“Green” Office Audit

Greening Up the OfficeNAU Employee Development Conference February 2008Areas to consider:• Paper Use• Energy Use• Procurement (office supplies, products, services, and furniture)• Food in the Office• Waste and Recycling• Meetings, Events, and Travel• Transportation• Air Quality¾¾¾¾¾¾¾Paper UsageWhy it’s important:Each person in an office uses an average of 2.5 pounds of paper each week • With an office of 10 employees it would take ~1.5 years to go through 1 Ton of paper• It takes 390 gallons of oil to produce that ton of paper• 17 pulp trees are saved if that one ton of paper is made from recycled materialsA single mature tree can absorb 13 pounds of CO2 per year. • For every gallon of gas we burn we emit ~20 lbs of CO2Public landfills are approximately 36% waste paper products – by recycling, that space is savedWhat is saved by using recycled paper (1 ton)7,000 gallons of water4,100 kwh of energy74% of the air pollution and 35% of the water pollution associated with virgin paper productionPaper UsageWhat habits are alreadycommon in your office?Paper UsageMeasuring Where You Stand– Estimate how many reams of copy/printing paper your office purchased last year– Of these, how much of the paper was virgin pulp (as opposed to recycled content)– Are paper-saving strategies employed in your office? Could more be done?¾¾¾¾¾¾¾¾Paper UsageTaking ActionEmploy the most efficient possible use of paper by utilizing ...