Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce


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Links to Help Your Home and Business Go Green http://www.co.freeborn.mn.us/environmental/default.aspx *Freeborn County Environmental Services website with links to Minnesota Waste Wise,* *Recycle More Minnesota, Resource Recycling and more.* http://www.fmcs.coop/rebates.htm *Freeborn-Mower Cooperative Services website with information on their rebate and energy services programs.* www.thinkgreen.com *Waste Management website with information on recycling, promoting sustainability,* *and being good neighbors with each other and the environment that we share.* http://www.cityofalbertlea.org/?page_id=2504 *The City of Albert Lea’s Green Initiative containing a list of energy conservation and environmentally* *friendly practices which the City Manager has implemented throughout the city’s operations.* http://www.alliantenergy.com/index.htm *Visit Alliant Energy's home page and click the "environment" tab for business and residential savings* www.lowimpactliving.com/blog/2008/01/05/make-your-office-green/ Low Impact Living will help you find green products, practices and service providers to help you achieve your environmental goals. They will also help you understand the environmental benefits and economic trade-offs of your choices. *Their primary goal is to make the path from inspiration to implementation as short and as smooth as possible.* www.newgreenideas.com/ New Green Ideas can help you find books, gifts, and merchants. There are resources for health, home, office, garden and energy. www.wkyt.com/projectgreen/misc/17479814.html Kentucky’s Project Green webpage contains tips for home, office, energy, outdoors, and more. www.learnshareact.com/ *Learn Share Act* *is an open podium to share your ideas on life and the care of our planet.* *Learn from others, share with others and act on your convictions.* http://earth911.com/ Information that you need to know about reducing your impact, reusing what you’ve got and recycling your trash. *Get involved in our world by checking in for* daily news, reading weekly feature stories, surfing product channels and opting into our weekly emails. http://www.co.freeborn.mn.us/environmental/default.aspx *Freeborn County Environmental Services website with links to Minnesota Waste Wise,* *Recycle More Minnesota, Resource Recycling and more.* http://www.fmcs.coop/rebates.htm *Freeborn-Mower Cooperative Services website with information on their rebate and energy services programs.* www.thinkgreen.com *Waste Management website with information on recycling, promoting sustainability,* *and being good neighbors with each other and the environment that we share.* http://www.cityofalbertlea.org/?page_id=2504 *The City of Albert Lea’s Green Initiative containing a list of energy conservation and environmentally* *friendly practices which the City Manager has implemented throughout the city’s operations.* http://www.alliantenergy.com/index.htm *Visit Alliant Energy's home page and click the "environment" tab for business and residential savings* Twenty Easy Ideas for a Green Office Here is a list of items we can all do easily in order to make our office environments "green." Set up an intranet, which are Web pages on your private network. Use these to electronically store items like firm policies and procedures, human relations documents, employee benefits, phone directories, and other internal documents. Use e-mail instead of mail delivery services. Review documents online instead of printing them out. Use Microsoft^® Word's Track Changes feature when editing a document that was written by someone else. It allows the originator to see the changes, deletions, and additions that were made to the document. Each editor is assigned a different color, so multiple editors are easy to track. Bank and pay bills online. Encourage employees to use payroll direct deposit. Just like mom said, turn off the lights when you leave. And shut down your printers, faxes and computers. Review your energy use. If possible, use laptop computers rather than desktop computers. Energy Star models use up to 90% less energy. Stock your office’s kitchen with reusable ceramic plates and mugs rather than paper. Refer clients to your Web site instead of sending out brochures. Use software to develop electronic work papers and/or to setup an imaging and document management system. Change all newspaper and magazine subscriptions from paper to online versions. Actively reduce and manage junk mail. Ask to be taken off all direct mail lists. Do this for home and work addresses. After about three months, you should notice a big difference in your mail volume. Receive faxes electronically. Send clients your newsletter via e-mail instead of paper. Get smart about recycling. Look at what your company consumes and find ways to recycle, reduce, and reuse. Offer to send bills via e-mail or fax instead of mail to clients who will accept it. Make sure you’re using compact fluorescent or LED lights throughout the office. Get lighting motion sensors for offices, conference rooms and bathrooms.
Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce 701 Marshall Street Albert Lea, MN 56007 Phone: 507.373.3938 Fax: 507.373.0344 Email: alfccoc@albertlea.org

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Twenty Easy Ideas for a Green Office