Environmental Policy

Environmental Policy

Please aslo have a read of our Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Policy statement

Here in the serversoftwareshop.com office we act to minimise our impact on the environment. We do this because

• It’s everybody’s moral obligation to do so and we will always lead by example
• It’s good to feel we are doing something positive and working for a company that genuinely cares
• And lets be honest it safes us money as well

The following is the policy we issue to all serversoftwareshop.com staff:

REDUCING WASTE

Recycling is good, but not generating the waste in the first place is even better! Doing so also saves us money, and this is ultimately in everyone’s interest.

• Re-use paper - rather than ordering a new notepad, please keep used paper for general jottings.
• Stationery - Ensure you check the back of your drawer before ordering stationery. Give any excess stuff to the person responsible for ordering stationery in your department who will put it back into circulation.
• Stop printing! Think: do you really need to? Try to avoid printing every document and try filing electronically on the system – it is often easier to locate files and it keeps your desk clear!
• Print double sided where you can – reducing the font size or margins can save pages too
• Use the larger printers: they are more energy efficient
• Disposable cutlery / plates: please don’t use these – we have plenty of glasses and plates for most occasions
• Consider how much water you use - do you leave the tap running....OK, so it’s raining all the time and you may not feel the need to save water but our overconsumption means that most of the water we use is ‘recycled’ and has passed through a few people on its way to you. Water processing also uses a lot of energy.

In general, look at ways you can reduce the amount of waste generated by your department and by yourself. Is there a more efficient way of doing things? - eg using email rather than writing letters; it may not always be appropriate but it is quicker and saves paper and postage.

RECYCLING

Why recycle? Because we’re filling up too much of the country with ugly landfill sites. At serversoftwareshop.com we recycle pretty much everything we can, from old brochures to old computer equipment.

Here’s the list of what we recycle in the office:

• Paper, including newspapers, magazines, envelopes
• Any cardboard, including food packaging
• Glass jars / bottles
• Food and drinks cans
• Plastic bottles, including tops
• Milk bottle tops
• Plastic food (and other) packaging
• Carrier bags
• Plastic magazine / brochure sleeves
• Foil
• Stamps
• Mobile phones
• Toner cartridges
• Computers
• Old brochures
• CD's (make very good cup place mats)

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

The serversoftwareshop.com office is not the most modern building, but we work with what we have to try to be efficient! You wouldn’t leave all the lights / heating on in every room at home would you? No! You’d try to reduce your bills? Yes! We try to do the same here…

• Lighting: Please consider whether you need the light on or not. We’ve tried to reduce the number of strips in the fixtures to use less electricity
• Heating: Heating is turned on once we feel the temperature warrants it. It can be regulated by individual thermostats on radiators – please turn off heaters rather than open windows if it is too hot.
• Air Conditioning: This is often necessary but hugely energy guzzling, so be a/c wise!! It must be kept set at 23 degrees so don’t tamper with the settings; all units must be on and all windows closed, otherwise you are wasting a lot of energy! Please get the consensus of your colleagues before you put the a/c on. Some parts of the building have very different temperatures; but a lot of the time, opening a window creates just as good an effect. A/C is on timers but please do turn off the system at the end of the day.
• PCs: switch your monitor off at night as this saves electricity and reduces the fire risk
• Kettle - only boil what you need as it will save you energy.
• Turn your computer off when not using it; leaving it on stand-by uses more electricity. Unplug it too as it could be a fire risk.

As yet we don’t use eco-cleaning products but are looking into it.

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