The benefits of being “Green”

• Author: DigitalMind
• Filed under: Uncategorized
• Date: Nov 16,2008

Everyone knows about “being green”, but very little people actually do anything about it.  Have you considered the potential opportunities that it may open up to you at your work, in your community, and at home ? You might be surprised.  In my case, simply doing what I’ve written below and blogging about it has generated a lot of traffic.

Being ‘Green’ at your work can improve your pay, position, and responsibilities.  Doing it at home can improve your way of life and health.  Doing it within your city can improve the value of your neighbordhood and create new friendships and a strong sense of community.

Being green isn’t about making sacrifices or doing more hard work, it’s just a matter of adjusting how certain things are done in order to get the most out of the natural resources that we rob from the earth.

Lets take a closer look at some of the simplest things we can do :

Being green at home :

Being eco-friendly in your home is easy, and it pays off fast. At home it pretty much just comes down to saving energy, and recycling. Here are some tips with a short explanation of why you NEED to do this :

• Change out any of your old regular light bulbs for compact fluorescent lights. They take only about 1/3 the power that regular bulbs take, and they seem to last a lot longer too.  They’re more expensive than regular bulbs, but you’ll probably notice the difference on your very first electric bill if you’re one of those people who always leave their lights on.  (With that said, STOP LEAVING YOUR LIGHTS ON!)
• As your old appliances break down, don’t have them fixed.  Replace them with Energy Star rated appliances. (Energy Star is an international standard for energy efficient consumer products) This means your fridge, dishwasher, washing and drying machine, television, hot water tank, and your PC monitors.  (the old CRT monitors take LOTS of power compared to the new LCD ones)
• If you leave for the day to go to work, remember to turn off the computers, lights, TV’s, etc etc … It really does make a noticeable difference at the end of the month.
• Recycle. I have always had a hard time remembering to recycle.  A few years ago in order to recycle we had to sort through all the recyclables ourselves and put them in different bins.  This was ridiculous and did not encourage me to keep recycling.  The city of Montreal has recently made it easier for me to recycle. Basically :  They cut down on garbage collection. They used to come twice a week, and now they just come once a week for garbage and once a week for recyclables.  This has forced me to start separating my garbage from my recyclables in order to not have too many bags of stinky garbage sitting around while waiting for garbage day.  I applaud Montreal for this because it really has given be a kick in the behind to start doing this.  It’s working out well, I like it.  You should try it.  You might be surprised at the amount of recyclable materials you’ve been throwing out all these years.
• In the winter, turn down the heat a couple of degrees and dress up warmer instead.  (Don’t go nuts to the point that you’re wearing a winter coat indoors though!)
• For more tips about ways to be green at home, I suggest signing up to this newsletter that sends out daily tips and tricks by email.  (This newsletter is targeted mostly towards women who want to be green at home)

Being Green in your Community and at your worplace :

Like I said at the beginning of this article, everyone knows about being green, yet not many people help out.  Lots of people just need some encouragement and some help in the sense of giving suggestions and explaining how helpful it would be if they followed them. Simon Stapleton has made a great point in his recent e-book entitled Why ‘Green’ and Other Niche Causes are great career builders.  Not only does being green help your business, but in doing so it can help you advance at work and get some much deserved recognition. It’s a Win-Win !

Here’s a quick excerpt from his (free) book :

My idea for you is that charity work has a huge potential for exposure in
other business functions other than your own. Charities are generally
small (but not always) and require its workers to get involved in more
than their niche. It is in this way that offering yourself to a charity for
gainful employment could offer you engagements you may never have
found yourself in. You won’t just find a more diverse business
environment to learn from. You’ll probably find a higher degree of social
and cultural diversity, leading to greater self-confidence and self-
esteem. Your work will add to your society, culture and community.

I strongly suggest you visit SimonStapleton’s website which is focused on career development. He’s one of the few people that understands that being green can be a career development tool too. Go Simon !

Specific examples of being green at work :

• Recycling. I really hope your work is already doing this. If they’re not, it’s the obvious first step. If you thought you used lots of paper at home, imagine how much paper you and your collegues throw out in a day at the office ! It’s very easy to get a little add-on for your existing garbage cans that collect paper for recycling. There are also companies that will come pick up your recycling if the city you’re in doesn’t have a service for that yet.
• Power : Talk with the IT department and replace all old CRT monitors.  (Don’t forget to dispose of those properly!  Electronics CAN be recycled too you know!) Instruct everyone to shut down their PC’s and monitors when they leave at the end of the day. When it comes time to get new printers and copiers, make sure they’re ENERGY STAR certified products.
• Use a bicycle or public transportation to get to work.  In Montreal, bus passes are tax deductible which has made it a lot easier to start convincing the business’s themselves of buying bus passes for their employees. You’re saving major money on gas and you’re being green at the same time !
• Keep coffee mugs at work in order to save on people using Styrofoam or plastic cups that just get thrown out after a single use. (That’s a major waste)
• “Message” notes. Do you remember those pink message papers the receptionist gives you with all your missed calls and messages from when you were out of the office ? Does your office still use them ? (As a phone technician, I can say that LOTS of people still do)  In this day and age of voicemail and email, there’s no good excuse to keep this up other than the familiarity of it.  It’s time for some change.
• Every company is different. Look around, ask questions, and make a plan that suits your business.
• Company Policy : Turn all these things into company policy.  One at a time.  You’ll be building the companies credibility, and you’ll be helping yourself and everyone around you be in a more eco friendly environment.  There are some phone directories now that ONLY have listings for eco-friendly companies.  Making a few changes at the office can open up a new level of marketing options for your business that no one knew existed!

I hope that this article might encourage some of you to get moving.  You don’t have to do it all at once.  Start at home, and as you learn and experience the benefits first hand you might want to start having a more active role in the promoting of green products and habits.  It’s literally becoming a matter of keeping the planet in a state that will be able to continue to support human life.  The planet itself will survive for billions of years, but will we ? The way we’re going now, the answer is a simple NO.