Easy practices business owners can use to save green while going green

With our current economic conditions putting unfamiliar pressures on all areas of company budgets, going green is probably the last thing on most business owners' minds. Sure, the idea got lots of press a year ago, but now who has the luxury of spending more time learning new behaviors and more money on environmentally-friendly products? Luckily, there are several easy practices business owners can institute that can trim expenses while also reducing our consumption of natural resources - a true win-win situation for businesses looking for ways to survive the emerging economic and environmental crises. 1. Use less paper. This simple step can easily be achieved by encouraging employees to extend margins on documents and print on both sides of sheets. Most documents are automatically set to have 1" margins on all sides of the sheet. By changing this default setting to ¾", companies can reduce paper usage by 4.75%, according to Tamara Krinsky, who runs the ChangetheMargins.com web campaign. For a company that uses 15 reams (7,500 sheets) of paper each week, this translates to an annual savings of $92.63 - and the lives of 2.2 trees, as well as significant amounts of electricity and water. For companies using more than 15 reams per week, these savings can add up quickly. Double your company's savings by printing on both sides of the page. 2. Cut energy costs by ensuring that all lights and electronic equipment, including computers, printers, copiers, faxes, and other office items are turned off at night. Office equipment alone consumes two percent of America's electricity annually, and accounts for 24% of an average office's electricity use, according to the Department of Energy. By leaving computers and other machines on when they're not being actively used, more than $1 billion is wasted in our country each year. Slash your utility bills by encouraging your employees to put their computers to sleep when they go out to lunch, and turn off all equipment - and all lights - at night. For more energy saving ideas, visit www.EnergyStar.gov. 3. Instead of continually purchasing disposable coffee cups, utensils, and other single-use items, encourage your employees to bring their own reusable mugs to work and investigate your option for investing in a reusable set of utensils for your staff or washable glassware and mugs for office guests. Your regular restocking fees will vanish, and you'll decrease the trash produced by your office, which for many companies also means less money going to trash collectors to cart your coffee-stained polystyrene to the landfill. 4. Provide workers with a healthy, non-toxic environment. When employees feel good, they're more productive and less prone to ducking out early. Plus, having healthy employees means fewer sick days and higher morale. Make sure that spaces are kept well-dusted and orderly, and hire cleaning companies that use Green Seal certified cleaning products so they won't be introducing allergens and carcinogens into your office. This important step can significantly improve indoor air quality, which often is seven times worse than what we breathe outdoors, even in congested metropolitan areas like New York. 5. Create a culture of health. Sick workers cost the American economy as much as $150 billion each year in lost productivity, according to the Harvard Business Review. This figure, while enormous, doesn't account for the strains on our medical system, which reveal themselves to employers in ever-increasing insurance premiums, and which are threatening America's long-term economic viability. By helping your employees develop healthy habits, and by providing them with the means to implement these new habits, you can actively work to keep your business's health care costs low over the long run. Encourage healthful eating by hosting company events that feature nourishing fare. Where possible, provide incentives for employees to stay fit. Sponsor weight-loss programs and office sports teams, and reward employees who bike, walk, or take mass transit to work. KC Eisenberg is the founder of Ahimsa Design, Ronkonkoma, N.Y.