Becoming environmentally friendly is the new 'way to go' and is sweeping the globe at a phenomenal rate. The entire world seems to be dedicated to going green. More and more of us are taking responsibility for our carbon footprint and are constantly looking for ways to reduce the drain on our depleting environment.

Cars, food, household items, clothing and offices have all joined forces to help save the planet and save time and money in the process. Going green does not have to mean making big sacrifices or settling for second best. There are many ways that we can contribute to making the world a safer place. Small changes around the office can easily make your working environment eco-friendly and time saving.

Many companies shrug off the idea of a greener office as they feel it will involve too much planning but with a few easy changes, a greener office will develop naturally without little implementation on your part.

Arrange for recycle bins to be scattered throughout the office. A lot of employees prefer to enjoy a packed lunch at their desk, others pop out to the local store to pick up a few bits to take back to the office. Paper bags, tin cans, napkins are all items which can be recycled. A lot of employees will also buy a morning newspaper, which is of little value at the end of the day and can end up in the litter bin instead of being recycled. Going green can be a completely effortless task but make a big difference long term.

Another way that office workers could go green and save time and money is to arrange a carpool. Not only will your staff save on the cost of petrol but they will save money and time as there is less likelihood of individuals being late. Plus car sharing will help the environment in the process and could form some good 'out of work hours', staff bonding.

By managing time effectively, you could also make the office run greener. If you find that most of your working week is taken up with running errands or making deliveries, re-arrange your diary so as you drive less and condense your 'out and about' time to a day or two a week rather than losing most of your productive time stuck in traffic. Plan your route so as the furthest journeys are completed first and deliveries or clients which are on your route home can be rounded up as you head home.

This could even be taken one step further and meetings or training could be carried out online in the form of teleconferencing. This will eliminate travel costs, carbon emissions and travel time as staff training or discussions could be held online.

How technologically savvy is your office? Are you truly using your computer whizz kids to their advantage or are you still wading through filing cabinets and wasting time sifting through lever arch files for important documents? Save space and save time by throwing away those bulky awkward metal cabinets and replace them with some green, leafy plants. Live plants are great for absorbing any negativity within the office and they bring a touch of Mother Nature to the inside world. Less than 10% of businesses take advantage of 'Document Management', which electronically scans archived or current documents and stores them on your computer, ready for you to access without even having to stand up from your chair! Statistics show that office staff squander up to 50 hours per person, per annum accessing a paper filing system. Yes going green, really can manage your time, save on paper and create some beautiful trees in the process!

What about documents that you need to sign? Paper documents are time consuming and a further drain on resources as they have to be sent through the post. No need to waste time or money in a green office. Documents which need a signature can be signed online and returned instantly. There are several ways to do this. For example, you could scan your handwritten signature and save it as a graphic in Microsoft Word via AutoText. To imprint your scanned signature, you simply need to decide where you would like it to go, type in the name of the saved Auto Text entry and press the F3 key. For PDFs, you could use a custom stamp using Acrobat 8 or a higher version. With this software you simply save your signature, call it up and insert it where it is needed.

Another time saving and effective time management technique is to ask different departments within the office to correspond to staff via email rather than internal post. This not only saves on paper but also time and money and produces a faster response rate from staff. In turn, it cuts down on the expensive use of a photocopier and reduces paper usage, thus, freeing up staff to implement their time and skills into much more profitable areas.

These are just a few ways that a greener office can make positive use of your time management. Why not ask around for other ways to make the office an environmentally friendly zone. Make it a mission to make every work day, earth day and reap the rewards of giving the world the most precious gift of time.