In the Office

Much of the work involved in screen production is office-based. As with any business there are environmental impacts associated with the day-to-day activities of an office. These are usually energy use, transportation, waste generation in particular electronic waste, and water consumption. Screen production offices are no different. Below are suggestions for improving the sustainability of your office.

Energy: equipment and appliances

Monitor your power consumption. Take meter readings or check you bill for your actual kilo watt hours (kWh) consumption. Use this has a benchmark to measure energy efficiency initiatives.
When buying or leasing any appliance or electronic equipment always choose models with excellent energy efficiency ratings or labels such as the Energy StarŪ label. Energy efficient appliances and equipment may cost more upfront, but will be offset with energy savings.
Don't use screen savers, instead set your computer to power save mode when not in use for a designated period of time e.g. 15 minutes or simply switch the monitor off.
Turn off computers, monitors, printers and photocopiers when not in use, overnight and on weekends. If unable to switch off the entire computer, turn off the monitor and printer. Also unplug mobile phone and camera charges when not in use.
Ensure all other equipment that has a stand-by mode is either unplugged or switched off at the wall when not in use.
If you have refrigerators in the office ensure they operate efficiently by defrosting regularly and check that they are set to the optimum temperature.
Close exterior windows and doors when you are using heating or air conditioning.
If your office is medium to large size an energy audit can be a cost effective option for identifying other opportunities for reducing total energy consumption that are specific to your situation.


Energy StarŪ is the global mark of energy efficiency, only awarded to the top 25% most energy efficient appliances. By choosing Energy Star appliances, you have an assurance that you are choosing the most efficient option available at the time of purchase.
A photocopier left on overnight uses enough energy to make over 5,000 photocopies.
Laptop computers use up to 90% less energy than desktops.
Typically up to 95% of the energy used in mobile phone chargers is wasted.
New Zealanders waste more electricity keeping appliances on stand-by than actually using them. It is estimated this costs NZ$100 million annually.
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