Green and eco-friendly offices

Businesses and individuals have started to do their bit for a greener existence from recycling or using stationery made from recycled paper to using eco-friendly energy or web hosting. A top of green companies in Britain includes Skanska UK, BT Group, PriceWaterHouse Coopers or Canon UK.

Energy efficient offices should follow some guiding principles like: reduce energy loads, provide efficient energy input or minimise the operation times for machinery and computers (turn to "off" rather than "stand by").

Other ways in which an office can stay eco-friendly is by reducing the amount of hard copies sent to clients or partners or placing stickers with "Save energy" reminders for switching off the light or turning appliances off. A company can also encourage the reduction of car journeys made by its staff to and from work. Greener alternatives are: sharing cars, considering public transport or even investing in green cars for the company. Companies which have changed their means of transport are: Forster, ExCel London or British Land. Other actions such as those taken by Explore include recycling everything from paper and computers to installing waterless urinals.

Turning the office into a green one can be achieved if bosses and employees alike work as a team and as the old saying goes: where there's a will, there's a way.