Introduction
Welcome to Pennsylvania's
Green at Work
guide. It was written to help make
greening office operations easy for all Commonwealth agencies by offering
standardized information and references.
In it, you'll find ways to green your
office by making simple changes to the way that you approach your facilities, office
supplies, recycling, equipment use, meetings, and other day-to-day workplace
activities. You'll also find a pullout poster that lists the key things that you need to
do for a green office, making greening even easier.
Individuals and agencies across Pennsylvania have shown their commitment to being
green through a variety of activities. Last year, Commonwealth agencies recycled
7005 tons of office, scrap, and computer paper as well as turnpike toll tickets and
cardboard. They also recycled 31.5 tons of plastic containers and 9,300 tons of
glass, bimetal and aluminum cans, brass, lead, and scrap metal. In greening their
automotive maintenance activities, agencies reclaimed 9,675 gallons of waste oil,
2,980 gallons of diesel fuel, and 1,720 gallons of antifreeze. As part of the green
furnishings program, over 10,800 cubic yards of nylon carpet were recycled when
replaced. Here are just a few of them
The Importance of Choices
It is hard to believe that turning on the lights, printing out a page, or even making a
photocopy can contribute to such environmental problems as deforestation and
global warming. However, simple workplace activities like these have impacts that
are not visible to us and that may extend beyond our life times. Whether we are
aware of them or not, the choices that we make in buying products, how we use
them, and how we get rid of them have environmental impacts that are often
negative.
Global warming is one example. Global warming occurs when extra carbon dioxide
and other "greenhouse gases" move into the atmosphere and Earth's temperatures
go up as a result. Carbon dioxide is found in green plants, especially trees, and in
fossil fuels, like coal, oil, and gas. Although Earth's temperatures change naturally,
activities like cutting down trees for paper and wood and burning fossil fuels for
energy intensify and quicken the process. So, the more fossil fuel energy we use
and the more paper products we buy, the more we contribute to global warming.
In order to make more environmentally friendly choices at work, it helps to think
about the life cycles of the products that we use. Product life cycles generally
begin with the extraction of raw materials that are, then, transported to
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