Kermit the Frog used to sing, “It’s Not Easy Being Green”, but on St. Patrick’s Day, it’s not difficult at all! There are t-shirts, accessories and lots of green beverages to indulge in to celebrate the day properly.
With the great green holiday two days behind us, I thought it would be a good opportunity to let you in on a few effots Teltek has made to be green in an environmentally considerate fashion.
Purchasing a new phone system can be an expensive investment for a non-profit or small company, so we like to offer those cost-conscious customers refurbished equipment. While refurbished is not brand new, this equipment has been well-cared for and properly maintained. Recycling gently-used systems saves these perfectly functional handsets and processors from being tossed in the trash.
Another way we are green is by the efforts we make to reuse and recycle cabling. When we conduct a site survey, we evaluate the wiring already in place. If it’s in good condition, we will recommend reusing it as opposed to replacing it. If we do need to replace cabling because it is outdated or damaged, the wire that is removed is recycled. Another service we offer our customers is to transport their unused computers and other types of electronic equipment to recycling centers.
Our accounting department is in the process of transitioning to paperless billing, so that will be less trees used for invoices and envelopes. We are also careful not to print if we don’t have to and try to make use of faxing, scanning and email instead of snail mail when possible. We have a weekly project update meeting via conference call so the two offices are able to communicate without everyone driving to one of the locations. A broad selection of conference phones is available on our website.
All of us have remote access to the server and VoIP phones in our homes to facilitate telecommuting if that makes more sense at the time. Web Conferencing and Video Conferencing are two services we highly recommend to save money on travel expenses and minimize the effect travel has on the environment.
Within our offices, we recycle paper, cans and plastic bottles to cut down on waste. We also make sure the lights are turned off in areas not in use and we have energy efficient copiers, printer and fax machines. Some of the newer phone systems we sell are also energy efficient.
Do you have ideas you can share to help Teltek in our efforts to be green? If so, let us know!