Go Green …Save the environment….spot new trends

I am not an environmentalist, but to live in clean and safe environment and to preserve our national resources it concerns me too. Everyday while driving on the streets of the country where I happen to be, I look around and just wonder how careless people can be about their environment. Of course I can not tell everyone I see on the street to be clean and to preserve the national resources, but as a manager, I can talk to my employees about the importance of preserving our resources and create work place policy where resource are used in the most efficient way.

As a manager in today’s work place, one of the first things I notice whenever I walk into a new office is how their resources are being used. Reducing costs while keeping quality is sometimes a delicate balance to maintain, but with little practice, you can maintain both.

Few tips you can use almost immediately:
1- Reduce the use of paper cups, ask each employee to bring her/his own drinking cup.
2- Most new printers come with a tool to help you lower ink consumption, check your printer’s manual.
3- If you work in an office with many computer systems, set the power saving mood on on those computers.
4- Encourage all your employees and clients to use e-mails instead of fax and letters, unless is absolutely necessary.
5- Where applicable, setup offices where there is enough sun light coming through the windows, so you don’t have to turn on the lights during day time.
6- Get into the habit of using ceiling fans or even small desk fans and reduce the use of air conditioning.
7- For taking notes, use your computer note pad program instead of paper note pad.

These are few tips you can use with little efforts. Adapting new ways to keep your work place environment friendly is not only helping all of us save resources, but it will also be the skills future managers must possess.