Green Your Office

10 Ways to Green Your Office

Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

1. Turn off your office lights, printers, computer monitors and other electronics when out of the office. Use a power strip to turn off multiple electronics.

2. If you see a room that is being heated/cooled and no one is using the space, call 609-258-5890 or email [email protected] to let Facilities know. They can remotely turn off the heating/cooling in many buildings. When scheduled, rooms are fully heated or cooled in preparation. Only schedule rooms for times when they are needed, and be sure to cancel if the room is no longer needed!

3. Follow the University’s heating and cooling guidelines and live within the "Tiger Zone" - heat to 68 F/20 C in the winter and cool to 78 F/26 C in the summer (if air conditioning is available)

tiger zone card

Reduce Water Usage

4. See a drippy faucet, call 609-258-8000! A faucet that drips 60 drips per minute wastes or 5 gallons of water a day. That's 2,082 gallons per year. 

dripping faucet

Increase Commuters Using Alternatives to Single-Occupancy Vehicles

5. Take advantage of Princeton's transportation incentives for bike/walk, carpool, van pool, or mass transit through the Revise Your Ride program.

revise your ride infographic

Reduce Waste and Expand Sustainable Purchasing 

6. Follow the University's Recycling Guidelines for recycling and Zero Waste Guide for ways to reduce waste in your office.

7. Read our Sustainable Event Guidelines for tips on greening your event including: purchasing sustainable food and beverages, avoiding single-use disposable food service items, preventing food waste and reflecting sustainability in event communications and materials.

8. Avoid single-use plastic at events and meetings by providing filtered water in pitchers and consider infusing it with slices of organic fruit ("spa water") and/or use signage to direct people to the nearest filtered water fountain.

9. Before purchasing new office furniture or equipment, consider used items from Resource Recovery, free for all University Departments.

warehouse with furniture and other office supplies

10. Order environmentally preferable office products in Prime's Marketplace. Look for "Green Items" and "Recycled" in the search bar/product description.

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