Posts Tagged ‘energy efficiency’

The environment is on mostly everyone’s mind these days. The changes that you make to help our environment don’t have to be massive changes. There are many small things that you can do to help out and make a difference in your office every day.

1. Turn off all electronics and lights overnight. This can waste so much energy. Not only will this reduce the amount of energy that is used in your office, it will also reduce utility costs for your office!
2. Recycle. We’re not just talking paper here – many people will bring cans or bottles of pop or water, cans of soup, etc. to work for lunch. You can also recycle computers, but you probably want to be certain that all sensitive data has been completely removed from your computer before recycling it.
3. Only print out what you need to. Send memos, meeting minutes and meeting agendas by e-mail instead of printing them out and distributing them.
4. Use both sides of paper. If you can, print on both sides of the paper. Personally, I normally keep a stack of paper that I’ve printed on beside my desk as scrap paper.
5. Buy used office furniture and electronics. You can easily find gently used furniture and electronics – especially with our economy is as it is right now, so many businesses are suffering and closing, and selling their own office equipment.
6. Change the way you travel to work. Take the bus or subway; ride your bike. Carpool if you live near someone who works with you. Telecommute when possible. This also goes for meetings – video conference or conference call when you can, instead of traveling to visit someone.
7. Get a programmable thermostat. This allows you to turn down the heat (or up the air conditioning) over night.
8. Have a real plant at your desk. Living plants help reduce air pollution.
9. Buy office supplies that are (at least partially) made of recycled materials as much as you can. This goes for everything from paper to binders.
10. Invest in actual dishes and utensils. Instead of Styrofoam or plastic cups, utensils and plates that will only be thrown out after being in use once, buy actual dishes and utensils that can be washed and used again.

Thanks to funding provided by the Government of Ontario, Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) has created the SMART Program to help small and medium-sized manufacturers in Ontario improve their productivity so they can compete more effectively in the global economy.

The program awards 50% funding for a project up to $50,000 for productivity improvements such as lean design, lean manufacturing, quality improvement, energy efficiency, IT best practices, and environmental impact reduction.

Due to the economic downturn, many traditional industries are in peril because resources are no longer in demand, consumers are scrimping instead of spending, and the financial institutions are in disarray.  To survive as a business, it’s paramount that now, more than ever, businesses need to innovate.  We’re on the cusp of a new economy and only the way to turn a profit will be to cater to consumers changing needs.

Financing from banks will no longer be easy to come by.  In turn, consumers will no longer be willing to accumulate loads of debt.  Therefore, conservation will soon become a common theme.  Concepts such as “green living” will soon become synonymous with “sustainable lifestyles,” “affordability,” and “living within your means.”  If this is what it means to “be green,” then so be it- consumers will want to live greener lives, and companies should adapt accordingly.

Economists claim that invest in energy efficiency and renewable-energy strategies could create 2 million US jobs in the next 2 years. And as many as 1 out of 4 workers in the US will be working in the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries by 2030, according to a separate recent report from the American Solar Energy Society.

The big question is: will Canadian businesses follow suit?