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Going green is becoming a new way of life in start-ups. After Prime Minister Modi’s announcement that government will wave off the taxes for first three years of startups, many entrepreneurs are now thinking of starting their business which eventually demands for new infrastructure for many corporate offices.

It is necessity to go for green offices or buildings which consumes less energy and hence less pollution to the environment. Now we can Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Rethink to eliminate waste and protect our Environment. Waste, we create has to be controlled to be sure it does not harm our Environment.

There are some easy ways to lessen impact on environment by going green, i.e. developing good habits which will eventually end you up in saving some pennies as well.

Less Energy, Less bills

Nowadays in major cities, most of the employees work (hardwork!) on computers, laptops, devices etc. We can set our devices on power saving or energy saving modes so that it can consume less power. Letting them standby for longer duration draw considerable amount of power which can’t be measured.

Also switch off lights and equipments when not in use in offices especially at night. Opt for eco-friendly bulbs i.e. LEDs which currently is being pushed by Indian government. (Fact: Indian Government has saved 1000 Crore rupees by distributing 2 crore LED bulb in a year.)

Dare to be digital

We all have observed that last page of most of the documents has only email address or web address where printable space is wasted. We can reduce that waste by using “GreenPrint” and “EcoPrint2” softwares which are designed for identifying blank spaces in documents and removing them before printing.

Is it necessary to send meeting agenda or minutes of meeting to printout? Can’t we send emails? Also too much paper is wasted in printing monthly newsletter, manuals and distributing among employees. Instead can we put it online and distribute link to everyone, which can save lot of paper, so the trees.

Go for environment friendly paper

There are some times where we can’t avoid use of paper, we can use recycled paper which are environment friendly. Also look for paper which is made from bamboo, hemp (cannabis plant) or organic cotton. Try to use papers from both the sides i.e. buy printers or Xerox machines that can print on both the sides. Always use smaller fonts, it can save lot of papers each week.

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It is very great idea to use cloth towels in bathrooms to save tissue papers.

Instead of using paper cups in office use your own mug so that paper use and waste can be reduced or eliminated.

Stay healthy, live longer

There is so much amount of fuel wasted in traffic every day in cities like Mumbai, Delhi etc. We can reduce this waste by maintaining our car, choosing fuel efficient car, carpooling (BlahBlahCar), Public transit, biking, walking etc. some of the companies giving bonus to the employees who commute to office on bicycle and car-poolers is ways to go green at office.

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Use stairs instead of elevator.

Working from home

Instant messaging, emails, video conferences, screen sharing and other telecommunication options nowadays make effective communication with no necessity of physically presence. It can save lot of time and fuel. Bonus is you will get to work in your boxers.

Conserve Water

Please stop using bottled water. Use your own bottle or stainless steel bottle to drink water in office. It has been observed flushing toilets is largest water user in office building. We can use water hippos in toilet cisterns to reduce flush volume and save water

If possible reuse waste water for flushing in toilets, floor cleaning or for plants. So that amount of energy spent to make water to drinkable water can be saved.

That’s all from us about ways to go green at office. We encourage you to star implementing simple and small go green ideas in your office as well as daily life before implementing bigger ideas.

This article is written by Perfect Pollucon Services and published here and it has been republished after taking permission.

Let us know if you know awesome ways to go Green at office ideas by hitting comment button. 

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5 Tips to Create Sustainability at Schools

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The best we can do for our Mother Earth is to leave a Generation behind 'Recharged' with Sustainability Science. Our Kids are the future, and where better to get a Sustainable and Green Living start than at the School. It is an ideal place to learn to grow Edible Gardens,create a worm farm and get instant pets or learn to create beautiful crafts from recycled stuffs. However, as the world is trying to come in terms with the ever changing paradigm of Sustainability, the schools also face certain challenges at hand. How to address Sustainability in the Curriculum ? How teachers and staffs sell 'Sustainability' to the administrators ?  
 
Mission Sustainability @Schools should address the areas of Energy Conservation,Waste Reduction, Water Conservation,School Grounds and Transportation. The schools should have check-lists and audit mechanisms to keep their Sustainability goals in place for these respective areas.

Water Conservation
GHS Uttarahalli a School based in Bangalore has made 'Greening Experience' as a part of their Students curriculum. There teachers and students Teamed up to create a Rain Water harvesting unit that will save both Money and Water for the school. The students had a field experience of creating an Environmental unit and see it work too. 
Water Usage audit must be performed on a daily basis at the school level and also to encourage students to assess their personal usage 'Water Usage' worksheets must be presented to them. More so Schools should haveWater Reduction Checklist including measures such as Regular repairs of Leaks in taps and fountains,replace toilets with Low Flow toilets,organize class level clean up drives.

School Grounds
Green School grounds contribute to the overall well being of the students and the community involved. Natural planting of trees and shrubs can diminish Noise pollution and assist in cooling classrooms. Students should be encouraged to do gardening as such exercises provides them hands on opportunity to grow food,understand benefits of vegetables and promote sustainability. The School Yard Greening checklist should involve - creating a design that responds to the schools Ecological setting, involving local gardening community for delivering lectures on greening and biodiversity, establish a maintenance plan including weeding,watering,trimming and pruning. Thus Green School grounds promote Healthy activities for the community involved.

Transportation 
Walking or Cycling to Schools promote health and reduces fuel consumption.Private Organizations,NGO's can partner with schools to issueStart Up Cycling or Walking kits that involve - Road Safety Tips,Neighbourhood Maps plotting customized Maps for Walking/Cycling routes,Reflective Vests for Students/Community Volunteer to wear and so on. 
Transportation Audit can be integrated with the students curriculum.Students should be encouraged to use CO2 Calculators to find out how much Emission they can reduce using Sustainable Transportation.Sustainable Transportation checklist should involve Encourage students and staffs to walk or cycle to school,Host a bike to School event,Provide incentives for Car Pools if students stay at parts far away from School.

Reduce,Reuse,Recycle
Waste Segregation should be integrated with the existing curriculum for students. They should learn the importance of Segregation and understand the value of Waste reduction. Also Students should be taught to develop their own DIY Compost. As large scale Composting program can generate revenue by the sale of Finished Compost,this money can be used to offset the cost of Recycling. 

Energy Conservation
Energy generation process from Renewable resources should be promoted at Schools through Curriculum. Energy Usage calculation can be taught at various levels at Schools so that students and teachers understand the importance of Energy conservation. Energy Audit check-list should have - Energy usage for Heating or Cooling,GHG emission due to Energy usage, Energy Saver Mode for Electronic equipments, Promotion of Natural lighting usage,Energy Star rating for Equipments and so on.

Thus, Sustainable Schools Best Practices Guide must be created and promoted. Such a guide should enlist these Checklists for respective areas,so that Schools can perform Self Audit to evaluate and tabulate their Sustainability Goals. More so, to promote Sustainability within Schoolcertain steps can be taken -
> Establish a School Green Team involving both Students and Teachers
> Organize Green Schools Surveys and Events to Educate the school community about the benefits of Greening and Sustainability
> Develop short and long term goals for Sustainability
> Appoint Consulting organization or Advising Authority for enhancing Sustainability at School

Hence, creating a School wide approach to Sustainability will engage our children in the Sustainability framework and ultimately Save our Earth.
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