Audits

An absolutely excellent audit for small businesses is available at Greening the Office, FOE Scotland's own audit. Their Online Audit is designed to answer questions about environmentally friendly products: whether it is really worth recycling and how to go about greening the office. It is aimed at those putting green office policy into practice and those who want to protect the environment but may not have the time or the money to immediately overhaul the workplace.

Computers

Always switch off at the wall at the end of the day, or if leaving the computer for an appointment or lunch.

If it is still switched on at the wall your computer will guzzle energy, even when you have turned it off from Windows. Leaving a computer “turned-off” but not switched off at the wall can consume as much electricity in a day as leaving a 60 watt ordinary light bulb on for 4 hours. You wouldn't do that, would you?

Worried your computer will takes too long to start-up if you switch it off? Hibernate is the answer! Follow the instructions below and you’ll find your computer starts up much more quickly, with all previously open programs and documents ready for immediate use.

These tips will help make your computer a lean, mean machine.

Tips:

• Set the power options for your computer as follows;

1. Right click on your desktop, select 'properties', then 'screensaver'.
2. Set screensaver to 'blank' and 'wait' to 1 minute.
3. Then click 'power' and set the following options
4. Turn off monitor after 1 min
5. Turn off hard disks after 10 mins
6. System standby after 5 mins
7. Hibernate after 10 mins
8. Then click the 'hibernate' tag and ensure that hibernate is enabled.

Don't forget to click the final OK.

• Turn off your screen whenever you leave your desk 
• When you are leaving the computer for more than a few minutes, go into HIBERNATE and then switch off at the wall. You do not need to close down any applications you are working in. From the Start menu, take the normal ‘turn off computer’ option. Then on the next screen, hold down the 'shift' key and press the yellow standby/hibernate button.
• When the computer has powered down (normally a few seconds), switch off the power on the screen and at the wall on the supply to the computer itself. The work you have been doing will be saved in a special place, and will be available when you start up again.

And Voilá! - a supersaving office!