A busy office can get through a significant amount of resources such as energy, paper and water. Good management of office processes to reduce resource use and waste can improve efficiency.

How to manage office resources efficiently

The most efficient way to manage resource use in your office is to take a systematic approach:

1. set a baseline to work out your current resource usage
2. benchmark your performance against similar organisations
3. create an action plan to achieve your identified improvements
4. set achievable targets and responsibilities for office staff to meet them
5. monitor and report your performance and set up reporting processes
6. review actions and performance to learn lessons and continually improve

You should start the process towards a more resource efficient office by carrying out an environmental review of your business.

Gaining formal recognition for improving your office environmental performance can boost your business reputation. You could become certified to a standard such as ISO 14001 by implementing an environmental management system.

You could also report on your environmental performance to customers, investors and the local community.

You should highlight the key benefits of environmental improvements to both senior management and staff.

It's estimated that half of all office waste is paper-based, so the benefits to your business of reducing this are clear. It is relatively straightforward and inexpensive to cut the amount of money you spend on buying and disposing of paper.

Reduce office paper waste through electronic document management

With advanced business IT infrastructure becoming more accessible to all types of business, you can begin to reduce your office's reliance on paper with networked electronic documents and records management. To get the greatest benefits from reduction in paper use you need to carefully plan your business IT systems.

Reduce paper waste in your office

The cheapest option, and the best for the environment, is to reduce the amount of paper waste that your business produces. For example, you could:

• Ensure that all photocopying and printing are produced in double-sided format on recycled paper. Question whether you need to produce copies at all.
• Cancel junk mail and unwanted publications.
• Avoid overproducing marketing and publicity material by reviewing distribution lists and regularly updating databases.
• Use electronic communications where possible to reduce printing. Ensure that your staff are comfortable with new equipment and provide training where necessary. Encourage them to be paper-free unless necessary.
• Reduce confidential waste costs by ensuring that the non-confidential paper collection is secure and give clear instructions to staff as to which material is strictly confidential.

Reuse and recycle paper in your office

Where you can't avoid producing waste paper, try to reuse it. For example, you could use paper printed on one side as scrap paper or message pads. You could also reuse envelopes - eg for internal use - and donate surplus card and paper to local schools or nurseries.

You should recycle paper rather than dispose of it with your general office waste - find information about licensed waste sites.

To ensure that paper is recycled you should:

• Place paper recycling bins in all offices. A good guide is one bin between six staff and one next to each photocopier and printer. Use paper ream lids as additional desktop collection trays.
• Ensure that cleaning staff support the recycling scheme and that emptying the recycling bins is part of their contracted work.
• Promote the scheme to staff by putting up posters around the offices and on bins explaining the types of paper that can be recycled.
• Provide staff with ongoing feedback about the scheme, including figures on the amount of paper collected. Suggest making a donation to charity or planting a tree when targets are met.

Choose more sustainable paper for your office

You should use as little new paper as possible because the environmental impacts of producing paper are considerable. Buy 100 per cent recycled or Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-accredited paper wherever possible.

Office waste is expensive, and not just in terms of the cost of the product being thrown away or the cost of disposal. Waste involves the loss of costly and scarce resources such as energy and water, consumables and materials which might not be recovered, and wasted labour and effort. As a result, the real cost of waste can be several times higher than the cost of disposal. Cutting your office's waste production can improve your profitability, as well as reducing your environmental impact.

Reducing waste in the office is relatively straightforward with the right policies in place. These policies usually involve either a change in behaviour, or a change in the equipment used to do the work.

Office behavioural changes

Changing the attitudes of office workers towards the creation of waste in the first place can have a major impact on waste production. Eliminating waste by working more carefully, making fewer errors, or simply considering whether or not to print a document can cut down paper use considerably.

Switching off lights and equipment when leaving the office, making sure that taps are turned off and cutting down on heating and air conditioning can all reduce waste of scarce and expensive resources. Introducing a positive attitude towards reuse and recycling of materials can have similar benefits.

For more information on encouraging senior management and staff to support environmental changes, see making the case for environmental improvements.

Office equipment changes

For tips on how to reduce energy waste and introduce systems that make cost savings on your office machinery and equipment, see office equipment and energy efficiency.

For more information on ways of cutting office waste production, see how to save money by reducing, reusing and recycling waste.

Make sure that your waste is handled, stored and disposed of appropriately - see duty of care for business waste.

Although recycling office waste such as paper is far better than sending it for disposal to landfill, you should bear in mind that recycling itself has environmental impacts and costs for transportation and energy use. You should look first to waste elimination or reduction, or reuse of materials, because this will cut your purchase and disposal costs. Only consider recycling your office waste when these other options have been considered.

Types of office waste which can be recycled

Wastes which your business may produce that can be recycled include:

• office paper - white high grade paper
• mixed paper - coloured paper, leaflets, envelopes, newspapers, magazines, etc
• confidential papers
• shredded paper
• cardboard
• printer cartridges
• plastic bottles
• food and drink cans
• electrical equipment

How easy it is to get them recycled will depend on the services offered in your area, and how much you produce.

How to recycle more office waste

You can improve your office recycling policy by:

• taking into consideration whether the things you buy for the office - materials, consumables, equipment, components, etc - are made from recycled materials and whether they themselves can be easily recycled
• ensuring that purchases are packed (where packaging is necessary) in recycled or recyclable materials
• benchmarking current recycling activities and looking at ways to do it better
• establishing an action plan to improve recycling
• monitoring performance
• making recycling bins at least as accessible as bins for waste going to landfill

It's helpful to work with suppliers of equipment, materials and consumables so that they understand your business' policy on environmental issues. This will encourage suppliers to source and supply products that meet your requirements - see buying sustainable goods and services and how to reduce the environmental impact of your supply chain.

Finding a recycling contractor for your office waste

In order to find a waste contractor to suit your office recycling requirements, you should ask yourself the following questions:

• What materials will you recycle?
• Will you need the materials to be collected by the waste contractor, or can you drop them off at a facility?
• Is the service suitable for the size of your business? If you produce very little waste, you may not need a weekly scheduled collection.
• How will you collect and store the materials for recycling?
• How will you pay for the service? For example, is there an annual charge or a fee each time the containers are emptied?
• What types of paper can be collected - office paper only or mixed paper, shredded and confidential papers?

Find information about licensed waste sites in Northern Ireland.

What are my legal responsibilities for office waste?

If you produce waste in your business, you must take reasonable care to store it safely and securely and prevent it from causing pollution or harming anyone - this is your duty of care for business waste.

Many businesses with offices are unaware of how much water they use, even when they have a meter. However, there are opportunities for substantial reductions in water use, particularly in washrooms, as this accounts for around 65 per cent of water use in the average office.

How to reduce office water use

Reducing office water use is relatively easy, and you can achieve many savings at relatively little cost. You can cut down on the amount of water, and associated waste and energy costs by:

• establishing a baseline of what your business is using currently, and highlighting ways to achieve immediate reductions
• considering water efficiency when you buy new equipment for your office
• looking into the costs of automatic-flush systems for toilets, automatic water-delivery systems for wash basins, push-button taps, smaller cisterns, etc - it may be worth replacing older equipment to achieve cost savings in the longer term
• monitoring the system for leaks or for dripping taps

For more information see how to save water at commercial premises and monitor your water use.

Reducing energy is one of the biggest opportunities to cut costs and lower environmental impact in most offices. With good practice you may find it possible to reduce your office's energy costs by half.

How to reduce office energy use

The following top tips may help you cut your bills immediately:

• Compare energy tariffs from different suppliers to check whether you can change to a cheaper rate. However, to get longer term benefits you should cut energy use rather than just buying at lower prices.
• Introduce a daylight policy and end-of-day and end-of-week policies to switch off lights, computer monitors, office equipment and machinery.
• Switch to energy-efficient lighting, insulation and draft exclusion systems where you can.
• Encourage your employees to save energy.
• Check energy requirements before you buy any new equipment - then take the running charges into account when looking at the total cost of ownership. Think about how much heat new equipment could produce too and whether it could increase your air conditioning bills.
• Make sure that all your office equipment is properly maintained and operates at peak efficiency.

For more energy-efficiency advice, see office equipment and energy efficiency.

Many businesses, driven by a growing desire to operate sustainably and responsibly, want to invest in remanufactured and reused office products. These are an easy way to reduce your business' impact on the environment.

Remanufactured products can deliver significant savings compared to new products or equivalent products made from recycled materials, as well as being more environmentally friendly. They are also sold with a warranty to match that of a new product, guaranteeing their quality.

Reused products - products that have been repaired, rebuilt or refurbished - also offer the opportunity to use products that retain their material and labour value. This can also give significant cost savings and save quality goods from ending up in landfill.

For help on reducing energy costs from office equipment, see office equipment and energy efficiency.

A busy office can get through a significant amount of resources such as energy, paper and water. Good management of office processes to reduce resource use and waste can improve efficiency.

How to manage office resources efficiently

The most efficient way to manage resource use in your office is to take a systematic approach:

1. set a baseline to work out your current resource usage
2. benchmark your performance against similar organisations
3. create an action plan to achieve your identified improvements
4. set achievable targets and responsibilities for office staff to meet them
5. monitor and report your performance and set up reporting processes
6. review actions and performance to learn lessons and continually improve

You should start the process towards a more resource efficient office by carrying out an environmental review of your business.

Gaining formal recognition for improving your office environmental performance can boost your business reputation. You could become certified to a standard such as ISO 14001 by implementing an environmental management system.

You could also report on your environmental performance to customers, investors and the local community.

You should highlight the key benefits of environmental improvements to both senior management and staff.

It's estimated that half of all office waste is paper-based, so the benefits to your business of reducing this are clear. It is relatively straightforward and inexpensive to cut the amount of money you spend on buying and disposing of paper.

Reduce office paper waste through electronic document management

With advanced business IT infrastructure becoming more accessible to all types of business, you can begin to reduce your office's reliance on paper with networked electronic documents and records management. To get the greatest benefits from reduction in paper use you need to carefully plan your business IT systems.

Reduce paper waste in your office

The cheapest option, and the best for the environment, is to reduce the amount of paper waste that your business produces. For example, you could:

• Ensure that all photocopying and printing are produced in double-sided format on recycled paper. Question whether you need to produce copies at all.
• Cancel junk mail and unwanted publications.
• Avoid overproducing marketing and publicity material by reviewing distribution lists and regularly updating databases.
• Use electronic communications where possible to reduce printing. Ensure that your staff are comfortable with new equipment and provide training where necessary. Encourage them to be paper-free unless necessary.
• Reduce confidential waste costs by ensuring that the non-confidential paper collection is secure and give clear instructions to staff as to which material is strictly confidential.

Reuse and recycle paper in your office

Where you can't avoid producing waste paper, try to reuse it. For example, you could use paper printed on one side as scrap paper or message pads. You could also reuse envelopes - eg for internal use - and donate surplus card and paper to local schools or nurseries.

You should recycle paper rather than dispose of it with your general office waste - find information about licensed waste sites.

To ensure that paper is recycled you should:

• Place paper recycling bins in all offices. A good guide is one bin between six staff and one next to each photocopier and printer. Use paper ream lids as additional desktop collection trays.
• Ensure that cleaning staff support the recycling scheme and that emptying the recycling bins is part of their contracted work.
• Promote the scheme to staff by putting up posters around the offices and on bins explaining the types of paper that can be recycled.
• Provide staff with ongoing feedback about the scheme, including figures on the amount of paper collected. Suggest making a donation to charity or planting a tree when targets are met.

Choose more sustainable paper for your office

You should use as little new paper as possible because the environmental impacts of producing paper are considerable. Buy 100 per cent recycled or Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-accredited paper wherever possible.

Office waste is expensive, and not just in terms of the cost of the product being thrown away or the cost of disposal. Waste involves the loss of costly and scarce resources such as energy and water, consumables and materials which might not be recovered, and wasted labour and effort. As a result, the real cost of waste can be several times higher than the cost of disposal. Cutting your office's waste production can improve your profitability, as well as reducing your environmental impact.

Reducing waste in the office is relatively straightforward with the right policies in place. These policies usually involve either a change in behaviour, or a change in the equipment used to do the work.

Office behavioural changes

Changing the attitudes of office workers towards the creation of waste in the first place can have a major impact on waste production. Eliminating waste by working more carefully, making fewer errors, or simply considering whether or not to print a document can cut down paper use considerably.

Switching off lights and equipment when leaving the office, making sure that taps are turned off and cutting down on heating and air conditioning can all reduce waste of scarce and expensive resources. Introducing a positive attitude towards reuse and recycling of materials can have similar benefits.

For more information on encouraging senior management and staff to support environmental changes, see making the case for environmental improvements.

Office equipment changes

For tips on how to reduce energy waste and introduce systems that make cost savings on your office machinery and equipment, see office equipment and energy efficiency.

For more information on ways of cutting office waste production, see how to save money by reducing, reusing and recycling waste.

Make sure that your waste is handled, stored and disposed of appropriately - see duty of care for business waste.

Although recycling office waste such as paper is far better than sending it for disposal to landfill, you should bear in mind that recycling itself has environmental impacts and costs for transportation and energy use. You should look first to waste elimination or reduction, or reuse of materials, because this will cut your purchase and disposal costs. Only consider recycling your office waste when these other options have been considered.

Types of office waste which can be recycled

Wastes which your business may produce that can be recycled include:

• office paper - white high grade paper
• mixed paper - coloured paper, leaflets, envelopes, newspapers, magazines, etc
• confidential papers
• shredded paper
• cardboard
• printer cartridges
• plastic bottles
• food and drink cans
• electrical equipment

How easy it is to get them recycled will depend on the services offered in your area, and how much you produce.

How to recycle more office waste

You can improve your office recycling policy by:

• taking into consideration whether the things you buy for the office - materials, consumables, equipment, components, etc - are made from recycled materials and whether they themselves can be easily recycled
• ensuring that purchases are packed (where packaging is necessary) in recycled or recyclable materials
• benchmarking current recycling activities and looking at ways to do it better
• establishing an action plan to improve recycling
• monitoring performance
• making recycling bins at least as accessible as bins for waste going to landfill

It's helpful to work with suppliers of equipment, materials and consumables so that they understand your business' policy on environmental issues. This will encourage suppliers to source and supply products that meet your requirements - see buying sustainable goods and services and how to reduce the environmental impact of your supply chain.

Finding a recycling contractor for your office waste

In order to find a waste contractor to suit your office recycling requirements, you should ask yourself the following questions:

• What materials will you recycle?
• Will you need the materials to be collected by the waste contractor, or can you drop them off at a facility?
• Is the service suitable for the size of your business? If you produce very little waste, you may not need a weekly scheduled collection.
• How will you collect and store the materials for recycling?
• How will you pay for the service? For example, is there an annual charge or a fee each time the containers are emptied?
• What types of paper can be collected - office paper only or mixed paper, shredded and confidential papers?

Find information about licensed waste sites in Northern Ireland.

What are my legal responsibilities for office waste?

If you produce waste in your business, you must take reasonable care to store it safely and securely and prevent it from causing pollution or harming anyone - this is your duty of care for business waste.

Many businesses with offices are unaware of how much water they use, even when they have a meter. However, there are opportunities for substantial reductions in water use, particularly in washrooms, as this accounts for around 65 per cent of water use in the average office.

How to reduce office water use

Reducing office water use is relatively easy, and you can achieve many savings at relatively little cost. You can cut down on the amount of water, and associated waste and energy costs by:

• establishing a baseline of what your business is using currently, and highlighting ways to achieve immediate reductions
• considering water efficiency when you buy new equipment for your office
• looking into the costs of automatic-flush systems for toilets, automatic water-delivery systems for wash basins, push-button taps, smaller cisterns, etc - it may be worth replacing older equipment to achieve cost savings in the longer term
• monitoring the system for leaks or for dripping taps

For more information see how to save water at commercial premises and monitor your water use.

Reducing energy is one of the biggest opportunities to cut costs and lower environmental impact in most offices. With good practice you may find it possible to reduce your office's energy costs by half.

How to reduce office energy use

The following top tips may help you cut your bills immediately:

• Compare energy tariffs from different suppliers to check whether you can change to a cheaper rate. However, to get longer term benefits you should cut energy use rather than just buying at lower prices.
• Introduce a daylight policy and end-of-day and end-of-week policies to switch off lights, computer monitors, office equipment and machinery.
• Switch to energy-efficient lighting, insulation and draft exclusion systems where you can.
• Encourage your employees to save energy.
• Check energy requirements before you buy any new equipment - then take the running charges into account when looking at the total cost of ownership. Think about how much heat new equipment could produce too and whether it could increase your air conditioning bills.
• Make sure that all your office equipment is properly maintained and operates at peak efficiency.

For more energy-efficiency advice, see office equipment and energy efficiency.

Many businesses, driven by a growing desire to operate sustainably and responsibly, want to invest in remanufactured and reused office products. These are an easy way to reduce your business' impact on the environment.

Remanufactured products can deliver significant savings compared to new products or equivalent products made from recycled materials, as well as being more environmentally friendly. They are also sold with a warranty to match that of a new product, guaranteeing their quality.

Reused products - products that have been repaired, rebuilt or refurbished - also offer the opportunity to use products that retain their material and labour value. This can also give significant cost savings and save quality goods from ending up in landfill.

For help on reducing energy costs from office equipment, see office equipment and energy efficiency.

A busy office can get through a significant amount of resources such as energy, paper and water. Good management of office processes to reduce resource use and waste can improve efficiency.

How to manage office resources efficiently

The most efficient way to manage resource use in your office is to take a systematic approach:

1. set a baseline to work out your current resource usage
2. benchmark your performance against similar organisations
3. create an action plan to achieve your identified improvements
4. set achievable targets and responsibilities for office staff to meet them
5. monitor and report your performance and set up reporting processes
6. review actions and performance to learn lessons and continually improve

You should start the process towards a more resource efficient office by carrying out an environmental review of your business.

Gaining formal recognition for improving your office environmental performance can boost your business reputation. You could become certified to a standard such as ISO 14001 by implementing an environmental management system.

You could also report on your environmental performance to customers, investors and the local community.

You should highlight the key benefits of environmental improvements to both senior management and staff.

It's estimated that half of all office waste is paper-based, so the benefits to your business of reducing this are clear. It is relatively straightforward and inexpensive to cut the amount of money you spend on buying and disposing of paper.

Reduce office paper waste through electronic document management

With advanced business IT infrastructure becoming more accessible to all types of business, you can begin to reduce your office's reliance on paper with networked electronic documents and records management. To get the greatest benefits from reduction in paper use you need to carefully plan your business IT systems.

Reduce paper waste in your office

The cheapest option, and the best for the environment, is to reduce the amount of paper waste that your business produces. For example, you could:

• Ensure that all photocopying and printing are produced in double-sided format on recycled paper. Question whether you need to produce copies at all.
• Cancel junk mail and unwanted publications.
• Avoid overproducing marketing and publicity material by reviewing distribution lists and regularly updating databases.
• Use electronic communications where possible to reduce printing. Ensure that your staff are comfortable with new equipment and provide training where necessary. Encourage them to be paper-free unless necessary.
• Reduce confidential waste costs by ensuring that the non-confidential paper collection is secure and give clear instructions to staff as to which material is strictly confidential.

Reuse and recycle paper in your office

Where you can't avoid producing waste paper, try to reuse it. For example, you could use paper printed on one side as scrap paper or message pads. You could also reuse envelopes - eg for internal use - and donate surplus card and paper to local schools or nurseries.

You should recycle paper rather than dispose of it with your general office waste - find information about licensed waste sites.

To ensure that paper is recycled you should:

• Place paper recycling bins in all offices. A good guide is one bin between six staff and one next to each photocopier and printer. Use paper ream lids as additional desktop collection trays.
• Ensure that cleaning staff support the recycling scheme and that emptying the recycling bins is part of their contracted work.
• Promote the scheme to staff by putting up posters around the offices and on bins explaining the types of paper that can be recycled.
• Provide staff with ongoing feedback about the scheme, including figures on the amount of paper collected. Suggest making a donation to charity or planting a tree when targets are met.

Choose more sustainable paper for your office

You should use as little new paper as possible because the environmental impacts of producing paper are considerable. Buy 100 per cent recycled or Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-accredited paper wherever possible.

Office waste is expensive, and not just in terms of the cost of the product being thrown away or the cost of disposal. Waste involves the loss of costly and scarce resources such as energy and water, consumables and materials which might not be recovered, and wasted labour and effort. As a result, the real cost of waste can be several times higher than the cost of disposal. Cutting your office's waste production can improve your profitability, as well as reducing your environmental impact.

Reducing waste in the office is relatively straightforward with the right policies in place. These policies usually involve either a change in behaviour, or a change in the equipment used to do the work.

Office behavioural changes

Changing the attitudes of office workers towards the creation of waste in the first place can have a major impact on waste production. Eliminating waste by working more carefully, making fewer errors, or simply considering whether or not to print a document can cut down paper use considerably.

Switching off lights and equipment when leaving the office, making sure that taps are turned off and cutting down on heating and air conditioning can all reduce waste of scarce and expensive resources. Introducing a positive attitude towards reuse and recycling of materials can have similar benefits.

For more information on encouraging senior management and staff to support environmental changes, see making the case for environmental improvements.

Office equipment changes

For tips on how to reduce energy waste and introduce systems that make cost savings on your office machinery and equipment, see office equipment and energy efficiency.

For more information on ways of cutting office waste production, see how to save money by reducing, reusing and recycling waste.

Make sure that your waste is handled, stored and disposed of appropriately - see duty of care for business waste.

Although recycling office waste such as paper is far better than sending it for disposal to landfill, you should bear in mind that recycling itself has environmental impacts and costs for transportation and energy use. You should look first to waste elimination or reduction, or reuse of materials, because this will cut your purchase and disposal costs. Only consider recycling your office waste when these other options have been considered.

Types of office waste which can be recycled

Wastes which your business may produce that can be recycled include:

• office paper - white high grade paper
• mixed paper - coloured paper, leaflets, envelopes, newspapers, magazines, etc
• confidential papers
• shredded paper
• cardboard
• printer cartridges
• plastic bottles
• food and drink cans
• electrical equipment

How easy it is to get them recycled will depend on the services offered in your area, and how much you produce.

How to recycle more office waste

You can improve your office recycling policy by:

• taking into consideration whether the things you buy for the office - materials, consumables, equipment, components, etc - are made from recycled materials and whether they themselves can be easily recycled
• ensuring that purchases are packed (where packaging is necessary) in recycled or recyclable materials
• benchmarking current recycling activities and looking at ways to do it better
• establishing an action plan to improve recycling
• monitoring performance
• making recycling bins at least as accessible as bins for waste going to landfill

It's helpful to work with suppliers of equipment, materials and consumables so that they understand your business' policy on environmental issues. This will encourage suppliers to source and supply products that meet your requirements - see buying sustainable goods and services and how to reduce the environmental impact of your supply chain.

Finding a recycling contractor for your office waste

In order to find a waste contractor to suit your office recycling requirements, you should ask yourself the following questions:

• What materials will you recycle?
• Will you need the materials to be collected by the waste contractor, or can you drop them off at a facility?
• Is the service suitable for the size of your business? If you produce very little waste, you may not need a weekly scheduled collection.
• How will you collect and store the materials for recycling?
• How will you pay for the service? For example, is there an annual charge or a fee each time the containers are emptied?
• What types of paper can be collected - office paper only or mixed paper, shredded and confidential papers?

Find information about licensed waste sites in Northern Ireland.

What are my legal responsibilities for office waste?

If you produce waste in your business, you must take reasonable care to store it safely and securely and prevent it from causing pollution or harming anyone - this is your duty of care for business waste.

Many businesses with offices are unaware of how much water they use, even when they have a meter. However, there are opportunities for substantial reductions in water use, particularly in washrooms, as this accounts for around 65 per cent of water use in the average office.

How to reduce office water use

Reducing office water use is relatively easy, and you can achieve many savings at relatively little cost. You can cut down on the amount of water, and associated waste and energy costs by:

• establishing a baseline of what your business is using currently, and highlighting ways to achieve immediate reductions
• considering water efficiency when you buy new equipment for your office
• looking into the costs of automatic-flush systems for toilets, automatic water-delivery systems for wash basins, push-button taps, smaller cisterns, etc - it may be worth replacing older equipment to achieve cost savings in the longer term
• monitoring the system for leaks or for dripping taps

For more information see how to save water at commercial premises and monitor your water use.

Reducing energy is one of the biggest opportunities to cut costs and lower environmental impact in most offices. With good practice you may find it possible to reduce your office's energy costs by half.

How to reduce office energy use

The following top tips may help you cut your bills immediately:

• Compare energy tariffs from different suppliers to check whether you can change to a cheaper rate. However, to get longer term benefits you should cut energy use rather than just buying at lower prices.
• Introduce a daylight policy and end-of-day and end-of-week policies to switch off lights, computer monitors, office equipment and machinery.
• Switch to energy-efficient lighting, insulation and draft exclusion systems where you can.
• Encourage your employees to save energy.
• Check energy requirements before you buy any new equipment - then take the running charges into account when looking at the total cost of ownership. Think about how much heat new equipment could produce too and whether it could increase your air conditioning bills.
• Make sure that all your office equipment is properly maintained and operates at peak efficiency.

For more energy-efficiency advice, see office equipment and energy efficiency.

Many businesses, driven by a growing desire to operate sustainably and responsibly, want to invest in remanufactured and reused office products. These are an easy way to reduce your business' impact on the environment.

Remanufactured products can deliver significant savings compared to new products or equivalent products made from recycled materials, as well as being more environmentally friendly. They are also sold with a warranty to match that of a new product, guaranteeing their quality.

Reused products - products that have been repaired, rebuilt or refurbished - also offer the opportunity to use products that retain their material and labour value. This can also give significant cost savings and save quality goods from ending up in landfill.

For help on reducing energy costs from office equipment, see office equipment and energy efficiency.

A busy office can get through a significant amount of resources such as energy, paper and water. Good management of office processes to reduce resource use and waste can improve efficiency.

How to manage office resources efficiently

The most efficient way to manage resource use in your office is to take a systematic approach:

1. set a baseline to work out your current resource usage
2. benchmark your performance against similar organisations
3. create an action plan to achieve your identified improvements
4. set achievable targets and responsibilities for office staff to meet them
5. monitor and report your performance and set up reporting processes
6. review actions and performance to learn lessons and continually improve

You should start the process towards a more resource efficient office by carrying out an environmental review of your business.

Gaining formal recognition for improving your office environmental performance can boost your business reputation. You could become certified to a standard such as ISO 14001 by implementing an environmental management system.

You could also report on your environmental performance to customers, investors and the local community.

You should highlight the key benefits of environmental improvements to both senior management and staff.

It's estimated that half of all office waste is paper-based, so the benefits to your business of reducing this are clear. It is relatively straightforward and inexpensive to cut the amount of money you spend on buying and disposing of paper.

Reduce office paper waste through electronic document management

With advanced business IT infrastructure becoming more accessible to all types of business, you can begin to reduce your office's reliance on paper with networked electronic documents and records management. To get the greatest benefits from reduction in paper use you need to carefully plan your business IT systems.

Reduce paper waste in your office

The cheapest option, and the best for the environment, is to reduce the amount of paper waste that your business produces. For example, you could:

• Ensure that all photocopying and printing are produced in double-sided format on recycled paper. Question whether you need to produce copies at all.
• Cancel junk mail and unwanted publications.
• Avoid overproducing marketing and publicity material by reviewing distribution lists and regularly updating databases.
• Use electronic communications where possible to reduce printing. Ensure that your staff are comfortable with new equipment and provide training where necessary. Encourage them to be paper-free unless necessary.
• Reduce confidential waste costs by ensuring that the non-confidential paper collection is secure and give clear instructions to staff as to which material is strictly confidential.

Reuse and recycle paper in your office

Where you can't avoid producing waste paper, try to reuse it. For example, you could use paper printed on one side as scrap paper or message pads. You could also reuse envelopes - eg for internal use - and donate surplus card and paper to local schools or nurseries.

You should recycle paper rather than dispose of it with your general office waste - find information about licensed waste sites.

To ensure that paper is recycled you should:

• Place paper recycling bins in all offices. A good guide is one bin between six staff and one next to each photocopier and printer. Use paper ream lids as additional desktop collection trays.
• Ensure that cleaning staff support the recycling scheme and that emptying the recycling bins is part of their contracted work.
• Promote the scheme to staff by putting up posters around the offices and on bins explaining the types of paper that can be recycled.
• Provide staff with ongoing feedback about the scheme, including figures on the amount of paper collected. Suggest making a donation to charity or planting a tree when targets are met.

Choose more sustainable paper for your office

You should use as little new paper as possible because the environmental impacts of producing paper are considerable. Buy 100 per cent recycled or Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-accredited paper wherever possible.

Office waste is expensive, and not just in terms of the cost of the product being thrown away or the cost of disposal. Waste involves the loss of costly and scarce resources such as energy and water, consumables and materials which might not be recovered, and wasted labour and effort. As a result, the real cost of waste can be several times higher than the cost of disposal. Cutting your office's waste production can improve your profitability, as well as reducing your environmental impact.

Reducing waste in the office is relatively straightforward with the right policies in place. These policies usually involve either a change in behaviour, or a change in the equipment used to do the work.

Office behavioural changes

Changing the attitudes of office workers towards the creation of waste in the first place can have a major impact on waste production. Eliminating waste by working more carefully, making fewer errors, or simply considering whether or not to print a document can cut down paper use considerably.

Switching off lights and equipment when leaving the office, making sure that taps are turned off and cutting down on heating and air conditioning can all reduce waste of scarce and expensive resources. Introducing a positive attitude towards reuse and recycling of materials can have similar benefits.

For more information on encouraging senior management and staff to support environmental changes, see making the case for environmental improvements.

Office equipment changes

For tips on how to reduce energy waste and introduce systems that make cost savings on your office machinery and equipment, see office equipment and energy efficiency.

For more information on ways of cutting office waste production, see how to save money by reducing, reusing and recycling waste.

Make sure that your waste is handled, stored and disposed of appropriately - see duty of care for business waste.

Although recycling office waste such as paper is far better than sending it for disposal to landfill, you should bear in mind that recycling itself has environmental impacts and costs for transportation and energy use. You should look first to waste elimination or reduction, or reuse of materials, because this will cut your purchase and disposal costs. Only consider recycling your office waste when these other options have been considered.

Types of office waste which can be recycled

Wastes which your business may produce that can be recycled include:

• office paper - white high grade paper
• mixed paper - coloured paper, leaflets, envelopes, newspapers, magazines, etc
• confidential papers
• shredded paper
• cardboard
• printer cartridges
• plastic bottles
• food and drink cans
• electrical equipment

How easy it is to get them recycled will depend on the services offered in your area, and how much you produce.

How to recycle more office waste

You can improve your office recycling policy by:

• taking into consideration whether the things you buy for the office - materials, consumables, equipment, components, etc - are made from recycled materials and whether they themselves can be easily recycled
• ensuring that purchases are packed (where packaging is necessary) in recycled or recyclable materials
• benchmarking current recycling activities and looking at ways to do it better
• establishing an action plan to improve recycling
• monitoring performance
• making recycling bins at least as accessible as bins for waste going to landfill

It's helpful to work with suppliers of equipment, materials and consumables so that they understand your business' policy on environmental issues. This will encourage suppliers to source and supply products that meet your requirements - see buying sustainable goods and services and how to reduce the environmental impact of your supply chain.

Finding a recycling contractor for your office waste

In order to find a waste contractor to suit your office recycling requirements, you should ask yourself the following questions:

• What materials will you recycle?
• Will you need the materials to be collected by the waste contractor, or can you drop them off at a facility?
• Is the service suitable for the size of your business? If you produce very little waste, you may not need a weekly scheduled collection.
• How will you collect and store the materials for recycling?
• How will you pay for the service? For example, is there an annual charge or a fee each time the containers are emptied?
• What types of paper can be collected - office paper only or mixed paper, shredded and confidential papers?

Find information about licensed waste sites in Northern Ireland.

What are my legal responsibilities for office waste?

If you produce waste in your business, you must take reasonable care to store it safely and securely and prevent it from causing pollution or harming anyone - this is your duty of care for business waste.

Many businesses with offices are unaware of how much water they use, even when they have a meter. However, there are opportunities for substantial reductions in water use, particularly in washrooms, as this accounts for around 65 per cent of water use in the average office.

How to reduce office water use

Reducing office water use is relatively easy, and you can achieve many savings at relatively little cost. You can cut down on the amount of water, and associated waste and energy costs by:

• establishing a baseline of what your business is using currently, and highlighting ways to achieve immediate reductions
• considering water efficiency when you buy new equipment for your office
• looking into the costs of automatic-flush systems for toilets, automatic water-delivery systems for wash basins, push-button taps, smaller cisterns, etc - it may be worth replacing older equipment to achieve cost savings in the longer term
• monitoring the system for leaks or for dripping taps

For more information see how to save water at commercial premises and monitor your water use.

Reducing energy is one of the biggest opportunities to cut costs and lower environmental impact in most offices. With good practice you may find it possible to reduce your office's energy costs by half.

How to reduce office energy use

The following top tips may help you cut your bills immediately:

• Compare energy tariffs from different suppliers to check whether you can change to a cheaper rate. However, to get longer term benefits you should cut energy use rather than just buying at lower prices.
• Introduce a daylight policy and end-of-day and end-of-week policies to switch off lights, computer monitors, office equipment and machinery.
• Switch to energy-efficient lighting, insulation and draft exclusion systems where you can.
• Encourage your employees to save energy.
• Check energy requirements before you buy any new equipment - then take the running charges into account when looking at the total cost of ownership. Think about how much heat new equipment could produce too and whether it could increase your air conditioning bills.
• Make sure that all your office equipment is properly maintained and operates at peak efficiency.

For more energy-efficiency advice, see office equipment and energy efficiency.

Many businesses, driven by a growing desire to operate sustainably and responsibly, want to invest in remanufactured and reused office products. These are an easy way to reduce your business' impact on the environment.

Remanufactured products can deliver significant savings compared to new products or equivalent products made from recycled materials, as well as being more environmentally friendly. They are also sold with a warranty to match that of a new product, guaranteeing their quality.

Reused products - products that have been repaired, rebuilt or refurbished - also offer the opportunity to use products that retain their material and labour value. This can also give significant cost savings and save quality goods from ending up in landfill.

For help on reducing energy costs from office equipment, see office equipment and energy efficiency.

A busy office can get through a significant amount of resources such as energy, paper and water. Good management of office processes to reduce resource use and waste can improve efficiency.

How to manage office resources efficiently

The most efficient way to manage resource use in your office is to take a systematic approach:

1. set a baseline to work out your current resource usage
2. benchmark your performance against similar organisations
3. create an action plan to achieve your identified improvements
4. set achievable targets and responsibilities for office staff to meet them
5. monitor and report your performance and set up reporting processes
6. review actions and performance to learn lessons and continually improve

You should start the process towards a more resource efficient office by carrying out an environmental review of your business.

Gaining formal recognition for improving your office environmental performance can boost your business reputation. You could become certified to a standard such as ISO 14001 by implementing an environmental management system.

You could also report on your environmental performance to customers, investors and the local community.

You should highlight the key benefits of environmental improvements to both senior management and staff.

It's estimated that half of all office waste is paper-based, so the benefits to your business of reducing this are clear. It is relatively straightforward and inexpensive to cut the amount of money you spend on buying and disposing of paper.

Reduce office paper waste through electronic document management

With advanced business IT infrastructure becoming more accessible to all types of business, you can begin to reduce your office's reliance on paper with networked electronic documents and records management. To get the greatest benefits from reduction in paper use you need to carefully plan your business IT systems.

Reduce paper waste in your office

The cheapest option, and the best for the environment, is to reduce the amount of paper waste that your business produces. For example, you could:

• Ensure that all photocopying and printing are produced in double-sided format on recycled paper. Question whether you need to produce copies at all.
• Cancel junk mail and unwanted publications.
• Avoid overproducing marketing and publicity material by reviewing distribution lists and regularly updating databases.
• Use electronic communications where possible to reduce printing. Ensure that your staff are comfortable with new equipment and provide training where necessary. Encourage them to be paper-free unless necessary.
• Reduce confidential waste costs by ensuring that the non-confidential paper collection is secure and give clear instructions to staff as to which material is strictly confidential.

Reuse and recycle paper in your office

Where you can't avoid producing waste paper, try to reuse it. For example, you could use paper printed on one side as scrap paper or message pads. You could also reuse envelopes - eg for internal use - and donate surplus card and paper to local schools or nurseries.

You should recycle paper rather than dispose of it with your general office waste - find information about licensed waste sites.

To ensure that paper is recycled you should:

• Place paper recycling bins in all offices. A good guide is one bin between six staff and one next to each photocopier and printer. Use paper ream lids as additional desktop collection trays.
• Ensure that cleaning staff support the recycling scheme and that emptying the recycling bins is part of their contracted work.
• Promote the scheme to staff by putting up posters around the offices and on bins explaining the types of paper that can be recycled.
• Provide staff with ongoing feedback about the scheme, including figures on the amount of paper collected. Suggest making a donation to charity or planting a tree when targets are met.

Choose more sustainable paper for your office

You should use as little new paper as possible because the environmental impacts of producing paper are considerable. Buy 100 per cent recycled or Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-accredited paper wherever possible.

Office waste is expensive, and not just in terms of the cost of the product being thrown away or the cost of disposal. Waste involves the loss of costly and scarce resources such as energy and water, consumables and materials which might not be recovered, and wasted labour and effort. As a result, the real cost of waste can be several times higher than the cost of disposal. Cutting your office's waste production can improve your profitability, as well as reducing your environmental impact.

Reducing waste in the office is relatively straightforward with the right policies in place. These policies usually involve either a change in behaviour, or a change in the equipment used to do the work.

Office behavioural changes

Changing the attitudes of office workers towards the creation of waste in the first place can have a major impact on waste production. Eliminating waste by working more carefully, making fewer errors, or simply considering whether or not to print a document can cut down paper use considerably.

Switching off lights and equipment when leaving the office, making sure that taps are turned off and cutting down on heating and air conditioning can all reduce waste of scarce and expensive resources. Introducing a positive attitude towards reuse and recycling of materials can have similar benefits.

For more information on encouraging senior management and staff to support environmental changes, see making the case for environmental improvements.

Office equipment changes

For tips on how to reduce energy waste and introduce systems that make cost savings on your office machinery and equipment, see office equipment and energy efficiency.

For more information on ways of cutting office waste production, see how to save money by reducing, reusing and recycling waste.

Make sure that your waste is handled, stored and disposed of appropriately - see duty of care for business waste.

Although recycling office waste such as paper is far better than sending it for disposal to landfill, you should bear in mind that recycling itself has environmental impacts and costs for transportation and energy use. You should look first to waste elimination or reduction, or reuse of materials, because this will cut your purchase and disposal costs. Only consider recycling your office waste when these other options have been considered.

Types of office waste which can be recycled

Wastes which your business may produce that can be recycled include:

• office paper - white high grade paper
• mixed paper - coloured paper, leaflets, envelopes, newspapers, magazines, etc
• confidential papers
• shredded paper
• cardboard
• printer cartridges
• plastic bottles
• food and drink cans
• electrical equipment

How easy it is to get them recycled will depend on the services offered in your area, and how much you produce.

How to recycle more office waste

You can improve your office recycling policy by:

• taking into consideration whether the things you buy for the office - materials, consumables, equipment, components, etc - are made from recycled materials and whether they themselves can be easily recycled
• ensuring that purchases are packed (where packaging is necessary) in recycled or recyclable materials
• benchmarking current recycling activities and looking at ways to do it better
• establishing an action plan to improve recycling
• monitoring performance
• making recycling bins at least as accessible as bins for waste going to landfill

It's helpful to work with suppliers of equipment, materials and consumables so that they understand your business' policy on environmental issues. This will encourage suppliers to source and supply products that meet your requirements - see buying sustainable goods and services and how to reduce the environmental impact of your supply chain.

Finding a recycling contractor for your office waste

In order to find a waste contractor to suit your office recycling requirements, you should ask yourself the following questions:

• What materials will you recycle?
• Will you need the materials to be collected by the waste contractor, or can you drop them off at a facility?
• Is the service suitable for the size of your business? If you produce very little waste, you may not need a weekly scheduled collection.
• How will you collect and store the materials for recycling?
• How will you pay for the service? For example, is there an annual charge or a fee each time the containers are emptied?
• What types of paper can be collected - office paper only or mixed paper, shredded and confidential papers?

Find information about licensed waste sites in Northern Ireland.

What are my legal responsibilities for office waste?

If you produce waste in your business, you must take reasonable care to store it safely and securely and prevent it from causing pollution or harming anyone - this is your duty of care for business waste.

Many businesses with offices are unaware of how much water they use, even when they have a meter. However, there are opportunities for substantial reductions in water use, particularly in washrooms, as this accounts for around 65 per cent of water use in the average office.

How to reduce office water use

Reducing office water use is relatively easy, and you can achieve many savings at relatively little cost. You can cut down on the amount of water, and associated waste and energy costs by:

• establishing a baseline of what your business is using currently, and highlighting ways to achieve immediate reductions
• considering water efficiency when you buy new equipment for your office
• looking into the costs of automatic-flush systems for toilets, automatic water-delivery systems for wash basins, push-button taps, smaller cisterns, etc - it may be worth replacing older equipment to achieve cost savings in the longer term
• monitoring the system for leaks or for dripping taps

For more information see how to save water at commercial premises and monitor your water use.

Reducing energy is one of the biggest opportunities to cut costs and lower environmental impact in most offices. With good practice you may find it possible to reduce your office's energy costs by half.

How to reduce office energy use

The following top tips may help you cut your bills immediately:

• Compare energy tariffs from different suppliers to check whether you can change to a cheaper rate. However, to get longer term benefits you should cut energy use rather than just buying at lower prices.
• Introduce a daylight policy and end-of-day and end-of-week policies to switch off lights, computer monitors, office equipment and machinery.
• Switch to energy-efficient lighting, insulation and draft exclusion systems where you can.
• Encourage your employees to save energy.
• Check energy requirements before you buy any new equipment - then take the running charges into account when looking at the total cost of ownership. Think about how much heat new equipment could produce too and whether it could increase your air conditioning bills.
• Make sure that all your office equipment is properly maintained and operates at peak efficiency.

For more energy-efficiency advice, see office equipment and energy efficiency.

Many businesses, driven by a growing desire to operate sustainably and responsibly, want to invest in remanufactured and reused office products. These are an easy way to reduce your business' impact on the environment.

Remanufactured products can deliver significant savings compared to new products or equivalent products made from recycled materials, as well as being more environmentally friendly. They are also sold with a warranty to match that of a new product, guaranteeing their quality.

Reused products - products that have been repaired, rebuilt or refurbished - also offer the opportunity to use products that retain their material and labour value. This can also give significant cost savings and save quality goods from ending up in landfill.

For help on reducing energy costs from office equipment, see office equipment and energy efficiency.

A busy office can get through a significant amount of resources such as energy, paper and water. Good management of office processes to reduce resource use and waste can improve efficiency.

How to manage office resources efficiently

The most efficient way to manage resource use in your office is to take a systematic approach:

1. set a baseline to work out your current resource usage
2. benchmark your performance against similar organisations
3. create an action plan to achieve your identified improvements
4. set achievable targets and responsibilities for office staff to meet them
5. monitor and report your performance and set up reporting processes
6. review actions and performance to learn lessons and continually improve

You should start the process towards a more resource efficient office by carrying out an environmental review of your business.

Gaining formal recognition for improving your office environmental performance can boost your business reputation. You could become certified to a standard such as ISO 14001 by implementing an environmental management system.

You could also report on your environmental performance to customers, investors and the local community.

You should highlight the key benefits of environmental improvements to both senior management and staff.

It's estimated that half of all office waste is paper-based, so the benefits to your business of reducing this are clear. It is relatively straightforward and inexpensive to cut the amount of money you spend on buying and disposing of paper.

Reduce office paper waste through electronic document management

With advanced business IT infrastructure becoming more accessible to all types of business, you can begin to reduce your office's reliance on paper with networked electronic documents and records management. To get the greatest benefits from reduction in paper use you need to carefully plan your business IT systems.

Reduce paper waste in your office

The cheapest option, and the best for the environment, is to reduce the amount of paper waste that your business produces. For example, you could:

• Ensure that all photocopying and printing are produced in double-sided format on recycled paper. Question whether you need to produce copies at all.
• Cancel junk mail and unwanted publications.
• Avoid overproducing marketing and publicity material by reviewing distribution lists and regularly updating databases.
• Use electronic communications where possible to reduce printing. Ensure that your staff are comfortable with new equipment and provide training where necessary. Encourage them to be paper-free unless necessary.
• Reduce confidential waste costs by ensuring that the non-confidential paper collection is secure and give clear instructions to staff as to which material is strictly confidential.

Reuse and recycle paper in your office

Where you can't avoid producing waste paper, try to reuse it. For example, you could use paper printed on one side as scrap paper or message pads. You could also reuse envelopes - eg for internal use - and donate surplus card and paper to local schools or nurseries.

You should recycle paper rather than dispose of it with your general office waste - find information about licensed waste sites.

To ensure that paper is recycled you should:

• Place paper recycling bins in all offices. A good guide is one bin between six staff and one next to each photocopier and printer. Use paper ream lids as additional desktop collection trays.
• Ensure that cleaning staff support the recycling scheme and that emptying the recycling bins is part of their contracted work.
• Promote the scheme to staff by putting up posters around the offices and on bins explaining the types of paper that can be recycled.
• Provide staff with ongoing feedback about the scheme, including figures on the amount of paper collected. Suggest making a donation to charity or planting a tree when targets are met.

Choose more sustainable paper for your office

You should use as little new paper as possible because the environmental impacts of producing paper are considerable. Buy 100 per cent recycled or Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-accredited paper wherever possible.

Office waste is expensive, and not just in terms of the cost of the product being thrown away or the cost of disposal. Waste involves the loss of costly and scarce resources such as energy and water, consumables and materials which might not be recovered, and wasted labour and effort. As a result, the real cost of waste can be several times higher than the cost of disposal. Cutting your office's waste production can improve your profitability, as well as reducing your environmental impact.

Reducing waste in the office is relatively straightforward with the right policies in place. These policies usually involve either a change in behaviour, or a change in the equipment used to do the work.

Office behavioural changes

Changing the attitudes of office workers towards the creation of waste in the first place can have a major impact on waste production. Eliminating waste by working more carefully, making fewer errors, or simply considering whether or not to print a document can cut down paper use considerably.

Switching off lights and equipment when leaving the office, making sure that taps are turned off and cutting down on heating and air conditioning can all reduce waste of scarce and expensive resources. Introducing a positive attitude towards reuse and recycling of materials can have similar benefits.

For more information on encouraging senior management and staff to support environmental changes, see making the case for environmental improvements.

Office equipment changes

For tips on how to reduce energy waste and introduce systems that make cost savings on your office machinery and equipment, see office equipment and energy efficiency.

For more information on ways of cutting office waste production, see how to save money by reducing, reusing and recycling waste.

Make sure that your waste is handled, stored and disposed of appropriately - see duty of care for business waste.

Although recycling office waste such as paper is far better than sending it for disposal to landfill, you should bear in mind that recycling itself has environmental impacts and costs for transportation and energy use. You should look first to waste elimination or reduction, or reuse of materials, because this will cut your purchase and disposal costs. Only consider recycling your office waste when these other options have been considered.

Types of office waste which can be recycled

Wastes which your business may produce that can be recycled include:

• office paper - white high grade paper
• mixed paper - coloured paper, leaflets, envelopes, newspapers, magazines, etc
• confidential papers
• shredded paper
• cardboard
• printer cartridges
• plastic bottles
• food and drink cans
• electrical equipment

How easy it is to get them recycled will depend on the services offered in your area, and how much you produce.

How to recycle more office waste

You can improve your office recycling policy by:

• taking into consideration whether the things you buy for the office - materials, consumables, equipment, components, etc - are made from recycled materials and whether they themselves can be easily recycled
• ensuring that purchases are packed (where packaging is necessary) in recycled or recyclable materials
• benchmarking current recycling activities and looking at ways to do it better
• establishing an action plan to improve recycling
• monitoring performance
• making recycling bins at least as accessible as bins for waste going to landfill

It's helpful to work with suppliers of equipment, materials and consumables so that they understand your business' policy on environmental issues. This will encourage suppliers to source and supply products that meet your requirements - see buying sustainable goods and services and how to reduce the environmental impact of your supply chain.

Finding a recycling contractor for your office waste

In order to find a waste contractor to suit your office recycling requirements, you should ask yourself the following questions:

• What materials will you recycle?
• Will you need the materials to be collected by the waste contractor, or can you drop them off at a facility?
• Is the service suitable for the size of your business? If you produce very little waste, you may not need a weekly scheduled collection.
• How will you collect and store the materials for recycling?
• How will you pay for the service? For example, is there an annual charge or a fee each time the containers are emptied?
• What types of paper can be collected - office paper only or mixed paper, shredded and confidential papers?

Find information about licensed waste sites in Northern Ireland.

What are my legal responsibilities for office waste?

If you produce waste in your business, you must take reasonable care to store it safely and securely and prevent it from causing pollution or harming anyone - this is your duty of care for business waste.

Many businesses with offices are unaware of how much water they use, even when they have a meter. However, there are opportunities for substantial reductions in water use, particularly in washrooms, as this accounts for around 65 per cent of water use in the average office.

How to reduce office water use

Reducing office water use is relatively easy, and you can achieve many savings at relatively little cost. You can cut down on the amount of water, and associated waste and energy costs by:

• establishing a baseline of what your business is using currently, and highlighting ways to achieve immediate reductions
• considering water efficiency when you buy new equipment for your office
• looking into the costs of automatic-flush systems for toilets, automatic water-delivery systems for wash basins, push-button taps, smaller cisterns, etc - it may be worth replacing older equipment to achieve cost savings in the longer term
• monitoring the system for leaks or for dripping taps

For more information see how to save water at commercial premises and monitor your water use.

Reducing energy is one of the biggest opportunities to cut costs and lower environmental impact in most offices. With good practice you may find it possible to reduce your office's energy costs by half.

How to reduce office energy use

The following top tips may help you cut your bills immediately:

• Compare energy tariffs from different suppliers to check whether you can change to a cheaper rate. However, to get longer term benefits you should cut energy use rather than just buying at lower prices.
• Introduce a daylight policy and end-of-day and end-of-week policies to switch off lights, computer monitors, office equipment and machinery.
• Switch to energy-efficient lighting, insulation and draft exclusion systems where you can.
• Encourage your employees to save energy.
• Check energy requirements before you buy any new equipment - then take the running charges into account when looking at the total cost of ownership. Think about how much heat new equipment could produce too and whether it could increase your air conditioning bills.
• Make sure that all your office equipment is properly maintained and operates at peak efficiency.

For more energy-efficiency advice, see office equipment and energy efficiency.

Many businesses, driven by a growing desire to operate sustainably and responsibly, want to invest in remanufactured and reused office products. These are an easy way to reduce your business' impact on the environment.

Remanufactured products can deliver significant savings compared to new products or equivalent products made from recycled materials, as well as being more environmentally friendly. They are also sold with a warranty to match that of a new product, guaranteeing their quality.

Reused products - products that have been repaired, rebuilt or refurbished - also offer the opportunity to use products that retain their material and labour value. This can also give significant cost savings and save quality goods from ending up in landfill.

For help on reducing energy costs from office equipment, see office equipment and energy efficiency.

A busy office can get through a significant amount of resources such as energy, paper and water. Good management of office processes to reduce resource use and waste can improve efficiency.

How to manage office resources efficiently

The most efficient way to manage resource use in your office is to take a systematic approach:

1. set a baseline to work out your current resource usage
2. benchmark your performance against similar organisations
3. create an action plan to achieve your identified improvements
4. set achievable targets and responsibilities for office staff to meet them
5. monitor and report your performance and set up reporting processes
6. review actions and performance to learn lessons and continually improve

You should start the process towards a more resource efficient office by carrying out an environmental review of your business.

Gaining formal recognition for improving your office environmental performance can boost your business reputation. You could become certified to a standard such as ISO 14001 by implementing an environmental management system.

You could also report on your environmental performance to customers, investors and the local community.

You should highlight the key benefits of environmental improvements to both senior management and staff.

It's estimated that half of all office waste is paper-based, so the benefits to your business of reducing this are clear. It is relatively straightforward and inexpensive to cut the amount of money you spend on buying and disposing of paper.

Reduce office paper waste through electronic document management

With advanced business IT infrastructure becoming more accessible to all types of business, you can begin to reduce your office's reliance on paper with networked electronic documents and records management. To get the greatest benefits from reduction in paper use you need to carefully plan your business IT systems.

Reduce paper waste in your office

The cheapest option, and the best for the environment, is to reduce the amount of paper waste that your business produces. For example, you could:

• Ensure that all photocopying and printing are produced in double-sided format on recycled paper. Question whether you need to produce copies at all.
• Cancel junk mail and unwanted publications.
• Avoid overproducing marketing and publicity material by reviewing distribution lists and regularly updating databases.
• Use electronic communications where possible to reduce printing. Ensure that your staff are comfortable with new equipment and provide training where necessary. Encourage them to be paper-free unless necessary.
• Reduce confidential waste costs by ensuring that the non-confidential paper collection is secure and give clear instructions to staff as to which material is strictly confidential.

Reuse and recycle paper in your office

Where you can't avoid producing waste paper, try to reuse it. For example, you could use paper printed on one side as scrap paper or message pads. You could also reuse envelopes - eg for internal use - and donate surplus card and paper to local schools or nurseries.

You should recycle paper rather than dispose of it with your general office waste - find information about licensed waste sites.

To ensure that paper is recycled you should:

• Place paper recycling bins in all offices. A good guide is one bin between six staff and one next to each photocopier and printer. Use paper ream lids as additional desktop collection trays.
• Ensure that cleaning staff support the recycling scheme and that emptying the recycling bins is part of their contracted work.
• Promote the scheme to staff by putting up posters around the offices and on bins explaining the types of paper that can be recycled.
• Provide staff with ongoing feedback about the scheme, including figures on the amount of paper collected. Suggest making a donation to charity or planting a tree when targets are met.

Choose more sustainable paper for your office

You should use as little new paper as possible because the environmental impacts of producing paper are considerable. Buy 100 per cent recycled or Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-accredited paper wherever possible.

Office waste is expensive, and not just in terms of the cost of the product being thrown away or the cost of disposal. Waste involves the loss of costly and scarce resources such as energy and water, consumables and materials which might not be recovered, and wasted labour and effort. As a result, the real cost of waste can be several times higher than the cost of disposal. Cutting your office's waste production can improve your profitability, as well as reducing your environmental impact.

Reducing waste in the office is relatively straightforward with the right policies in place. These policies usually involve either a change in behaviour, or a change in the equipment used to do the work.

Office behavioural changes

Changing the attitudes of office workers towards the creation of waste in the first place can have a major impact on waste production. Eliminating waste by working more carefully, making fewer errors, or simply considering whether or not to print a document can cut down paper use considerably.

Switching off lights and equipment when leaving the office, making sure that taps are turned off and cutting down on heating and air conditioning can all reduce waste of scarce and expensive resources. Introducing a positive attitude towards reuse and recycling of materials can have similar benefits.

For more information on encouraging senior management and staff to support environmental changes, see making the case for environmental improvements.

Office equipment changes

For tips on how to reduce energy waste and introduce systems that make cost savings on your office machinery and equipment, see office equipment and energy efficiency.

For more information on ways of cutting office waste production, see how to save money by reducing, reusing and recycling waste.

Make sure that your waste is handled, stored and disposed of appropriately - see duty of care for business waste.

Although recycling office waste such as paper is far better than sending it for disposal to landfill, you should bear in mind that recycling itself has environmental impacts and costs for transportation and energy use. You should look first to waste elimination or reduction, or reuse of materials, because this will cut your purchase and disposal costs. Only consider recycling your office waste when these other options have been considered.

Types of office waste which can be recycled

Wastes which your business may produce that can be recycled include:

• office paper - white high grade paper
• mixed paper - coloured paper, leaflets, envelopes, newspapers, magazines, etc
• confidential papers
• shredded paper
• cardboard
• printer cartridges
• plastic bottles
• food and drink cans
• electrical equipment

How easy it is to get them recycled will depend on the services offered in your area, and how much you produce.

How to recycle more office waste

You can improve your office recycling policy by:

• taking into consideration whether the things you buy for the office - materials, consumables, equipment, components, etc - are made from recycled materials and whether they themselves can be easily recycled
• ensuring that purchases are packed (where packaging is necessary) in recycled or recyclable materials
• benchmarking current recycling activities and looking at ways to do it better
• establishing an action plan to improve recycling
• monitoring performance
• making recycling bins at least as accessible as bins for waste going to landfill

It's helpful to work with suppliers of equipment, materials and consumables so that they understand your business' policy on environmental issues. This will encourage suppliers to source and supply products that meet your requirements - see buying sustainable goods and services and how to reduce the environmental impact of your supply chain.

Finding a recycling contractor for your office waste

In order to find a waste contractor to suit your office recycling requirements, you should ask yourself the following questions:

• What materials will you recycle?
• Will you need the materials to be collected by the waste contractor, or can you drop them off at a facility?
• Is the service suitable for the size of your business? If you produce very little waste, you may not need a weekly scheduled collection.
• How will you collect and store the materials for recycling?
• How will you pay for the service? For example, is there an annual charge or a fee each time the containers are emptied?
• What types of paper can be collected - office paper only or mixed paper, shredded and confidential papers?

Find information about licensed waste sites in Northern Ireland.

What are my legal responsibilities for office waste?

If you produce waste in your business, you must take reasonable care to store it safely and securely and prevent it from causing pollution or harming anyone - this is your duty of care for business waste.

Many businesses with offices are unaware of how much water they use, even when they have a meter. However, there are opportunities for substantial reductions in water use, particularly in washrooms, as this accounts for around 65 per cent of water use in the average office.

How to reduce office water use

Reducing office water use is relatively easy, and you can achieve many savings at relatively little cost. You can cut down on the amount of water, and associated waste and energy costs by:

• establishing a baseline of what your business is using currently, and highlighting ways to achieve immediate reductions
• considering water efficiency when you buy new equipment for your office
• looking into the costs of automatic-flush systems for toilets, automatic water-delivery systems for wash basins, push-button taps, smaller cisterns, etc - it may be worth replacing older equipment to achieve cost savings in the longer term
• monitoring the system for leaks or for dripping taps

For more information see how to save water at commercial premises and monitor your water use.

Reducing energy is one of the biggest opportunities to cut costs and lower environmental impact in most offices. With good practice you may find it possible to reduce your office's energy costs by half.

How to reduce office energy use

The following top tips may help you cut your bills immediately:

• Compare energy tariffs from different suppliers to check whether you can change to a cheaper rate. However, to get longer term benefits you should cut energy use rather than just buying at lower prices.
• Introduce a daylight policy and end-of-day and end-of-week policies to switch off lights, computer monitors, office equipment and machinery.
• Switch to energy-efficient lighting, insulation and draft exclusion systems where you can.
• Encourage your employees to save energy.
• Check energy requirements before you buy any new equipment - then take the running charges into account when looking at the total cost of ownership. Think about how much heat new equipment could produce too and whether it could increase your air conditioning bills.
• Make sure that all your office equipment is properly maintained and operates at peak efficiency.

For more energy-efficiency advice, see office equipment and energy efficiency.

Many businesses, driven by a growing desire to operate sustainably and responsibly, want to invest in remanufactured and reused office products. These are an easy way to reduce your business' impact on the environment.

Remanufactured products can deliver significant savings compared to new products or equivalent products made from recycled materials, as well as being more environmentally friendly. They are also sold with a warranty to match that of a new product, guaranteeing their quality.

Reused products - products that have been repaired, rebuilt or refurbished - also offer the opportunity to use products that retain their material and labour value. This can also give significant cost savings and save quality goods from ending up in landfill.

For help on reducing energy costs from office equipment, see office equipment and energy efficiency.