6 TIPS TO HELP YOU BE MORE ENERGY CONSCIOUS IN THE OFFICE (AND AT HOME) & HOW TO BE GREEN TENANT
Reduce - emissions, waste, resources used, and your impact on your environment
1. Turn oïŹ lights when you leave the room
2. Open your curtains to let natural light in 3. Swap your old bulbs for low energy CFL or LED bulbs
4. Turn oïŹ ïŹuorescent strip lights if you leave for 10 minutes or more
5. Unplug appliances & chargers when not in use
6. Buy new appliances with a high energy eïŹciency rating
7. Insulate your home to prevent heat from escaping 8. Don't heat your empty house
9. Install a ceiling fan to keep your home cool
Keep your refrigerator working eïŹciently with regular cleaning
Consider having solar panels ïŹtted to your home
Use the holiday function when you're away
Switch to paperless billing and digital bank statements
Green efforts
27. Only boil the amount you need each time in the kettle
28. Collect rainwater in buckets to water plants on dry days
29. Drink tap water instead of bottled â use a water ïŹlter if needed.
30. Use an aerator on your water taps
31. Use a watering can rather than a hosepipe
32. Water garden plants when the sun is at its coolest
33. Wash your car at home ecofreindly, with a bucket of soapy water
34. Turn down the thermostat on your water heater
35. Make shorter journeys on foot instead of by car
36. Use public transport instead of driving 37. Trade in your old car for an eco friendly model 38. Have your car serviced regularly
39. Use a car sharing service or carpool
40. Work from home regularly to reduce your car use
donation
56. Wish a happy birthday via e-card or phone call
14. Paint your home with VOCs-free furniture from sustainable & 16. Install a low ïŹow shower
18. Opt for a shower over baths brushing your teeth 20. Wash instead of a running tap 21.
22. Don't pre-rinse dishes before 23. Fix leaky taps & pipes promptly low temperature & economy
25. Wash your clothes at 30 detergent & avoid fabric softener
57. Take the stairs instead of
58. Shop at a local farmers market
59. Choose localfarmâs seasonal
60. Grow your own fruits & veggies
61. Plan your meals in advance
62. Buy long life produce like and store in an airtight container
63. Store food properly to prolong
64. Cook in batches & freeze
65. Keep your freezer full to help
66. Cook meals from scratch pre-prepared packaged food
67. Eat less meat: start with Meatless
68. Cook with residual heat: turn
69. Use your microwave/air fryer
70. Steam/microwave vegetables
71. Choose clothing made from
72. Let your clothing air-dry instead
73. Avoid buying clothing that 74. Turn computer & monitor
75. Avoid printing things unless 76. Print on both sides of the paper mode 78. Print black & white with colleagues 80. Attract wildlife areas â plant native ïŹowers in your hotel 81. Plant an herb garden 83. Keep plants in and around mulch to slow down the evaporation the soil 85. Water your garden system 86. Zero Waste Days: month when employees are encouraged waste 87. OïŹce Energy Reduction monthly competitions between duce its energy consumption the meters) 88. Drive an electric or smart home app for temperature-controlling eïŹciency 90. Don't burn your your house shaded from the outside air conditioning 92. Don't smoke over 750 thousand tons of toxic by card instead of cash when possible parking apps when possible to avoid
VOCs-free paint 15. Buy new & responsible sources only shower head 17. Take shorter showers baths 19. Turn oïŹ the tap while Wash your dishes in a sinkful of water Only run a full dishwaser before putting using the dishwasher promptly 24. Save water via using economy settings on your washing machine °C 26. Use eco-friendly laundry softener to extend the life of clothes
the elevator market for fresh produce seasonal fruits & vegetables veggies advance to avoid wasting food rice and pasta in bulk container prolong life (fridge/freezer) portions for easy meals help it run eïŹciently instead of buying food
Meatless Mondays turn oïŹ hob/oven early fryer instead of the oven vegetables rather than boiling from organic natural ïŹbres instead of using a dryer that is dry-clean only monitor oïŹ at the end of the day
unless absolutely necessary paper 77. Print in eco 79. Cycle to work or carpool wildlife with nest and feeding your gardenË/install bug garden 82. Plant more trees your house 84. Use evaporation of water from garden with a drip irrigation Select certain days in a encouraged to generate no Reduction Competitions: Organize oïŹces to see which can rethe most (monitored by smart or plug-in hybrid car 89. Use a temperature-controlling your home for household waste 91. Keeping outside can reduce the need for smoke - cigarette ïŹlters generate toxic waste each year. 93. Pay possible 94. Use electronic avoid printing a paper slip.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle â in this order
95. Buy electronic tickets for public transport if possible. 96. Use a bike-share service, like MOL Bubi in Budapest or Santander bikes in London 97. Send an email instead of using snail-mail unless necessary. 98. Take notes digitally if you can, or use the blank side of used papers 99. Install motion- or presence sensors for lights and air conditioning
Reuse - your own items and others', for as long as possible
100. Repair faulty appliances rather than replacing 101. Use reusable cloth napkins and cleaning rags instead of disposable paper towels
102. Upcycle or resell your existing furniture 103. Replace old furniture with pre-loved items 104. Wash your vegetables in a bowl of water, then water your plants with it 105. Take reusable bags to the shops with you
106. Shop at charity stores and ïŹea markets for pre-loved items 107. Take your own reuseable to-go containers to coïŹee shops and restaurants
108. Carry a reuseable glass or metal bottle, and make sure your plastic bottles are BPA-free 109. Share books, newspapers, magazines etc. with family and friends 110. Reuse wrapping paper and gift bags, and avoid them altogether if possible. 111. Repurpose, recycle, resell or donate items before throwing away 112. Reuse towels when staying in a hotel or bring your own 113. Use reusable cloth diapers for your baby 114. Pass old clothing down to family & friends 115. Have a clothing swap sale with friends 116. Repurpose unused or damaged clothes by altering them, or cutting them into cleaning rags 117. Donate your old clothes to charity shops 118. Buy and sell used clothing at thrift stores or on the internet 119. Mend your clothes instead of throwing them away!
Recycle, as much as possible
120. Separate your paper, glass, metal and plastic waste for recycling
121. Recycle all paper and packaging where possible
122. Recycle your old electronic devices like phones, ipads computers, etc
123. Choose recycled paper products when available
124. Turn your food waste into compost
125. Learn your local recycling guidelines â items collected should be empty, clean and dry
Policy and Plan â Develop a corporate level policy that commits the organization to achieving set targets (e.g. greenhouse gas, waste and paper use reduction) by a set time. The plan for how this will be achieved should include a strategy for how employees will be engaged and encouraged to play their part.
Report
greenhouse gas emissions that you are not able to avoid.
Energy
Procurement copiers, printers, faxes, etc.
When purchasing energy, buy green energy from renewable sources.
Computers â Enable Energy Star mode to automatically switch to âsleepâ mode or minimize power in âstand byâ mode. Choose laptops over desktops, avoid old cathode ray tube (box) monitors and, when procuring desktops, select smaller monitors.
Settings are activated on all equipment with such features
Standby modes still use a lot of energy
Temperature â When air conditioning is switched on, remember to completely close your windows.
Choose appliances that have energy class A+ or better and/or Energy Star rated
Waste
Paper Recycling â Provide recycling boxes for each desk. Negotiate with the cleaners to empty them.
Other Recycling â Provide collection containers for glass, plastic and metals (separated or comingled depending on removal contract) in readily assessable places.
Waste Bins â Remove as many as possible so that people learn to put their paper in the paper recycling bins and minimize the amount of waste they produce. These bins are typically messier than paper recycling boxes and so removing them helps
Measure the waste produced by type and weight in order to develop a strategy to achieve your waste reduction goals. WASTELY helps you do this.
Paper
Procurement â Choose 80-100% recycled content with non-chlorine bleaching. Recycled content should be post-consumer rather than post-industrial as the former has a much greater impact in terms of âClosing the Loopâ. Non-recycled pulp. Chlorine is known to be toxic to humans.
Double-Sided Printing â Set printers and copies to double-sided as default. While some people may complain that they are wasting more paper while they are getting used to the new setup, they soon become acclimatized. This practice is commonplace among leading organizations, and can save a lot of paper and money
Avoid Printing It â Create a culture where people print only when they really need to, including reading more on screen.
Personal Inboxes â Use printers with personal inboxes, meaning that people have to go to the machine to print, reducing the number of uncollected documents
Provide selective waste points within the rental property
Reuse Used Paper â While it can cause problems to reuse paper in copiers and printers, used paper can be reused as notepaper.
Transport
Flights â Encourage minimization and provide alternatives, such as video conferencing, perhaps through an external facility
Car Use â Encourage public transport, carpooling, cycling and walking as alternatives. Perhaps
Other Procurement
Local â Purchase locally produced products to avoid transport impacts, especially air travel.
Printer/Copier Cartridges â Use remanufactured/
Cleaning Products â Use EU Green Label products
Col
Colliers also produces a Green Guide for evelopers and Managers.
Please contact a Colliers Professional to learn more or go to www.colliers.com.
