Carbon Friendly

At the Office
  • If you have to print a document or email, just print the text you
    need    .
  • Put on more clothes rather than turning up the heating.
  • Turn off your monitor when you go for lunch, a meeting or even a break.
  • Turn off your PC if you're not going to be using it for a few hours. Leaving your monitor or computer on stand-by mode still consumes significant amounts of electricity, as much as 30% of normal use in some cases.
  • Use a laptop and projector to run meetings electronically.
  • Use (or install) video-conferencing to save on business travel.
  • Screen savers do not save any energy, they are there to stop the image of a static screen from being imprinted on the monitor glass. Instead, change your settings (Start > Control panel > Display) to automatically switch off monitors and/or shut down when not in use.
  • Collect unused discs, erase them, put new labels on them and make them available for re-use.
  • Leave your personal digital assistant switched off while in the holder. It will still charge and you only need to turn it on for a minute or so before removing it to let it syncronise.
  • Make the most of natural lighting - open the blinds! Don't block it with filing cabinets, plants or blinds that are permanently shut!
  • Switch off lights when you are last to leave rooms and when they are not needed. Turn off lights in the toilets, kitchen, meeting rooms etc. when not needed. Flickering fluorescent tubes use up more energy. If you see one, report it.
  • Keep doors and windows shut (and avoid opening them to cool a room if the heating is still on).
  • Re-use paper that's already printed on one side by manually feeding it into copiers and printers for draft documents.
  • Once-used paper can also be reused in plain paper fax machines — they only need one clean side.
  • Recycle all paper including white and coloured stationary, stapled paper, magazines and cardboard that cannot be re-used again (if possible).
  • Do you really need a hard copy of it? Can you save the message/attachments instead?
  • Instead of printing a web page, bookmark it or save the page.
  • Proof the document on screen before printing.
  • Reducing the point size of your text may save lots of paper.
  • Check if your printer can print double sided (most larger laser printers can).
  • Recycle all ink toner cartridges.

To reduce windstorms in Beijing, Chinese scientists are planting a "green belt" around the capital. Reforestation will be aided by conserving rainwater to increase soil fertility.