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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• Do stock-keeping methods ensure that we use all supplies before they become out of date?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!
  

In this Section...

• Office Equipment
• Paper

 

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