What can I do to have a green home office?
Sustainably sourced furniture
Be sure that your office furniture is constructed from sustainable sources by looking for the FSC certified logo which tells you that the products is made from a well managed sustainable forests. FSC stands for Forestry Stewardship Council and is an organisation which is committed to the promotion of sustainable and responsible management of the worlds forests. Founded in 1993 the FSC is a registered charity as a reaction to public feeling about the towards deforestation and the lack of a system of certification to the source of timber used in manufacturing.
Computer equipment
While it is possible to buy eco computers which require less energy to run these are not widely available yet so lets concentrate on what we can do! Changes to behaviour can have just a big an impact. Here are some tips to be greener in your home office:-
- Install motion sensor lights so that the lights are only on when you are in your office (this applies to all rooms in your house).
- Always shut down your computer and other equipment. So many people leaver monitors and computers on standby or even competely switched on which is unecessary and wastes large volumes of energy.
- Aim for the paperless office. Only print when absolutely necessary!
- Remember laptops use 70 percent less energy than a desk top computer!
- Recycle your old computers. Currently
In 2008 greenpeace conducted some research aimed at finding the most environmentally friendly computer products. After a lengthy survey it which reviewed 37 differenent products from 14 manufactureres the Sony Vaio TZ11 was found to be the best. The TZ wasfound to be the only notebook where bryllium was e noticed for being the only notebook surveyed to have completely avoided the use of beryllium in its creation. There were also three other areas of the product where Sony managed to reduce toxic substances and materials which were in its cabling , where the use of PVC was removed, in its circuitry, where the use of brominated flame retardants were no longer found and through its display. In additon the display used a new white LED backlight, which was not dependant on the use of mercury.
