Making your office and workplace more eco friendly needs good planning. It is a fact that many offices are notoriously wasteful and this type of recklessness will more likely extend way beyond the stationery cupboard.

Getting together with your colleagues to talk about green issues in the office is good idea. Running a competition to generate green ideas from colleagues will soon have suggestions rolling in, the prize could even be a tree planted in the grounds in honour of the person who wins.

There are various things that you can do to make your workplace greener:

Make sure you buy your office furniture from the UK to help in your pledge to cut down the power used to transport such items to UK shores.
Look for office furniture that has been made from re-cycled materials.
Switch to green power both at home and at work.
Use natural paints to decorate your home and office.
Look at natural ventilation rather than air conditioning.
Use double sided printing when using photocopiers.
Look at methods of heating water locally.
Ensure all radiators have their own thermostat.

"If your office really is going to be greener it has to make changes that aren't simply cosmetic," says James Niven who has recently changed his own office to fit with green policies. "You need to involve people so they can measure the benefits of decreasing the environmental impact of their work."