Our office manager Ali Young reports on our attempts to go green!

2010 was a year when we, here at Graphic Alliance, became more environmentally aware and hope to create a more environmentally friendly and sustainable business. Whilst it is a little by little approach we are changing the way the office is run and hopefully, attitudes within the office. In 2010 we managed to recycle 2,200kg of paper and cardboard which saved the equivalent of 25 trees and 2,920kg of CO2 which was more than we managed in 2009.

We had a consultation with the charity GLOBAL ACTION PLAN, a charity who advises businesses to actively cut carbon emissions. They provided a report showing where we were wasting energy and how we could go about saving it and improve running costs. Some of it was very simple, such as switching appliances off when not in use, and making sure lights are turned off if a room is empty. Some of it takes a little more thought but it is important for businesses to take an active interest in the environment and understand what an organisation can do to create a sustainable and green business.

Since the consultation we have switched to 100% renewal green electricity; moved to plumbed-in water coolers, which save on space, cut out the carbon emissions from deliveries and reduce the amount of waste caused by plastic bottles; we have changed our printer and everyone is under strict orders to print in black and white and double sided, which over time will reduce our paper consumption by almost 40%! We also recycle all paper, cardboard and ink cartridges and are looking at new ways to recycle more from the office. All light bulbs we use are energy saving; we have even managed to cut down on spam faxes by signing up to a spam blocker service which means we only ever receive faxes which people we know have sent, which these days  isn’t very many but it really has reduced paper wastage.

We hope that 2011 will be even more successful by increasing the amount we recycle; reducing energy consumption and water usage and in the process make the business more sustainable and do our bit for the environment.