Money and work: 7 ways to help the environment
Apr 22, 2009 3:34 PM
Let's all raise our ceramic mugs filled with sustainably-farmed coffee to toast Earth Day 2009. To mark the occasion, we've provided seven steps you can take to help the environment in your work and money life:
1. Use that mug or carafe. It's a little extra to remember on the way to work, but bringing a sturdy metal carafe or ceramic mug to be filled by your favorite coffee vendor can save trees and other resources. Check out this article in treehugger.com, which lays out the life cycle of three types of containers--paper, stryofoam and ceramic--and comes out in favor of ceramic.
2. Opt for paperless statements. A report published last June by Javelin Strategy and Research, which serves the financial services industry, says three-quarters of Americans still opt for paper financial statements. The company estimates that 687,000 tons of paper could be saved each year if consumers opted for paperless statements. (It further says that that amount of paper would circle the earth 239 times, though it doesn't say whether that's in 8x11-inch sheets stacked end to end, or one very long, thin streamer.) Javelin mentions several ways consumers can save paper:
•Opt for direct deposit of your paycheck. You're less vulnerable to theft and fraud than with a paper paycheck. I'd add that direct-deposit of your tax refund accomplishes the same thing.
•Use online banking. If you opt to pay bills electronically, you save envelopes and stamps. (Check the CR Money page in a few weeks for our assessments of several online budgeting software options.)
•At the ATM, skip the receipt and deposit envelope. You can check that the deposit's been received later, online. Javelin says some banks now have ATMs that accept deposits without the envelopes, though that hasn't yet come to any bank I've visited.
3. Eliminate junk mail. Take your name off catalog and other mailing lists at the Direct Marketing Association Web site. For more, check out our article, "How to Opt Out of Marketing Lists."
4. Print only the pages you need. How many times has the second page of a document you've printed included just one unnecessary line? Always check the "print preview" option before printing, and adjust the settings to only print what you need. Learn how to use the doubled-sided option available on some printers.
5. Buy energy-efficient, long-lasting home-office equipment. Consumer Reports Ratings of printers include judgments of energy efficiency. Choosing Rated products based in part on the our reliability assessments better ensures you'll get products that will last longer.
6. Recycle your used home-office equipment. Check out our Consumer Reports Greener Choices page that discusses a number of organizations interested in using or reselling the equipment, rather than sending it to landfills.
7. Share a ride to work. Numerous cities have resources for commuters to double, triple and quadruple up on rides to work. Here's one version from the New York metro area, for instance. Plugging the words, "ride share" and your destination into a search engine could yield lots of options. --Tobie Stanger
Previous
Post a comment
Comments: