The research is pretty strong that adding greenery to your office, whether that’s in your home or out, has all kinds of psychological and physical health benefits. We’re partnering with office furniture retailer Jason L to highlight the many reasons why it’s time for you to install office gardens where you work.

Why Plant Office Gardens?

Get More Work Done
One of the top benefits of being surrounded by greenery is that it increases productivity. Why? Plants are sort of like therapy dogs – you can touch and smell them, and they can have a calming effect on your workspace. The folks at Jason L report that 15% more ideas are generated by people who worked in an office with a garden or surrounded by plants. When you feel better, you work better. It’s as simple as that.

Feel Better
Speaking of feeling better, just think about how uplifting it is to walk into a room that includes some beautiful plants. I immediately feel my blood pressure drop a couple of notches when I see a variety of plants together.

Minimize Discomfort
Research shows that hospital patients tolerate pain better if there is a plant in their room or on their ward. Looking at plants, watering them, taking trimmings can all be very peaceful and meditative.

Breathe Cleaner Air
Indoor plants can remove up to 87% of air toxins in 24 hours. They also absorb carbon dioxide and emit fresh oxygen, says NASA.

Be Creative
From adding a few hanging plants to your space to creating garden walls, the sky is almost literally the limit when it comes to how use use plants to express yourself creatively. You can have desk top plants, floor plants, baskets full of plants, flower boxes, herbs, flowers, fruit trees, terrariums, and more.

Put It To Use
Numerous companies and factories plant garden walls or rooftop gardens as a way to increase insulation and reduce heating and cooling costs, as well as increase employee well-being. These tips will help you figure out if a rooftop garden makes sense where you work.

How to Install Office Gardens

Look at Light
All plants need light, but some need a lot more than others.

A variety of specimens, like golden pathos and peace lilies, that can tolerate very low light levels and even some artificial light.

Others, like spider plants, do much better with more light.

Before you get a plant, take stock of how much light it needs, as well as how much it will get in your space. If those two factors measure up, you’re good to go.

Know the Air Temp
Like light, some plants do better in a cooler space and others want temps much warmer.

If your plant is going to go near a drafty window, skip the orchids and other “hot house” plants.

If the room is hot, think about tropical or desert plants, depending on the humidity.

Consider Humidity
Tropical plants will need to be misted often and watered frequently. Desert plants, just the opposite. In addition to knowing the light exposure and temperature of your space, consider how humid it is and how often plants require watering.

What Do You Like to Look At?
Whatever plants you choose, make sure you enjoy looking at them. If you don’t, you’ll lose interesting in keeping them alive. And no one likes a dead plant!

Here’s the bottom line. People benefit when they work around office plants (or plants in warehouses, factories, and retail outlets). Whether you’re adding greenery to your home office or something larger, you won’t regret bring some foliage into your space.

Thanks to Jason L for these images. You can see their complete infographic on office gardens right here. 

NOTE: Sponsors and partners enable us to bring you the expert content you need to live the greener life you want. All editorial opinions remain our own. 

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In today’s highly competitive landscape, more and more companies are beginning to realize that it makes good business sense to go green. We’ve teamed up with DNEResources.com to provide this checklist to help you determine when your business should contact an energy consulting firm so that when you do move forward, you’re moving in the right direction.

Lower Your Utility Bills

Energy consultants can help negotiate your energy costs by calling suppliers and asking for the best deals. But there are also other ways you can benefit from their services. For example, they can check if your office’s HVAC systems are working efficiently. They can also perform an energy audit to determine how you can reduce energy consumption and lower your utility costs.

Green Your Business

There are many ways to make your business more environmentally friendly. You can switch to post-consumer waste by skipping paper entirely and using biodegradable products in your office. You can power your office with renewable energy. Oftentimes, however, a business manager or owner may not know how to start this project or they simply do not have the time to do it themselves and this is where energy experts come in. They can teach you and your employees green practices, how to utilize energy better, and so on.

Meet Customer Expectations

By opting to take steps to reduce carbon emissions and stick to green practices, you demonstrate to your customers that your company cares about them and the environment. In doing so, not only will you boost your company’s image but you are also adopting sustainable practices that will help your business save money in the long run.

Improve the Workplace Environment

Using green options like green cleaning supplies is beneficial for your employees. This is particularly true for those who suffer from respiratory problems like asthma and other health conditions, since green products do not contain harmful chemicals like nitrobenzene and sodium hypochlorite. By going green, you show to your employees that you are looking after their well-being. This, in turn, fosters loyalty.

Expand Your Business

Energy spending is usually a large part of any company’s budget so by lowering your energy spend with the help of an expert, you’ll be able to allocate your resources to other aspects of your business. With the savings you get from cutting energy costs, you can afford to spend more on marketing, hiring new employees, and so on.

Mitigate Risks

Apart from rising energy costs, there’s also uncertainty in commercial energy supply. Experts are predicting that by 2020, world oil production will have reached its peak. When that time comes, retrievable oil will decline. An energy consultant can help you determine how you can manage risks and help you decide when and how to transition to renewable energy, like wind and solar.

Going green has become straightforward, affordable, and necessary. With the help of an energy consultant, you can effectively plan and implement sustainable practices that will benefit your company as long as it operates.

Note: Sponsors like DNEResources enable us to bring you expert content at no cost to you. Our editorial opinions remain our own.

The post 6 Ways You’ll Know It’s Time to Hire an Energy Consulting Firm appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Eco-friendly. It’s such a buzz word in the world of business these days. But the truth is, many people talk the talk but don’t really walk the walk – simply because they’re don’t know how to get started.

If this sounds like you, take a minute to read this post. With the help of sponsor CityDocs, I’ve pulled together 10 simple ways your enterprise can become a more eco-friendly company.

1) Switch to a Paper Free Office

Just think for a second about the amount of work that goes into making one single piece of paper. The pollution caused by logging. The fumes from factories. The toll that transportation takes on the atmosphere. So, why not do your bit to help reduce the reliance on paper, by switching to a paper-free office? There are many computer programs and systems that can help, plus the Cloud now provides invaluable backup for vital documents.

Don’t Miss: 5 Ways to Reduce Waste Office Paper

2) Outsource Your Printing

Even if you go paperless, you may still need some office printing done for annual reports, event planning, and other special documents. Why not outsource the process to an external company that has the machines capable of getting the job done with minimum waste? Working with a professional printer could also potentially save energy, depending on the size of the job.  Remember to print on both sides of a sheet of paper; print on recycled paper; avoid wasting extra sheets of paper within the job; and printing only the copies you need.

3) Encourage Cycling, Mass Transit, Carpooling, and Telework

Shrink your company’s carbon footprint by encouraging employees to get to work someway other than by their own individual vehicles. Can employees car pool? Use the bus or subway system? Why not encourage staff members to pick up a bike instead? You could even introduce a company scheme whereby you help staff members purchase their bikes, or set up some company accounts so employees can take advantage of local bike-sharing solutions. Of course, letting employees work from home a couple of days a week will also significantly cut down on the amount of oil and gas they need for transportation.

This Can Help: 5 Ways to Cut Costs by Shrinking Your Carbon Footprint

4) Install Recycling Bins

Every business, even the most eco-conscious, will have piles of rubbish to dispose of every day. Most of this rubbish will simply go into a bin, and then get taken away in one swirled mess, including food, paper, cans and plastic. If you install specific recycling bins for separate trash items, though, you’ll be amazed by how many staff members use them. At the very least separate office paper from other trash. If possible, arrange for food waste to be picked up and composted by a community composting program.

5) Create a Company Green Purchasing Club

Especially during the summer growing season, many farmers offer buying clubs to employers to encourage employees to buy locally grown organic food. The farmers will take orders in advance and then deliver the food in bags and boxes to the office so employees can easily take them home.

6) Change Those Lightbulbs!

The trouble with traditional lightbulbs is that they consume a lot of energy and don’t last very long, so you have to keep replacing them. Replace them with high-performance compact fluorescents or even better LEDs. They’ll save significantly more energy and money, and it will be years before you have to replace them.

Good Tips Here: How to Pick the Best Energy-Efficient Light Bulbs

7) Green Web Hosting

Web hosting is an area you probably don’t associate with environmental damage, however the amount of energy used by hosting companies is astronomical! Green web hosting companies use renewable energy and carbon offsets to minimize energy use, while still being competitively priced.

8) Share Office Space or Run a Virtual Office

Do you need your own physical office space and all the resources required to maintain it? Or can you share space with a like-minded company? Perhaps you don’t need office space at all, but can run a virtual operation.

9) Use Environmentally Friendly Cleansers

What do you use to keep your office clean and tidy? Most commercial cleansers rely on some combination of chemicals that can actually make people quite sick – from headaches and dizziness to nausea and worse. Replace conventional products with those that are fragrance-free and non-toxic. Most surfaces can be cleaned with warm water and simple, biodegradable, fragrance-free liquid soap.

Try Green Spring Cleaning with Plant-Based Cleansers

10) Educate Others

While your business might be environmentally friendly, the homes of many staff members probably aren’t. Try to spread your enthusiasm by educating staff members about the small things they can do. This won’t impact your business directly, but it will certainly help the world as a whole!

Do you have any tips yourself to be a more ethical company? Let us know in the comments.

The post 10 Ways to Become an Eco Friendly Company appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Whether you work at home or have a small business, you can have a big environmental impact depending on the paper products and cleaning products you use.

Our sponsor for this post, Dolphin Blue, has pulled together a “Green Office Starter Kit” to make it easier to waste less and create a healthier environment no matter where you work.

What’s included in your Green Office Starter Kit?

• 100% Recycled paper – Producing 1 ton of non-recycled printing and office paper “from scratch” uses 24 trees. Making paper from recycled content saves trees. In fact, says Dolphin Blue, 1 ton (40) cartons of paper made up of 50% postconsumer (already been used) content copier paper saves 12 trees. Plus, it reduces the amount of trash that gets tossed in a landfill. The starter kit includes 1 ream/500 sheets of 100% postconsumer recycled paper.
• Recycled Paper Towels – I generally advocate using reusable sponges rather than paper products to mop up spills. But if you do have to use paper towels, they should be made from postconsumer waste. The 2 rolls of Earth Friendly Products paper towels in the starter kit are made from 100% recycled material, 80% of which is postconsumer (the other 20% may come from paper scraps that were never used, but were incorporated into the paper towels rather than thrown away).
• Facial Tissue – If a cloth hankie won’t do, at least choose facial tissues made from 100% recycled paper, as are the three Seventh Generation boxes included in Dolphin Blue’s kit.
• Trash Bags – The trash bags in the kit are the tall 13-gallon variety, and made from 97% postconsumer recycled material.

Safe Cleaning Products

Many cleaning products contain potent chemicals that leave behind annoying fragrances or residues that can irritate our lungs and eyes and make us cranky and irritable. The best cleaning products do the job without making people sick. The Green Office Starter Kit includes:

• Hand Soap – This Better Life No Regrets Soap is made from purified waters and plant-based ingredients, without sulfates, synthetic fragrances or dyes, parabens, phthalates or triclosan. It has not been tested on animals, either.
• All Purpose Cleaner – The Better Life what-EVER all purpose cleaner works on any washable non-porous surface, including countertops, appliances, sinks, toilets, walls, baseboards, floors, tables, chairs, showers and tubs. You can order it unscented or lightly scented with sage and citrus. 99.99% of the ingredients are derived from plants.

You can see additional green office products, including printer ink and toner, calendars and planners, and filefolders at the Dolphin Blue website.

Sponsor: Dolphin Blue bills itself as “the first and only online ALL-green general store.” It was founded in 1994 on the belief that “we can all be responsible in what we use.” The company’s products contain a minimum of 20% post consumer recycled material whenever possible and are manufactured with a minimal carbon footprint. In addition to eco-friendly production, Dolphin Blue provides a portion of its profits annually to local chapters of environmental non-profit organizations. The company’s mission statement says it all: “To serve as your trusted source of the world’s most environmentally and socially responsible products – to assure your well being and a healthy, sustainable planet.” For more information, call 1-800-932-7715 or contact Dolphin Blue here.

The post The Green Office Starter Kit Will Help You Waste Less, Breathe Better appeared first on Big Green Purse.

• Flying or driving and staying in hotels uses lots of energy, which inevitably generates carbon dioxide that contributes to climate change plus air pollutants that lead to smog.

• In-person meetings are often littered with excessive paper documents, plastic bottles of water, and refreshments served on paper and plastic that can’t be recycled.

• Food waste is another big issue; most conference organizers order much more food than can be consumed by the attendees. When the meeting is over, those extra sandwiches, cookies, casseroles, salads and apples usually end up in the trash.

No wonder video conferencing is increasingly becoming an energy-smart, economically viable and environmentally-friendly way to “attend” or sponsor a meeting. We’ve partnered with BlueJeans Video Conferencing to raise awareness on this issue by highlighting…

5 Ways Video Conferencing Protects the Environment

1) Save Energy – According to a report commissioned by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and sponsored by AT&T, video conferencing can avoid millions of metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. For example, the study looked at businesses based in the United States and the United Kingdom with annual revenues of more than $1 billion. Their analysis showed that teleconferencing could cut nearly 5.5 million metric tons of CO2 emissions by 2020 with broad adoption of teleconferencing. That’s like taking one million passenger vehicles off the road.  Mobile video conferencing solutions like those provided by Blue Jeans Video Conferencing help reduce the power requirements of the technology even further. In 2014, businesses are no longer limited to using video conference software in just a conference room or boardroom. With software available on your mobile device or computer, face-to-face communication between co-workers, or co-workers and clients, is easily possible.

2) Reduce Paper, Printer Ink and Toner —  Reducing paper consumption is another significant bonus. Rather than print out paper documents for each in-person attendee, agendas, memos, reports, edits and recommendations can be shared digitally, eliminating the need for any paper at all. Every piece of paper you don’t use is not only money saved, notes the Natural Resources Defense Council, but also energy and effort saved.

3) Skip Plastic –  Most conferences make sure all attendees have an unlimited supply of bottled water. But what happens to all those throwaway bottles when the conference is over? When you’re sitting in on a teleconference, you’re more likely to use a water glass or reusable mug.

4) Limit Food Waste –  Most conferences end up providing two or three meals per day, plus snacks and a cocktail hour of some sort. Ideally, the leftovers would be picked up by a soup kitchen or food bank. More often, they’re just thrown away. If you’re sitting in on a teleconference at your desk at home or in the office, you’re probably eating what you’d normally have, and wrapping up the leftovers for the next day.

5) Save Time and Increase Flexibility –  One big benefit of video conferencing that has less to do with the environment than with overall quality of life is that it saves so much time. How often have you traveled 24 or 48 hours for a meeting that lasts no more than 8? Especially if you have small children, a growing business that’s hard to leave, or other professional or personal obligations, being able to attend a meeting virtually without having to leave home or the office can reduce stress while still allowing you to meet your obligations. Plus, another significant advantage of video conferencing is the flexibility it allows when unexpected circumstances require people to exchange information “in person” but at the last minute. It’s far easier and more cost-effective to arrange a video conference when an emergency arises.

Wrap-Up

Whether you’re motivated to reduce your environmental impact, save money and time, or increase flexibility, adopting some form of video conferencing is a great way to get started.

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