If I had my way, I would create a home office made from recycled materials and choose furniture and supplies from sustainable companies. My ideal green office would be something like this:

Furniture

Maku makes office sofas and tables with a sustainable lean.

My office would have a small sofa from Maku Furnishing, made from reclaimed teak, for when I need to stretch out and write. Maku Furnishing is also a member of 1% For The Planet, an organization whose members contribute at least 1% of their earning annually to various environmental causes. A filing cabinet from Barnseeker would fit nicely in the corner; all Barnseeker items are made from reclaimed wood from 100-year-old barns, houses and commercial buildings. Herman Miller sells office chairs that are made from approximately 64% recycled material and are 94% recyclable at the end of their lives. The foam and textile pieces from the chair can be made into things like carpet padding and car interior parts. Finally, I would fill my space with a corner desk from Legare Tool-Free Furniture made from bamboo. The piece comes ready to assemble, and conveniently for customers and the planet, assembly does not require any tools. This means that I can put my desk together without nails, bolts, screws or cam locks.

Accessories

My pencil and pen holder would come from the Etsy shop GeekGear, and it’s made from recycled floppy disks. The same shop sells upcycled clocks made from used CD-ROMs and recycled acrylic stands, which would fit nicely on my desk. I will cross off days and write down deadlines on a plantable, eco-friendly calendar from Olive Barn. The calendar is made from 100% recycled material, and when the month is over, I can plant the page and watch wildflowers grow.

Computer

I would finish off my green dream office with an efficient computer. Apple makes the Mac mini, which is PVC-free, BFR-free and lead-free and 31% smaller than the first-generation Mac mini. With a size of 6.5 by 6.5 by 2 inches, this mini desktop uses much less material than other full-size desktops. The computer is energy efficient, using about 14W of power when idle, less than 2W when in sleep mode and less than 1W when turned off. The computer has an Energy Star label and a gold rating through The Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT). When you buy a new Mac, the company takes your old computer to recycle free of charge.

Recycling

If your work already recycles, you can still improve current recycling standards, such as making it easier and more visible to encourage people to participate. For example, make sure the recycling bins are in clear view and in obvious locations. Have a separate container for each type of recyclable, such as plastic, paper and aluminum. If your office doesn’t offer recycling, talk with your HR department or office manager to see what it would take to implement a recycling program.

Using LED lights

LED lights use a quarter of the energy of standard light bulbs and last much longer while providing the same amount of light. Take note of the type of bulbs your office currently uses. If you notice they’re using standard light bulbs, write up a proposal and send it to the top. Demonstrate in your proposal how much money and energy can be saved with statistics and viable sources. If it is going to save the company money, the switch will most likely be seriously considered.

Using Energy Star computers

Energy Star was a program started by the U.S. Government in the 1990s to highlight various electronic devices that use significantly less energy to operate compared to standard electronics. Many offices have opted to purchase Energy Star computers because of the savings in the electric bill, but some companies are stuck on outdated computers that in the end still cost the business more money. Another option is to use a laptop computer instead of desktop. An Energy Star laptop can use up to 90% less energy than a standard desktop (depending on the model).

Use recycled office products

It is easy to find recycled office products, such as copying paper, notepads, folders, napkins and bathroom tissue. Many suppliers now offer recycled paper products for the same rate, or cheaper, as compared to unrecycled office products. Using recycled products will also help staff think about the planet more frequently.

Turn it off

Make it office policy to turn off all electronics during lunch periods, meetings and at the end of the day. You can create a program where various people in the office can volunteer to turn off and unplug the fax machines, computers, copy machines and other electronics at the end of the day. Unplugging the machines will prevent energy usage that occurs even in sleep modes (vampire energy). You can also make it company policy to turn off computer screens when not in use during bathroom breaks or other periods of time.

Set eco-friendly kitchen standards

Aside from placing recycling bins in an easy-to-see area of the kitchen, you can also encourage people to get away from using disposable plates, cups and other dishware. If disposable items are necessary, choose to stock the cabinets with corn-based compostable products or recycled items.

Use natural light when possible

Natural light doesn’t cost anything, it won’t use any energy and it is better for mental health. It’s a win-win, no matter how you spin it. Take a look at where the windows are located in the building and what type of shades or blinds are currently on them. Talk to people with a creative edge or those that have an eye for interior design. Brainstorm a few solid ideas and then present them to the office manager or your boss. Think about how you can take advantage of the natural light and turn off the ceiling lights.

Carpool

Organize a carpool group among co-workers. Get permission to send out a companywide email to gather people who are interested in participating in a carpool. Find a person who is good with logistics to organize the various people and locations. You can present the idea by highlighting the financial advantages and the positive impact it has on the environment.

Print only when it is essential

The ability to present most things digitally is a much better option than using paper. For example, if you need to show a group of people an idea, send it via email as opposed to printing one out for each person. Use PowerPoint in meetings and have someone take notes on a laptop instead of using paper.

Replace toxic cleaning products

Not only are traditional cleaning products highly toxic, which can have a negative effect on a person’s health, but they also harm the environment. Talk with your janitorial department about the option of switching to natural cleaning products. Even if the company can’t switch all the products, you can always replace the kitchen dish soap and cleaning products in your personal area with your own natural products.

A long-standing theory in architecture has been to “bring in” the outside world by offering ample windows from which workers can enjoy natural light and views of outdoor settings. Yanko Design has taken this idea and run with it. By bringing actual vegetation into the most clichéd image in oppressive offices, the cubicle, Yanko Design has created what is perhaps the most inspiring partition on earth — and it’s green!

The Breathing Partition offers several benefits to any that get to enjoy its presence. Improved air quality, enjoyable bright green visuals and a textual experience reminiscent of childhood pleasures (enhanced by the additional footrest) are invoked by the tufts of grass integrated into the creatively designed office walls. Yanko Design’s website offers the following justification of these partitions infused with some greenery: “The project was started with the purpose to develop a creative and pleasant office environment as the product has been designed to allow feeling a sense of nature in dreary office environments.” What a great idea!

These forms are even as eco-friendly and structurally solid as the idea behind them. The walls are made from durable HDPE (high-density polyethylene) plastic, which is easily recyclable or reusable at the end of use, and it includes a watering system required to keep grass growing and keep breathing cleanly.

The mundane office setting, combined with the whirring and chirping of computers and printers, fluorescent lighting and indistinct office chatter, can lull even the most prolific employee into a comatose state. But, with these eye-catching partitions that are adaptable in any office space by being endlessly configurable in shape and size, the Breathing Partition might just revolutionize the office setting. That being said, the custodial staff might not be as thrilled.

It’s safe to say that this business is environmentally conscious, not only in its product, but also in working to reduce its footprint in the office. Here are a few ways the office is staying green.

Recycling

LightWave Solar Electric is installing solar panels throughout Tennessee and implementing recycling practices in its Nashville office.

At LightWave Solar, recycling is easy. A dumpster outside the office accepts “single-stream” recycling, meaning nothing needs to be sorted. You can toss in phone books, cardboard boxes, office paper, plastic bottles, accepted plastics and cans for recycling. This makes it simple inside the office, too, since employees can throw everything together in one bin, and they don’t have to keep three or four bins for recycling. Also, for in-house memos and papers, LightWave employees print on both sides of the paper. This may not sound so impressive, but it does save half the amount of copy paper that would normally be used for printing.

Energy use

All the light bulbs in the office are energy-efficient bulbs. The temperature on the water heater was lowered to save energy at the office. The server that supports LightWave Solar’s website is run by solar power, and soon the entire office will have solar panels to produce clean energy.

Composting

LightWave Solar employees have a place to collect food scraps for composting. There isn’t a compost bin at the office, but two employees at the company compost at home. These employees take turns bringing a gallon jug full of coffee grounds, banana peels, tea bags and other items home to compost.

Employees

The people that work at LightWave Solar share common environmental beliefs. New employees are examined on their experience as well as their values. This company prefers to hire environmentally friendly workers, and more specifically, solar advocates. Two employees here drive hybrid vehicles, and there are two composters, as mentioned above.

What you can do in your office

Other offices can learn a thing or two from LightWave Solar’s simple practices. If you compost at home, bring in a container to collect food scraps in the office. Make sure you bring in a sign to post beside the container listing items that should and should not be composted. Talk to your fellow employees and tell them how much it would mean to you if they took the time to put compostable items inside the container.

If your office doesn’t use energy-efficient lighting, let your boss or office manager know that these bulbs last longer and use less energy (meaning less money on the electric bill) compared to regular bulbs.

If you are recycling at home and your office isn’t (this has happened to me at two of my jobs), bring in a bin to collect recyclables. You’ll be surprised how many people will toss their cans and scrap paper here rather than the trashcan. Take the bin home yourself and add it to your recycling.

Thanks to Steve Johnson, President and founder of LightWave Solar Electric, for taking the time to tell 1-800-RECYCLING about his practices within the office.

We consult professionals about all kinds of things: career advice, tax preparation, real estate. But, one thing you may have never considered is a recycling consultant. (Yes, there is such a thing!)

Believe it or not, there are people out there you can hire to help you maximize your recycling potential at home or in the office. I’m going to focus on workplace recycling consultants, because let’s face it, there is a lot of waste in the workplace. If your office is anything like the offices I’ve worked in, the volume of wasted paper alone is enough to make your stomach churn. So, here are the names of a couple of recycling consultants, along with information on how they can help your office go green.

Great Forest Sustainability Solutions: Based in New York City, this “sustainability consulting and sustainability program management” company has worked with financial institutions, universities, municipalities and other organizations around the country to assess sustainability needs and challenges and develop recycling programs focused on “making recycling as easy as possible, while driving down costs associated with waste removal.” The company also has LEED-accredited professionals who can help building owners navigate the LEED-certification process.

Boston Waste Solutions: This company works with a wide range of businesses, including restaurants, hotels, supermarkets and retail stores, to identify recycling and waste reduction opportunities and implement new solid waste management plans. It also provides detailed monthly reports showing results of the new plan.

Both of these companies claim that in the end their services actually save money for their clients by streamlining waste management services and reducing waste in the first place. So, if you feel like your workplace could be a lot more sustainable, it might be worth pitching this idea to the boss — I have never met a boss who didn’t like saving money!

Items collected for the Writing Instrument Brigade

TerraCycle works in a series of brigades. These brigades are designed to collect items that aren’t traditionally recycled and then upcycle them into new consumer goods. In addition to keeping these products out of landfills, the brigades also serve as fundraising tools for schools, churches and nonprofit organizations.

TerraCycle has dozens of different brigades, but three would be a good fit for businesses: the Scotch Tape Brigade, the Cell Phone Brigade and the Writing Instrument Brigade. Interested businesses simply collect the products and once a minimum amount has been reached, ship the product off to TerraCycle on TerraCycle’s dime.

For example, participants in the Scotch Tape Brigade collect the cores from tape dispensers. These cores would otherwise end up in landfills, but now TerraCycle is collecting them for future product development use. Once a company collects 50 cores, they ship them to TerraCycle. TerraCycle then donates $0.02/core to the company’s charity of choice. The Scotch Tape Brigade has nearly 2,000 participating locations that have collected more than 1,200 cores totaling 22 pounds.

The TerraCycle Cell Phone Brigade is a bit more profitable to nonprofit beneficiaries. For each cell phone collected, $0.25 is donated to your company’s charity of choice. There are nearly 1,000 collection teams that have donated more than 25 pounds of cell phones to TerraCycle, keeping these old phones out of landfills.

One of TerraCycle’s newest brigades is the Writing Instrument Brigade. The company has partnered with PaperMate and Sharpie to keep these polymer-based plastics out of landfills. Although the program is relatively new, TerraCycle has reached its initial cap of 500 participating locations. However, TerraCycle is always expanding its brigades and will likely open this one up to new participants soon.

While the Writing Instrument Brigade is one of the newer projects, more than 17,000 writing instruments have already been collected. This has diverted approximately 357 pounds of waste from area landfills and raised almost $400 for charitable organizations.

A home office may be a more eco-friendly work option.

My computer is my life. For now, it is my source of income, my source of entertainment and my connection to my family members. I don’t have a television, but I watch certain shows online. I talk to my family using Google’s free video-chat feature. But, most of my time spent on the computer is for work.

I feel as though my work life now is more eco-friendly than when I worked in a law office and used supplies like sticky notes, pens, copy paper, highlighters, labels, printers, postage machines and manila folders. In every office that I have worked people go through paper as though it grows on trees, not from trees.

But, seriously, a 2004 study by the National Energy Education Development Project (the NEED Project) shows that 27,500 BTUs of energy is needed to produce one ream (500 sheets) of copy paper. The amount of energy needed equals about 2 gallons of gasoline. If you work in an office building that uses a printer and makes copies, you probably know how quickly that 500 sheets is exhausted.

Pencils and pens take energy to produce. Although the details are slim, German pencil company Faber-Castell claims it uses water-based paint to cover its pencils and began a reforestation project in Brazil. With both paper and pencils, a lot of transport is involved to keep businesses supplied.

By working from home, I use zero paper, rarely drive (and therefore rarely need gasoline and rarely emit carbon dioxide from my car) and submit all my work electronically. It sounds good, but it’s not as great as it sounds.

Computers use a lot of energy. You can calculate about how much energy yours uses on the U.S. Department of Energy’s website. Laptops generally use less energy to power, and I’ve estimated that my laptop uses about 110 kilowatts annually.

Here are some tips to save energy while using your computer:

• Ditch the screen savers. They require more of your computer’s CPU (which translates into more energy used) to run, and they don’t really save energy.
• Use your computer’s sleep mode when you’re not going to use your computer for a while.
• When you’re done with your computer for the day (or even for several hours), turn it off.
• If you have your computer plugged into a surge protector, turn that off as well. Every little bit helps.

And last, but definitely not least, I’m lucky enough to live in a high-rise apartment that offers on-site recycling. Not all of my friends in the area have this option. I do have to take my recycling down to the designated area on the first floor, and I usually coordinate my trips to the recycling area when I’m leaving the building. By doing that, I use the elevators as little as possible (to save energy AND because no one likes to wait for the elevator).

Herman Miller Aeron Chair

As a freelancer, I rely heavily on my home office. But like many work-from-homers, my “office” is actually my dining room table, or sometimes my couch, depending on what mood I’m in. I don’t mind my setup, but I have been thinking lately that some real office furniture might serve me — and my career — well. While doing some research, I came across several green furniture options that I think would be of interest both to home office types and 9-5ers.

What

“Recycled” office furniture can refer to furniture that’s pre-owned or to furniture that’s made from recycled and/or sustainable materials, such as bamboo, wheat straw, recycled wood fibers and non-VOC varnishes and adhesives.

Why

Buying office furniture that’s been owned before reduces waste by extending an item’s life and keeping it out of a landfill for as long as possible. Big companies toss out gently used office chairs and desks by the thousands each year, so the opportunity to refurbish and reuse those items is significant.

As for new, green office furniture, the advantages are fairly straightforward: They’re easier on the planet from the get-go. Recycled materials break down quicker and are less polluting to produce than many of the materials used in traditional office furniture manufacturing. (Look around an office the next time you get a chance — there’s an awful lot of plastic in those chairs, desks, and cubicle walls.) As an added bonus, green workspaces are often well designed, which makes them more appealing than the standard beige-on-beige look many offices go for.

Where

Green office furniture seems to be a growth industry right now, so there’s no shortage of places to shop. Here are just a few:

• Recycled Office Solutions
• Ecowork
• The Green Office
• Kimball Office

Sustainable products have always appealed to me, but until now, I’ve honestly never considered seeking out eco-friendly furniture. It’s a pretty intriguing concept though! I like the idea of going green with something so big and on display in my apartment, especially if it’s designed well (like a Herman Miller Aeron chair, which is both way more ergonomic than my couch and 94% recyclable). Maybe green office furniture will even help inspire my green blogging career!

At the signing ceremony in Moscow June 5, Theodore Oben, chief of the UNEP’s Outreach Section, said, “I am sure the memorandum signed today will not only be a written commitment, but will guarantee that during the preparation and staging of Sochi 2014 great strides are made in environmental protection in Sochi and the Krasnodar Region.”

Dmitry Chernyshenko, president and chief executive of Sochi 2014 and a Sochi native, said, “Signing this important Memorandum will help ensure Sochi 2014 is able to introduce Green Standards to every level of the Games’ preparation and will ensure that the Organizing Committee continues to work with international environment experts to support this.”

The Sochi Olympic organizers say they plan to invest US$1.75 billion in energy conservation and renewable energy and offset the remaining greenhouse gas emissions from the use of electricity, air travel and ground transportation.

Other environmental initiatives include the development of green belts in the city and reforestation of the Sochi National Park.

Earlier this year, the Sochi Olympics joined UNEP’s Climate Neutral Network, an initiative to promote global action and involvement towards low carbon economies and societies that includes countries, cities, multinationals, NGOs and other UN agencies.

A series of conferences will allow international experts to monitor and analyze key environmental indicators before and after the Games and environmental education is planned.

Sochi, situated between the Black Sea and the snow-capped Caucasus Mountains in Russia’s Krasnodar Region, is renowned for its pristine setting.

In an effort to preserve this natural beauty, the city in 2008 followed UNEP’s recommendation to move the bobsleigh and luge tracks away from the Caucasus nature reserve. This UNESCO World Heritage site is one of the only mountain areas in Europe that remains virtually untouched by human activity. In changing the venue, organizers stressed that they are committed to creating an “environmental legacy for the future of the region.”

“We developed the Sochi 2014 environmental strategy and this will ensure that the ecological situation in the Krasnodar Region is enhanced for generations to come,” said Chernyshenko at the signing of the agreement.

The organizers marked the signing of the agreement by planting trees in several locations in Russia as part of UNEP’s Billion Trees Campaign, and effort to combat climate change. To date, more than four billion trees have been planted as part of the campaign, and UNEP has set a new target of seven billion trees by the end of 2009 – one for every person on the planet.

The day after Russian Olympic organizers signed the agreement with UNEP, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Kozak, deputy chairman of government, announced that a second cargo port at Sochi, viewed by residents as an ecological disaster in the making, will not be built.

When construction began last July in a densely inhabited lowland area, the industrial port was protested by local residents, local government, a local association of investors and property owners and the nonprofit group Environmental Watch on North Caucasus, EWNC.

“This is a very significant development because it removes the danger of building an ecologically dangerous unit on the Black Sea coast, which threatened the ecosystems of Black sea, ecological prosperity and the recreational resources of Sochi,” EWNC said in a statement.

Not only did the port construction destroy the living environment of Sochi residents, EWNC said the residents were outraged that construction was begun without the necessary permits and even without the final project design.

They tried to “construct under the Olympic cover a cargo port for subsequent long-term commercial use,” the group said, adding that the port project “opened the practice of the systematic illegal building in the implementation of Olympic projects.”

“This is the great victory of the inhabitants and public organizations, showing that the active civil resistance to inadvisable and ecologically dangerous Olympic projects can bring fruits,” the group stated.

But still unaddressed are the group’s concerns that a road planned to access the Olympic Ski Complex on Psekhako Ridge would cross the Western Caucasus UNESCO World Heritage Site as well as its protected buffer zone.

The investor behind the road is the Russian state company Gazprom, the world’s largest gas company. The ridge is the location of Gazprom’s new mountain resort, ski slopes, ski lifts and buildings, as well as the Olympic Ski Complex. Construction of the Olympic Ski Stadium with operating facilities is scheduled for completion in 2010.

Environmental Watch on North Caucasus has appealed to the International Olympic Committee and United Nations agencies to block construction of the road. (ENS, May 29, 2009)

UNEP has become increasingly active as an environmental advisor for the greening of mass events. In partnership with the International Olympic Committee, UNEP has been helping to green the Olympic Games over the last few years – most recently the Beijing 2008 Games, for which UNEP undertook environmental assessments before and after the Games. UNEP also has signed an agreement with the organizers of Vancouver 2010 in a bid to help green the next Winter Games.

The cardboard tube inside rolls of Saran Wrap and aluminum foil is particularly sturdy and well-suited for craft projects. Turn one of those sturdy tubes into attractive napkin holders with this tutorial.

Craft-oriented blog Merriment noticed how thick the cardboard tubes inside Saran Wrap are. Your average person might have been content toss it in the recycling bin, but crafty DIYers are forever on the lookout for new projects.

With a bit of no-sew tape, fabric, and fabric glue, plus basic tools like some scissors and a razor knife, you’ll be cranking out some DIY napkin rings in no time, and they won’t look like they came out of your kitchen drawer. To complement the dining room without any trips to mega-markup home stores, browse our previous posts on how to fold fancy napkin arrangements and how to recycle wine corks into placeholders. For detailed instructions and lots of pictures, check out the DIY napkin ring guide at the link below.