Did you know that the energy used by a building to support just one office worker for a day causes more than twice as many greenhouse gas emissions as that worker’s drive to and from work?

Here are a few things you can start doing now to make a difference…

1.  Look for the Energy Star logo on your computer, if it is not there; speak to someone in charge about using Energy Star products.  If you do have one enable the POWER MANAGEMENT settings on your work computer and monitor so that they automatically enter a low power mode when not in use.  

2.  IF you sit near a window, make sure before the hottest part of the day that the blinds are drawn to help keep out the heat of summer, when it is winter, keep the blinds open to take advantage of the sun’s rays.  This can also be useful when lighting your area.  

3.  Use an Energy Star Thermostat which can automatically adjust your buildings temperature so that energy is not wasted in cool or warm air when the building is empty.  You can also raise your thermostat 2 degrees in summer and lower 2 degrees in winter to get even more savings.  

4.  Remember to turn off lights when leaving a room or at the end of the day.  Sometimes opt for the blinds to be open instead of the lights.  

5.  If your office has a water cooler, make sure it is Energy Star.  On average those models require half as much energy as standard units.  

The above 5 things will get you started, if you don’t see a lot of Energy Star products in use at your place of business try to get your company involved in Energy Star products.