Going Green

I recently attended a court reporting conference in Sarasota, Florida, where going green was a lengthy topic of discussion. Obviously, the court reporting industry is highly paper based but that doesn’t mean there aren’t things that court reporters and court reporting companies can do to help out.

For example, here at Capital Reporting Company™, we try to reduce our paper impact by reusing and recycling. First, whenever possible we print on both sides of a sheet of paper eliminating our paper waste by half. Drafts, internal documents, and faxes are all printed on scrap paper. Then, once those double-sided documents are no longer needed, we recycle them.

Still, the greenest paper is no paper at all so we try to keep documents as digital as possible by viewing documents onscreen instead of printing them out. And here’s where you come in - if you could encourage one court reporting client to order a condensed transcript instead of a full transcript that would decrease the amount of paper used by 75%. Better yet – convince that client to order an E-Transcript only and that’s no paper at all! Over time that really adds up.

Even little things here and there can be a huge benefit to our environment – little things that take even less effort. And what’s better is that most tips for going green not only help out the environment but they can save you money too! How can you argue with that logic? Try employing some of these helpful tips to “green” up your home office:

• Change Your Monitor: A flat-screen LCD monitor can use up to one-third the energy of that old space-consuming CRT monitor. Kick the bulk and save money on your electricity bill.
  
  
• Unplug Devices When They’re Not In Use: Just because your computer or TV is turned off doesn’t mean that these devices aren’t still drawing a current; wasting energy and running up your electricity bill. Unplug electronic devices when you’re done, or plug them into a power strip that you can turn off at night or when not in use.
  
  
• Better Bulbs: Compact florescent bulbs cost a bit more than an incandescent, but use about a quarter as much energy and last many times longer. Also, because they release less heat, your cooling bill will be less in the summer.
  

• Turn Off The Lights: It sounds like common sense but turn off the lights when a room is not in use. Additionally, use sunlight whenever possible – it’s free so take advantage of it! Even the most energy-efficient lighting can cost both the environment and your wallet.

Keep these tips in mind and not only will you save space, energy and money, but you’ll help save the environment too.