Reduce paper consumption

Did you know?
Paper manufacturing is one of the top five energy-consuming industries.
Huge quantities of water are also required to manufacture paper. To produce ever whiter paper, the industry uses chemical products.
Paper accounts for three quarters of waste produced by office. It takes an average of two tonnes of wood to make one tonne of paper.
In the office, each of us consumes between 30 and 75 kg of paper a year.

Eight ways to reduce paper consumption

• Try to send documents electronically wherever possible
• Don’t automatically print out your documents and emails
• Limit the number of copies you make of documents
• If you have to print something out, print it in black and white and use your printer’s economy mode
• Wherever possible, use the reduce function on photocopiers to print two pages on a single sheet of paper
• Print documents double sided
• Use the reverse sides of your old documents as rough paper
• Sort your waste to ensure that as much paper as possible is recycled

And other waste...

• Sort your waste: glass goes in the green bins, magazines and newspapers in the blue bins, and packaging in the yellow bins
• Dispose of used batteries at the special collection points
• Don’t throw leftover paint, waste solvents or oils down the toilet or the sink, take them to the collection point (SMA in Monaco)

Reduce energy consumption

Did you know?
Using too much energy contributes to an increase in atmospheric pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
Electrical devices still consume energy in standby mode: a desktop computer and monitor consume between 80 and 200 watts when operating, and between 20 and 60 watts while on standby… Switch them off, and they don’t consume anything.

Eight ways to reduce energy consumption

• Switch off your monitor whenever you are away for a little while (attending a meeting, having lunch, etc.)
• At the end of the day, switch off all IT equipment, including monitors, CPUs, printers, etc.
• Switch off lights when rooms are unoccupied
• Avoid switching neon lights on and off repeatedly
• Switch off all lights at the end of the day
• To the extent possible, set up your desk perpendicular to the window to make best use of natural light
• Switch off heating or air conditioning to ventilate your office or when you leave it
• Set the air conditioning thermostat to 23°C, no lower!

And at home...

• Opt for low-energy bulbs
• Switch off electrical devices when not in use

Use email and the Internet wisely 

Emailing and browsing the Internet also consume electricity.

Six tips to reduce this consumption:

• Cut down the number of addressees (for example, avoid the use of ‘reply all’ unless justified)
• Reduce the amount of time you spend reading on screen
• Limit the number and size of attachments
• Limit the number of emails you store
• Avoid systematic use of a search engine (bookmark favourite websites, enter urls directly into your browser, etc.)
• Use precise key words and target your searches

Reduce your water consumption

Did you know?
Just 0.3% of the world’s fresh water is genuinely usable. That’s 0.07% of all water on the planet.
Leaks are expensive: a leaking tap results in a loss equivalent to 35 cubic metres of water a year, while a running toilet loses 250 cubic metres over the course of a year.
In an office building, water consumption is between 15 and 20 litres per person per day.

Six ways to reduce your water consumption

• Don’t leave water running unnecessarily while washing your hands
• Regulate water temperature without wasting hot water
• Make sure that taps are properly turned off and not dripping
• Alert the maintenance service if you spot problems such as a leak
• Use the eco option to flush the toilet
• Choose biodegradable cleaning products and don’t dispose of toxic products down the drain

And at home...

• Opt for showers instead of baths
• Only use dishwashers and washing machines when full