If you work full-time in from home office, you are already doing a good thing for the planet by avoiding a daily commute. Driving to work, and even taking public transportation, can add carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. In 2007, one telecommuting program consisting of 3,609 home worker helped save over 613,000 gallons of gas, prevent 9,600 tons of carbon emissions, and save over $1.8 million annually in fuel costs.
Home offices don’t generate as much paper usage as large businesses, but they still tend to generate a lot of printer paper that gets discarded. Buying recycled paper has a number of benefits. It takes 24 large trees to produce a ton of virgin fiber paper. It takes 1.1 tons of waste paper to produce a ton of 100% recycled paper. And paper that’s 100% post-consumer waste (PCW) uses about 75% less water in production than its virgin-fiber counterpart.
When choosing furniture for your office, you might consider pieces that are from reclaimed materials. In addition, be aware of how much of the furniture you buy can ultimately be recycled.