"Going Green Lucky 7"

1. Cut Down - Cutting down on consumption and waste of all kinds is one of the easiest and most effective ways to Go Green! 
• Use both sides of paper whenever possible.
• Send more emails (using NO paper at all!) and file documents electronically.
• Buy paper and other goods made of recycled materials and always recycle items you have used. Check with your recycling coordinator to see what can be recycled, you may be surprised!
• Restaurants can donate leftover food to an aid organization (also counts as a tax deduction) or send food scraps to composting facilities rather than land fills.

2. It's Electric! Saving electricity is less about making big efforts and more about subtle changes and forming habits in your daily routine. Try these:
• Shut the lights off when you leave a room.
• Start using energy efficient light bulbs.
• Turn off equipment when not in use. Plug electronics that get shut off or that are not frequently used into power strips. Shut the power strip off in and the device to avoid "phantom energy" usage.
• In the summer, adjust your room thermostat and water heater to two degrees warmer, in the 
winter, two degrees cooler. You'll never know, but the environment will!
• Install a programmable thermostat in your home or office and you won’t ever have to 
remember to turn down the heat when you leave for the day!

3. Go Non-Toxic
• Buying non-toxic cleaners and pesticides is not only better for the environment, but for your personal health and safety. 

4. Be Smarter about Packaging. Eliminating some of the plastic and/or paper you use to drink water and soft drinks is a huge help. Here's how: 
• Encourage reusable cups and bottles.
• Instead of bottled water, get the large water coolers, or, even cheaper, buy a water filter that screws onto your faucet! (The water tastes exactly the same.)

5. Buy Local. From food to toys, staying local benefits everyone, and this is why:
• Supporting local farmers and local storeowners strengthens your local economy.
• Less energy is consumed because of the shorter distances traveled!

6. Quality AND Quantity
• This one is easy. Buy in bulk whenever possible, especially things like office supplies, which use a lot of packaging when purchased individually, and will keep as long as you have a place to store them!

7. Learn something new every day
• The most important thing in making efforts to go green is to continue learning about new ways to do so, and to keep up on important topics! Here are some great resources to keep the green knowledge tree growing: www.newburyportseed.org , www.thegreenguide.com

Download the Lucky 7 PDF and post it in your place of business!

"Green" Links
www.ecocollaborative.org
City of Newburyport Recycling Brochure (pdf)
www.newburyportseed.org
www.thegreenguide.com