing to green its culture and citizens.
Greening Tip # 9 – Recycle and reuse office supplies.
Before heading to the store cupboard, think about reusing office supplies such as envelopes, file folders, CDs, etc.
Greening Tip # 10– Bike to Work!
Get fit and save the environment at the same time! You save 15 pounds of pollutants from the air for every four miles you ride on your bike instead of drive. This is your way to fight global warming - individually.
Greening Tip # 11– Use a mug instead of disposable cups.
Use your own mug in the cafeteria. The average officer worker in the United States uses 500 disposable coffee cups per year. If everyone at the IDB were to use their own mug, collectively we could save a large amount of landfill site. Next time you get a cup of coffee, cold drink or lunch, think about what you can do to lessen your impact on the waste stream.
Greening Tip # 12 - Choose Fair Trade coffee.
Look out for Fair Trade Certified coffee available in the IDB Cafeteria every day. If you are holding a conference or a meeting to be catered by Guckenheimer, you can also request Fair Trade or organic coffee to be served.
Greening Tip # 13 - Video-conference and cut travel.
Use travel alternatives such as video conferencing, electronic chat rooms, instant messaging, and conference calls. This year the IDB has upgraded its videoconference facilities. It has 73 facilities throughout headquarters as well as in every country office.
Greening Tip # 14 - Go organic at your next conference.
Next time you are organizing a catered conference or meeting, ask Guckenheimer about the organic and fair trade menu alternatives they can offer.
Greening Tip # 15 - Re-use paper for notepads.
Re-use old paper for notepads. Before you recycle it, use scrap paper printed only on one side for taking notes instead of new sheets.
Greening Tip # 16 – Walk! Don't take the elevator!
Elevators use an awful lot of power moving us up and down. Why not walk up or down the stairs instead - get fit while saving energy consumption (lose kilos, save joules).
Greening Tip # 17 - Only print what you need.
When printing a large document think carefully if you need the whole document or just a section of this. If you only need the page you are working on, only print that page! If you do print something, retrieve it immediately. This helps to avoid the need for printing it again.
Greening Tip # 18 - Switch off the printer at night.
Switch the printer off at night - the last person to leave the office should do this.
Greening Tip # 19 – Recycle printer cartridges
Every printer toner box contains inside it a return label which can be used to return the empty cartridge that was just replaced for recycling. When you have packaged the box with the empty cartridge, please place the box with label in the outgoing mail to ensure that it is mailed. Please do not leave outgoing cartridge boxes next to the trash cans or in the pantries as they will be removed by the cleaners and put in the trash.
Greening Tip # 20 - Reduce print publications.
Next time you prepare a publication, think about whether it will be necessary to print it in full. Consider printing an executive summary and publishing the full version online. More often than not, publications can be smaller in size and have a far wider reach online. Another alternative is to distribute it as a CD version.
Greening Tip # 21 - Reduce pollution – leave the car at home!
Make it a habit to take the train, bus, metro or even ride your bike when feasible instead of a rental car when on mission. If you have to rent a car, some rental agencies now offer hybrids and other high-mileage vehicles. Make it a habit to carpool, bike, or take transit to work, and/or telecommute when possible.
Greening Tip # 22 – Save paper, photocopy double sided.
Next time you photocopy a long document, check the double side print function. Also if you are the last to leave, switch off the copier overnight.
Greening Tip # 23 – Think before you print.
It takes 390 gallons of oil to produce a ton of paper. To reduce the amount of paper that gets thrown away, triple check documents before printing and think again before printing the document.
Greening Tip # 24 - Reuse plastic bags/canvas grocery bags.
Do you have a pile of plastic grocery bags? Reuse them in household or work waste baskets. Some grocery stores have bins where you can deposit unwanted plastic bags. Or better yet, bring some canvas bags with you to the grocery store. You’ll find that they are stronger, hold you food goods better than plastic bags, and an added plus is that you won’t have a huge pile of plastic bags at home!
Greening Tip # 25 - Quench with Respect.
80% of the 25 billion single-serving plastic water bottles people in the United States use each year end up in landfills. Recycle your bottles, or better yet, choose to reuse with a refillable water bottle. Many divisions and departments have “water clubs”. If yours doesn’t, think about starting one!
Greening Tip # 26 – Save paper, get off paper mailing lists.
Get off mailing lists. The last thing you need is another office supply catalog or credit card offer on your desk. Before throwing out junk mail, call the company’s toll-free service number and ask that your name be removed from the mailing list. Have online retailers e-mail you instead. Almost half of all catalogs are never opened, yet nearly 62 million trees are destroyed and 28 billion gallons of water are used to produce them every year.
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