With headlines warning about the devastating impacts of climate change, business owners are beginning to understand the importance of being green at work. By paying attention to the office supplies that you use and making a few simple changes, you can help to save the planet. A green office helps to reduce carbon emissions, cuts down on the amount of waste going to landfill, and protects the planet's resources for future generations. The key to being green is to follow the 3 Rs: reduce, reuse, recycle. That means reducing the amount of office supplies you use every day in your business, reusing each item as many times as possible before it is thrown out, always purchasing recycled office supplies, and recycling your waste instead of sending it to landfill. One area where all three of these principles can be applied is office printing. You can reduce the amount of paper and ink that is used for printing documents by asking your staff to only print documents if it is completely necessary. Some companies put reminders at the bottom of internal emails, or put signs around the office to remind employees to ask themselves if they really need a printout each time they reach for the print button. It also makes sense to print on both sides of the paper, so ask your IT department to select this as the default setting for all the printers. Inkjet cartridges can be reused, which offers significant environmental benefits, as well as saving money for your business. Instead of buying new cartridges every time the ink runs out and throwing the old ones away, why not use a service that refills your old cartridges and returns them to you to be used again? This is much cheaper than buying expensive new ink cartridges every time you run short of ink, and it also avoids the environmental cost of producing new cartridges and disposing of the old ones. Using recycled paper is a simple way for offices to go green. Recycled paper is made from paper that has already been used. The used paper is shredded and made into a pulp, which is then used to make new paper. When you have finished using the recycled paper, sort it from your other waste and send it to be recycled again. This reduces the amount of trees that are cut down to make paper. Preserving forests is not only good for the animals that live there; it also has a positive effect on the planet as a whole, as trees remove the harmful greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from the air. When you choose office supplies for a green office, your employees working in the office will feel that they are doing their bit to help the environment. This is good for their self-esteem, morale, and productivity. Marketing yourself as a green company will also help to improve your reputation among clients and potential customers. There are so many reasons to go green, but perhaps the most convincing is that it simply makes economic sense. Taking simple steps such as using refilled inkjet cartridges rather than buying new ones will help your business to save money at the same time as saving the planet.