You would hire a plumber to fix your pipes, right? Make your life easy. There are several do it yourself tips you can do to help you reduce your energy useage. Otherwise you can call your energy company (depending on who they are) or call a Professional Energy Auditor to ask for a professional energy assessment of your business. They’ll come out, poke around, and figure out where you’re wasting energy. All while you have a cup of coffee and daydream about the cash you’re going to save.

There are many excellent resources available for the macro issues surrounding building operations: energy-efficiency, water-efficiency, waste reduction and recycling, and indoor air quality, to name a few. However, a company’s physical location is probably the most resource-intensive part of business operations. Working to improve resource use through improved lease agreements, well-managed recycling and waste management programs, attention to energy and water use, and education for facility managers are part of every company’s path toward green operations.

Energy Efficiency

Reducing energy use in an office can be as simple as adopting a few day-to-day changes in employee behavior, including turning off lights when not in use, putting computers to sleep and turning off non-critical machines when not in use, adjusting settings to low-power use on existing office equipment (including refrigeration, HVAC, etc.), adjusting the thermostat  for moderate seasonal temperatures indoors (the office should be warmer in summer and cooler in winter), and by using task lighting, rather than overhead systems when offices are over-lit.

Going beyond simple measures, companies may invest in limited technology improvements, such as occupancy sensors that turn lights off automatically in unused rooms, replacing office equipment with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Energy Star–rated products. For companies willing and able to sink capital investment into a facility, major energy savings can be accomplished by working with property owners to replace overhead lighting with more efficient systems, have the building’s energy systems commissioned and improve heating and cooling efficiency through building renovation and technology.

Information by Sustainable Industries