ENVIRONMENTAL CODE OF PRACTICE
Product purchasing and consumption
Consider purchasing materials that have been manufactured to
take account of environmental factors, for example, recycled paper
and bio-degradable detergents as a commitment to your environmental
policy and to demonstrate to suppliers and public. Ask your
stationers and cleaning suppliers about their products and their
company’s environmental credentials. Where possible, try to
purchase from suppliers and manufacturers who have a formal
environmental policy in order to encourage others to respond to
consumer demand for more sustainable markets.
The
Office of Government Commerce in the Treasury contains further
information on environmentally friendly products.
When buying supplies for the office consider the following:
- Do we actually need this product (or more of it)?
- Do stock-keeping methods ensure that we use all supplies before
they become out of date?
- Do we use cleaning products, such as detergents, which are
biodegradable?
Actions to take:
- Start keeping records of the consumption rate of office
materials (by department if appropriate) and investigate any
significant changes in this rate
- Restrict access to stationery storage areas to prevent
people
continually taking pens, pencils, rubbers etc
- Purchase products made from recycled materials – recycling is
only viable if people both recycle their waste and buy recycled
products
- Avoid purchasing disposable products, try to buy their durable
competitors, e.g. cups, plates, refillable pens, etc
- Try to purchase materials that are sold in refillable or
returnable containers
Office equipment
When purchasing computer equipment try to buy products that can
be upgraded easily rather than products which have a limited
lifespan
- If new computer equipment is required, consider prolonging the
life of the existing stock by selling it off to staff for private
use
- Share equipment wherever possible – a printer can serve several
computers
- It may be more economic to hire equipment for occasional use
rather than to purchase it
- Local schools, charities and community groups will usually be
more than happy to receive any discarded hardware which is still in
good working order or old furniture – this is good PR for your
company too
- Where possible, use recycled ink cartridges in your printers –
these are generally less expensive than new products, although
there might be a diminution in printing quality
- Think about repairing or refurbishing old office furniture
before discarding it – this might prove much cheaper than
buying
- Be careful if purchasing furniture made from tropical hardwoods
– ask your suppliers whether they can prove that their products
come from a sustainable resource. Generally,
the purchase of furniture made from tropical hardwoods is best
avoided as it is very difficult to identify the source of the
wood
Paper
Paper is perhaps the most copiously used of all materials in the
office and a reduction in the quantities of paper used can bring
about a considerable cost saving. The action points listed below
give some practical guidance on how to minimise paper usage:
- Make full use of the possibilities of electronic communication
– send messages and documents via e-mails instead of paper memos or
printed documents
- Do not print e-mails unnecessarily and encourage recipients to
take similar action
- When photocopying, make double sided copies
- When printing, use both sides of the paper and consider
printing two pages per side
- Avoid photocopying fax messages
- Print draft documents on the back of scrap paper
- Use recycled paper, paper containing a high proportion of
postconsumer waste or paper manufactured from sustainable forests
for general office uses, such as printing and photocopying.
- Try to avoid paper which has been chlorine bleached
- Use a central filing system for hard copies of reports rather
than printing individual copies
- Keep your mailing lists up to date
- Make jotting pads from scraps of paper
- Use outdated letterheads for internal memos
- Consider limiting the number of printers in your office and
site printers at a central location rather than next to
individual’s desks. Studies have shown that if people have to get
up and fetch a document, they are less likely to print it
out!