A Guide to Being Green & Paperless

Today we celebrated the 44th annual Earth Day and to commemorate the event we've put together this guide to help get you and your office green. 

April 22, 1970 saw the very first Earth Day and here we are 44 years later celebrating it again in this new age of modern technology and heightened pollution.

Many business owners find the prospect of going green daunting and impossible which is why we've put together some quick tips to help you, help us preserve our beautiful planet!

As a virtual assistant, being green and paperless is almost a way of life. Everything that we do takes place via the internet, email and online storage, which reduces the need for printing and paper storage. As VA's we also help to reduce emissions by not commuting to an office every day and by not using your gas and electricity supply.

It's easy to start taking the steps to a greener office and a greener life by following these simple steps:

1. Recycle - it's not as hard as you think. Yes, some companies take advantage by charging near-extortionate amounts to recycle your unwanted paperwork and materials; but it doesn't have to be that difficult. Why not try taking some recycling home with you or once a week get someone from the office to drive to your local recycling centre and make a deposit? It will save you on waste disposal costs as well as helping to contribute to the longevity of our planet.
2. Working from Home - consider rewarding yourself and your staff with 'work from home' days. Working from home can be just as, if not more productive than working in the office when managed correctly and will help to reduce carbon emissions by not commuting to the office.
3. Cycle To Work - the number of businesses offering the cycle to work scheme in the UK is increasing. This programme allows members of staff to purchase a bicycle from their employer by taking a small percentage from wages each week until the cost is covered.
4. Lights Out - remember to turn lights off when leaving a room.
5. Standby - put your computer into standby mode when not in use for long periods of time.
6. Save Don't Print - this one is relatively easy. As we've touched on already, our modern world is a virtual one. We've seen the introduction and take over of the cloud and mobile storage. Take advantage of this green technology by saving your important documents rather than printing and storing them.



Implementing just a few of these simple steps could help to significantly reduce your carbon footprint and help to preserve our planet for future generations.

If you want to further reduce your footprint or if you already put a lot of effort into being green and carbon neutral, share your tips and methods with us in the comments below!