About this Guide

This guide has been produced as part of a strategy for ‘Sustainable

Development’ called Local Agenda 21, (LA21), part of a global agenda for the 21st
century, which is backed by many of the key public agencies in Highland.
One step to achieving local sustainable development involves providing
information and encouraging individuals to make simple lifestyle changes. This
is one aim of this guide, but another is to influence organisations’ policies and
action. The Highland Council is already committed to making changes in the
way that we do business, and has already introduced a number of the
suggestions made here. In publishing the guide, we hope we can encourage
businesses, voluntary organisations, and individuals to also take steps to help
build a better tomorrow for all of us.

How you can help to make the Green Office Guide more
effective
ã Nominate a ‘recycling representative’ to promote and co-ordinate the green
practices suggested within this guide.
ã Create a ‘LA21’ or ‘Sustainability’ section on the notice board for news and
events, and a suggestion box for ideas.
ã Form a Sustainable Business Network to share and pass on ideas.
Greening the Office
Improving the environmental performance of
your office makes good business sense.

In the Highlands, where

You can make substantial cost savings by cutting
tourism brings many
energy consumption and waste. Environmental
jobs, a healthy
legislation means there is a often a necessity for
environment underpins
businesses to be more aware of the environment -
a healthy economy. By
and good environmental practice today is far
following the
cheaper than having to put right the future
suggestions in this
consequences of past bad management. In
guide you will be
addition, your stakeholders, business partners,
making a difference in
staff and customers are increasingly concerned
the environmental
about your green credentials.
impact of your
business. Greening
Improve your profits along with your your office will benefit
reputation! the environment and
improve your
competitiveness.
Achieving a 21st Century Office
Greening the Office means:

Ø Reducing the amount of waste produced and the resources consumed.

Ø Reducing the amount of energy used and pollution produced.
Ø Buying goods and services with low environmental impact.
Ø Increasing the quantities of waste we recycle.
Ø Efficient use of transport for commuting and business travel.

In this Guide
Section 1: Waste
Section 2: Energy Efficiency
Section 3: Purchasing
Section 4: Recycling
Section 5: Transport
Waste Matters
Every year each household in
Scotland throws away about
one tonne of waste!
Commercial waste accounts for
16% of the 12 million tonnes
yearly total, yet many of the Waste disposal impacts on the
articles thrown away in the environment and human health.
office (and household) can be
recycled, re-used or most
Ø Landfill is an expensive solution
importantly, not used in the first that can create problems with
place. In Highland, 97.8% of the groundwater pollution.
total waste is dumped in landfill Ø Landfills are a source of carbon
sites - the remainder is dioxide and methane emissions, both
recycled. Scotland remains at contributing to global warming.
the bottom of the world’s Ø Landfill sites are a finite resource
recycling league with only 2.2% and are rapidly diminishing.
of Highland’s waste recycled
Ø Waste disposal represents a huge
compared to the 45-50%
drain in transport and energy costs.
recycling rate in some
European countries.
Remember! The cost of waste includes:
Ø Wasted materials (for example
paper generated by excessive
offcuts)
Ø Additional process costs
Ø Transport costs
Ø The costs of resulting water and
air pollution
Ø Waste treatment costs
Ø Disposal costs (including
Landfill Tax)
Ø Excessive use of energy and
water
The Cost of Waste
Reducing waste at source is the best
and the most cost effective way to
prevent pollution.
Follow three simple steps:
Reduce, Re-use, Recycle!
Firstly, eliminate waste before it is
created, re-use where possible by
finding alternative uses or using durable
rather than disposable items and finally,
recycle.
Measure it then Manage it
Carrying out a waste audit will help you
identify areas where most waste is
produced and provide ideas on how to
tackle the problem.
Waste No More!
Follow the waste minimisation hierarchy below for long-term benefits
and find solutions for your office which are close to the top of this hierarchy.

REDUCTION

RE-USE

RECOVERY
(recycling,
composting and
energy recovery)

DISPOSAL
Action Points
Paper is the most obvious area for reducing waste in the
office, but the principles below can be applied to most types
of office waste
Ø Always use both sides of paper. Set printers and photocopiers to copy double-
sided as default and provide explanatory posters beside the machines to
encourage the practice.
Ø Re-use all envelopes, or collect and pass to voluntary organisations for reuse.
Ø Use designated containers for part-used waste paper. Paper can be fed back
through faxes & printers, made into note-pads, or used for rough working.
Ø Shred and recycle used and confidential papers and use as packing material in
the office or take home for animal bedding or packing and then finally compost it!
Ø Disposal is the very last resort for the paper – think again about alternative
uses for it.

Be imaginative - your waste may be someone else’s fuel or

packing solution!
More Paper Saving Tips
Ø Use electronic faxes via the computer rather than paper faxes.
Ø Reduce the circulation of documents. Use email to circulate where possible.
Ø Use waste paper assembled into note pads rather than ‘post-it’ notes.
Ø Avoid wasteful header sheets for routine faxes; use fax tabs instead.
Ø Consider the design of office documents. Choose a suitable logo & font size,
page layout and margin width to maximise use of paper.
Ø Reduce incoming junk mail. Contact the free Mailing Preference Service on
0345 034599 to stop unwanted mail.
Ø A regular office amnesty of supplies is an easy way to save money, highlight
consumption and involve all staff in waste minimisation.
Ø Arrange a collection of your clean office paper/card for
recycling.
Ø Use your print room or professional printers for copying
large quantities.
Ø Maximise use of technology, minimise paper through using
floppy disks, CD Rom, email and the Internet.

The Climate Change Levy will
apply to the energy bills of all
UK businesses and public
sector organisations from April
2001. Levy costs to
businesses are likely to rise
annually. The levy aims to
encourage reductions in the
use of non-renewable forms of
energy as well as providing
support for energy efficiency
and the use of renewable
power generation (wind, solar
and tidal power).
The Energy Drain
Office equipment is the fastest growing
user of energy in the business world.
Electricity consumption by office equipment
represents 25% of total electrical energy
use in offices and has therefore a high cost
to the environment and to the company
purse. In addition, the limited life of most
office equipment means that much waste is
generated when equipment becomes
obsolete. Heating and lighting accounts for
the rest of the electrical energy used in the
office, but simple steps can reduce this
dramatically.
Cutting Energy
The key to efficient use of energy is good
management. In some cases, energy costs can be
reduced by more than half with the adoption of
simple energy-saving measures. Advice is available
from the Highland Energy Efficiency Advice Centre
on 0800 512012.
Energy-saving Tips
Heating
Ø Reducing office temperature by one degree can result in a 10% reduction in
energy costs.
Ø Check the building, especially the roof space, is well insulated
Ø Make sure that heating is off or reduced outside working hours.
Ø Turn down thermostats instead of opening windows.
Ø Heating costs can increase by 30% or more if the boiler is poorly maintained or
operated.
Ø Use blinds in summer, reducing the need for air
conditioning.

Water
Saving water saves energy. Consider installing
low water-using taps, toilets, showerheads and
urinals when renovation is required. These devices
prevent money being flushed down the drain.
IT Equipment
Ø Advise users to switch off all office equipment when not in use by
affixing ‘Switch-it-Off’ stickers. A photocopier left on at night uses
enough energy to make over 5000 copies. Switching off computers
overnight and at weekends can save £55 a year in energy costs for
each computer!
Ø Switch off the monitor if the PC must be left on all day. The monitor
consumes two thirds of the energy used by the PC.
Ø Avoid screen savers; these devices save power by a fraction of the
amount compared to PC’s and monitors with energy savers.
Ø Donate your old PC equipment to charity, if you are upgrading your
IT equipment - (see the addresses at the end of this booklet)
Green machines!
The use of energy-efficient
equipment could halve the
£300 million of energy
used by equipment in UK
offices today.
Environmentally preferable
products can reduce your costs
and your environmental impact.
‘Green’ products are often no
more expensive to buy and are
usually cheaper to operate.
Energy costs of well-managed
energy-efficient computers can
be reduced to about £10 a year
compared with £60 if left on for
24 hours a day!
Lighting
Replace standard bulbs with
low-energy bulbs (CFL’s) when
they fail.Low-energy bulbs can
save £50 over their lifetime.
Fluorescent tubes use less than a
fifth of the energy used by
standard bulbs.
Introduce localised light
switches to enable staff to switch
on/off when required.
Make the most of natural light by
keeping windows clean and free of
obstructions.
Run a ‘Switch-it-Off’ campaign.
Dispel the myth that it takes more
energy to switch on/off the
fluorescent lights than leaving
them on!
Purchasing
ã When buying replacement equipment such as printers, photocopiers and fax
machines, choose duplex models that automatically print on both sides of the
paper at sufficiently fast speeds. Ensure all machines handle recycled paper
comprising 100% post consumer waste.
ã Choose models that have an energy-save facility such as US Energy Star,
preferably with automatic operation. Ask the supplier to switch on these features
before equipment is delivered.
ã Repair equipment before replacement. Invest in a long-term maintenance
contract to extend the useful lifetime.
ã Consider introducing a Environmental Disposals Policy to provide solutions for
out-of-date office machinery, furnishings and stationery.
ã Ask if your supplier uses re-usable or recycled packaging.
ã Ensure that environmental and energy requirements are included in the
specifications when purchasing IT equipment. Consider introducing a Green
Purchasing Policy to boost the market in recycled products.
ã Buy furniture made from natural products such as wood carrying the Forest
Stewardship Council (FSC -sourced from sustainably managed forests) label.
Stationery
Buying recycled paper (not just “environmentally-
friendly” which can mean anything) helps close the The Recycled
“waste loop”. Most suppliers and printers provide Products Guide is
high grades of recycled paper suitable for most aimed at the
applications. Choose post-consumer waste content purchasing
rather than post-industrial mill waste and chlorine- departments of
free for higher environmental benefits. Ask the businesses and local
supplier to provide the ABCD rating of the recycled authorities. It
paper to show the origin of the waste. contains a list of UK
If the paper jams in existing office machinery, don’t products made from
give up! -call the engineer. Double sided print jams recycled materials.
are often due to dirty rollers. The guide by the
Buy refillable pens, water-based markers and avoid National Recycling
disposable items for the desk. A large range of Forum can be
recycled stationery exists including fax paper, re-use accessed from the
mailing labels, files, document wallets, flip charts web at:
and storage boxes. http://www.nrf.org.uk
 Recycling
Reduce, reuse, and then recycle as much
as possible of remaining waste. 60-70% of
office waste is recyclable. The
environmental costs of recycling are
usually much less damaging than disposal
to landfill. Using more recycled materials
Office Items to Recycle: in office products means more waste
ü Paper diverted from landfill and less drain on our
ü Electronic equipment natural resources. Buying recycled
ü Cardboard products also boosts the recycling market.
ü Ink cartridges
ü Batteries ü Always re-use or recycle IT
ü Fluorescent tubes
ü Drink cans If replacing equipment, donate obsolete
ü PC peripherals machines to charity and benefit your
community. To recycle PCs contact Mobius
ü Mobile phones
01408 634163 in Highland or Reboot 01309
671681 in Moray.
ü Toner Cartridges
Collect used toner cartridges from
office equipment and recycle them
through a collection scheme. The
cartridges have a value and collection
companies may offer you cash-back or
offer a charity donation. You may
need to collect a certain number of
cartridges before companies will
collect. Pre-paid envelopes are often
available to return items. Specialist
recycling firms will take all types of
cartridges and some offer guarantees
that all the cartridges returned are
recycled.
You can make further
savings of 25-75% by buying
back re-manufactured
cartridges. The use of
recycled cartridges should
not affect the printer
warranty (select a reputable
company to ensure quality
assurance) and guarantees
are often offered to back this
up. Refilling ink-jet toner
cartridges can offer further
cost savings.
More Suggestions for the Sustainable Office
Develop an Environmental Policy for the office.
Refurbish furniture to extend its useable lifetime.
Reduce the purchase of non-essential items such as message pads,
notebooks and post-it notes. Re-use waste paper for this purpose.
Provide recycling containers for aluminium cans.
Rather than bottled water, consider a mains filter and cooler.
Encourage the use of washable mugs and glasses rather than disposable
plastic ones.

Make your office a smoking free environment.

Seek out products with Eco-labels for less
environmental impact.
Green the office with plants. They enhance the
atmosphere, act as a screen and reduce noise.
Bring in a bowl of fruit for staff or visitors.
Transport
Vehicle exhaust emissions are the major source
of air pollution in Britain today. 22% of carbon
dioxide, a major contributor to global warming
originates from the transport sector. Offices can
be heavy users of transport for both commuting
and business travel.

4 Reduce the need to travel

4 Use a less damaging mode of
transport
4 Use cars more efficiently
Green Transport Tips
ã Promote working from home to reduce commuter mileage.
ã Video or telephone conferencing can be used for long distance meetings.
ã Encourage cycling or walking to work. Cycling for 15 minutes a day reduces
the risk of heart attack by 50%. Consider offering a mileage rate for staff cycling
to meetings. Provide secure and sheltered cycle parking and offer changing and
shower facilities.
ã Let the train take the strain and benefit from the extra work time.
ã Use public transport where possible for business travel. Consider the
introduction of interest free loans to staff for public transport season tickets.
ã Encourage car-sharing schemes whether informally or through an organised
scheme.
ã Develop a Green Travel Plan.
ã Choose an efficient car. ‘Powershift’ offer grants to convert newer cars to
LPG, a cheaper with less environmental
impact.
Directory Contact Tel.
Waste and Recycling
The Highland Council Recycling Information Your Local Service Point
WHAM (Waste-Highlands Action on Minimisation) 01463 811560
National Recycling Forum 0171 2481412
Friends of the Earth Scotland 01463 232087
The Composting Association (corporate services) 01933 227777

Local groups and projects

Moray Furniture Store 01309 671097
HomeAid Furniture Recycling 01847 890696
Reboot (Moray Computer Recycling) 01309 671681
Mobius Computer Recycling 01408 634163
LEG (Lochaber Environmental Group) 01397 700090
GRAB (Group for Recycling Argyll & Bute) 01631 567948
Ross-shire Recycling (cardboard recycling) 01349 830205
SEPA (Scottish Environment Protection Agency) 01786 457700
SWAN (Strathspey Waste Action Network) 01479 811121
Directory Contact Tel.
Cartridge Recycling
Accutecc UK Ltd 01279 401404
Office Green Ltd 0800 833480
Green Agenda 0800 0280656
Tommy’s Campaign 0800 435576
Selectafont (inks) 01189 885643
Cartridge Cashback 0870 8760022

Environmental Advice for Business

Envirowise Programme 0800 585794
Energy Efficiency Best Practice Programme 01923 664258
WHAM (Waste-Highlands Action on Minimisation) 01463 71540

Miscellaneous
Local Agenda 21 (Highland) 01463 702274
Sustrans 0131 6237600
Mailing Preference Service 0345 034599
Energy Savings Trust 0345 277200
Highland Energy Efficiency Advice Centre 0800 512012
Further Reading
The Green Office Manual.
The Green Office Action Plan.
National Waste Strategy
Managing Energy Use
Green Officiency
Wastebusters Ltd. ISBN: 1-85383-679-6
Friends of the Earth Scotland
SEPA ISBN 1-901322-13-2
DETR (EEBPP Guide No. 118)
ETBPP tel 0800 585794

Useful Websites
www.la21-uk.org.uk: Action Plan for Sustainable Development
www.environment.detr.gov.uk/greening: Dept. Environment, Transport and
Regions
www.envirowise.gov.uk: Practical environmental advice for Business
www.energy-efficiency.gov.uk: Practical energy saving advice for Business
www.vibes.org.uk : VIBES Vision in Business for the Environment of
Scotland
www.est/powershift.org.uk: Energy Savings Trust Programme ‘Powershift’
for greener transport ( including LPG powered vehicles)
 Published by The Highland Council

Local Agenda 21: Highland

is supported by the Members of the Highland Wellbeing Alliance

While details in the Highland Green Office Guide are believed to be correct,
no responsibility can be taken for any factual inaccuracies in this guide.
Printed on 100% recycled paper. Totally Chlorine free