With oil priced around $110 a barrel, and energy prices going up, now would be a good time to change some behaviours that are good for both your company’s energy bill and Mother Earth. Here are some great tips. 

There are several small changes that you can make to easily reduce your energy consumption in the office. Computers and related technologies account for 3-4% of the world's carbon emissions, according to a recent report by Global Action Plan. So changing a light bulb, a fairly simple task, can have a substantial effect on energy consumption. These efforts add up to make a large difference. Here are our 14 top tips: 

1. Use energy saving light bulbs, as lighting counts for 5-10% of total energy use. 
2. Remove dirt and grease from the bulbs, you can dramatically increase the output of your lights. 
3. Turn off lights in empty rooms. 
4. Turn heating or air conditioning on only when the office is occupied. 
5.  Don’t use standby mode on your electronic devices. Turning them off is much more efficient. 
6.  Laptops can use up to 80% less energy than a standard desktop computer. 
7.  Switch off computer monitors when not needed, especially high-consumption LCD monitors. 
8.  Use email wherever possible as an alternative to printed documents. 
9.  If you need to have documents, print on both sides of the paper. 
10. Printers with automatic "power down" features can reduce electricity use by over 65%.
11. Use the stairs to burn natural energy. 
12. Cover any drafts coming from windows or doors. 
13. Hold meetings online when possible, not in the office. 
14. Unplug phone chargers once the battery is full.