Posted: October 30th, 2007 by Richard Banfield  Category: Tips & Tricks

We have a small office just outside Boston and the topic of doing our part to reduce our impact has come up more than once. Here's a list of ideas we have implemented to start the ball rolling. 

1. Office Space: The first step was to move out of the big building we shared with a bunch of other startups into our own smaller place. This may sound counter intuitive but large office buildings are the biggest carbon gas hogs in metro areas. Our smaller office uses less heat and A/C energy (we can tell by the utility bill) and it has the added advantage of having a lower monthly lease.

2.  Printing: We have decided to print nothing unnecessary. This includes brochures, business cards and letterheads. It's amazing how little you actually need those things when you build a business that lives on the web and generates new sign-ups by word-of-mouth. Printed material wastes money, takes up space and creates untold amounts of pollution (both actual and information pollution).

3. Commute: We allow our team to work from home whenever they want thus reducing the amount of driving they need to do. This reduces carbon emissions and makes our team happier.

4. Vendors: Choosing our vendors based on their commitment to environmental goals allows us to push the green agenda to a slightly broader audiences. This is a simple as asking where your vendors work, where they get their supplies from and what they do with their waste.

5. Recycle: It still amazes me how many companies we visit that have no recycling policy. Separate your recyclables and if you're in a small office you can even take your trash home. This allows you to add the recyclables to your home recycling pick-ups.  

If you have more ideas, please add a comment or email us.

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