Protecting Our Environment It's Easy Being Green At Work (NAPSA)—Americans are becoming more environmentally conscious at home. Things such as recycling and fluorescent energysaving lightbulbs have become quite common in U.S. households. However, fewer people are taking those eco-friendly practices into the workplace. Give your computer a pow- er nap: Most computers come with an energy-saving feature that automatically puts your computer into “sleep” mode after a set amount of time if you’re not using it. Studies show that 50 to 80 percent of computersare not set to go A Harris Interactive survey found that while 92 percent of U.S. workers turn off lights when they leave a room at home, only 52 percent do the same at work. The study also found that by not turning off lights and computers after use, workers put 32 million tons of CO, into the atmosphere—that’s the same as putting 6.1 million new cars on the road. “You don’t have to have ‘eco’ in yourjob title to make a difference,” says Dave Douglas, Sun Microsystems Vice President of Eco Responsibility. “Individual employees are often in the best position to understand how day-to-day operations impact the planet—like whether excessive amounts of paper are being used in product packaging, or whetherrecycle bins are placed where they will be used most. Enlightened managers will appreciate these suggestions because eco-friendly ideas often save To save energy for your firm and for the planet, consider turning off the overhead lights and using natural light or a desk lamp. money, which means a win for the company, too.” Here are some quick, easy steps that can make a difference for your company and theplanet. Try using natural light: If your office is too dark, try a reading light. The average reading light consumes about 60 watts— muchless than overheadlighting. Dump yourscreen saver: If you still have one of those screen savers that move—whethera psychedelic one or something more tame—you should know these can consume as much energy as when your computeris in use. into “sleep” mode. With a few clicks, you can set up your computer to go to sleep, or just ask your IT departmentto help you. Kill the space heater: When the weather is warm, manyoffices can be over-air-conditioned and cause workersto run space heaters. Space heaters can consume up to 1,500 watts of power and drive up energy usage. If wearing a sweater doesn’t work, contact your office manageror facilities team to get to the root of the problem. Here’s an example of how easy it can be to make a difference: Because employees remembered to shut lights and computers before they left for the company’s weeklong December holiday, Sun Microsystemssaved over $100,000 in energy costs. That was enough energy to power 75 households for a year. For more energy-saving tips, visit http://www.sun.com/about sun/media/presskits/ecoresponsi bility/cooling_tips.jsp.
