In observance of World Environment Day 2009 The Sustainable Development Unit at the Department of Environment launched the first of a series of guides on Friday 5th June, designed to advise businesses and organisations in the Cayman Islands on how to reduce the environmental impact of their office operations. Obviously, there are some things which you can’t change when it comes to your offices, such as getting office desks from Office Monster or a similar company. You can’t not furnish your office, otherwise, people won’t want to work with you. But you can do a few other things to help when it comes to saving the environment in your office. One way that many offices are looking to improve their environmental impact is by going paperless. This may sound like an impossible task for many offices, but with the right document management software, you can find ways to meet all of your filing needs through digital means. Speaking of office operations it might be a good idea for office owners to shop around for the best deal on their business energy, not just for them but also for the environment. Apparently, websites like Usave have a great range of quotes. The “Reducing Your Office Footprint” series will consist of a number of guides covering in detail the different areas of action within office operations that employees, Green Teams or facility managers can focus on, such as energy, water, solid waste, procurement & purchasing and travel & transport. Part one, launched on Friday, covers the use of energy conservation, efficiency and renewable energy in reducing an office’s carbon footprint, as well as decreasing the cost of such utilities especially when office or facility managers start comparing utility quotes from the likes of Utility Bidder or other sites. Go to the DOE Publications section for the guide and other Sustainable Development Unit publications, or download it directly from here. Part two on water conservation to follow soon! For further details contact Sophie Halford at sophie.halford@gov.ky