A OnePoll survey of 1,000 office workers, commissioned as part of Green Office Week, has revealed that over eighty percent of individuals in the UK would like to see the businesses they work for do more for the environment! So despite employee backing, many businesses are still dragging their feet in terms of eco-friendliness, even though it would in fact save them a penny or two!

Despite the increasing importance for companies and organisations to adopt green policies, forty percent of office workers would still not rate their company as environmentally-friendly and less than thirty percent feel they are encouraged to implement green practices at work.

Two of the biggest factors which hold businesses back are not having anyone specifically allocated to environmental issues (34%) and a lack of specialist green facilities and equipment (33%). Being too busy and lacking the time to be green was also a common complaint with nearly twenty percent of individuals highlighting that it has an impact on their environmental efforts. Despite this, over sixty percent said they would be happier if their workplace was seen to be more environmentally-friendly. To employ someone to take care of your environmental impact, or to assign the job to existing staff would not be hugely costly and in all fact would save your money in the long run! Aside from this, to be able to market your company and one which runs in an economical and environmentally friendly way is actually a big selling point; you could find your business increasing once your spread the word!

The survey also revealed that small businesses are lagging behind larger organisations when it comes to encouraging green practices. Individuals working at companies with more than 250 employees say they are twice as likely (40%) to be encouraged to be green at work than employees at smaller companies (21%), this is despite the cost-saving and efficiency benefits on offer to businesses adopting greener working practices.

The survey found many interesting facts such as 41% of individuals admitted to needlessly throwing away paper, 39% printed things that do not need to be printed and 22% leave electrical devices on standby. The aim of the Green Office Week is to encourage and empower individuals across the UK to make these small, easy and practical changes to their daily work routine.

During the week we have discovered some of the innovative solutions which can help us all to be greener at work. We highly recommend Avery Recycled Labels and Recycled Dividers, the Avery DTR Eco desktop accessory range and unique BlockOUT™ Labels which allow files, envelopes, and packaging to be re-used rather than thrown away! Right now we have most of these products on a BOGOF offer or 3-for-2, so take advantage while stocks last!

For more help or information, call a member of our team on 0870 766 1624 or email us at info@office365.co.uk.

Avery’s 3 R’s Tips of The Day:

• You’ve heard it before but it’s true: avoid, reduce, reuse, recycle, dispose! Encourage your colleagues to design a waste hierarchy pyramid and use the winning design to spread the word! Yes it’s time consuming, but remember, in the long run it will save your business money too! Share your waste reduction tips on the Green Office Week (GOW) Twitterfeed!
• It’s easy to reuse old envelopes and packaging; simply label over the old addresses (and remember, we have some great BOGOF offers on Avery labels at the moment!) Similarly reuse old folders and files, but labelling over their identifying text or old labels using opaque or white labels!
• Can your business go the whole day without printing any emails?
• Set the default on your printer to black and white and duplex (double sided) and see how much longer your paper and ink cartridges last! Send off your used ink cartridges for recycling!
• Don’t throw away! Offer up your old office furniture and equipment to local charities, hostels or schools; there’s always someone who’ll make use of it!

Prepare your desks and your minds for the new more economical you. If your working area is organised you will be more mentally prepared to make these changes; eventually it will come naturally to you. Using a letter tray on your desk allows you to see what paper work is currently being dealt with, what is finished and needs filing and what is finished and need throwing away. But wait! Don’t throw away, use the reverse of these papers for note making, photocopying or print outs; think of the paper you’ll save! Right now at Office 365 we have some superb offers on our Avery desktop supplies, for example our Avery DTR Wide Entry Black Letter Tray is on a 3 for 2 at the moment! The trays come in sets of 3, however by purchasing 2, you’ll get a third set free!

We advise that you organise a staff meeting to advise your employees of your intentions and how you plan to improve the way you use energy in the workplace. Encourage your staff to take measures to reduce consumption in simple ways such as ensuring lights are turned off in areas that are not in use or so make sure that PCs, screens, copiers, peripherals and other machinery which is not in use, is also switched off. Even making the tiny move from switching machines off at night, instead of left on standby, will make a substantial difference.

Top Tips From Avery

Enable the standby mode on printers and photocopiers, turn off machines at the end of every day – or put them on a 7 day timer switch to make it automatic.

Make sure your heating and air-conditioning systems are not competing with one another. Better still, switch them off, open the window and get some fresh air in!

Turn off mobile phone chargers as soon as the phone has charged and unplug the charger – it also saves the battery life of the phone (something many of us are unaware of!)

Assess how much energy is being used when the building is empty compared to when in use – it may surprise you! Then you can address the elements that can be changed at weekends etc.

A little tip from us too; why not switch from your standard labels to our Avery label range? You’ll not only be doing your bit to save the planet, but you’ll also enjoy our fantastic BOGOF offer! We have an extensive selection of QuickPeel labels available that are recommended for DL size envelopes and come in packs of 100, these are available with the Buy One Get One Free Deal. We also have QuickPeel laser address labels and BlockOut laser labels available on the same deal! Simply look out for labels with BOGOF in their title. Please note however, the offer ends on June 30^th 2013, so hurry while stocks last‼

Your class are likely to create project books; do you have enough treasury tags? Have you checked your glue sticks recently, are they looking dried up? It’s impossible to address an entire class without a whiteboard or blackboard; do you have the chalk or markers?

Office 365 is a website which caters to all your school needs. We really do have everything you need and more besides. From your trimmers and guillotines, to staplers and staples, we even have a great range of electrical’s for your convenience! Office 365’s range even stretches to furniture so that you can purchase classroom desks, receptions furniture, canteen tables and even lockers at the same place you’ll find your filing supplies so that ordering can be done with just one company; us!

But it doesn’t stop there! We’ve carefully considered further incentives so that we can be sure that we’re bringing you the best deal and a service which far exceeds that of our competitors! We’re so confident of our low prices that we even offer a price match policy! Further to this, if you’re ordering from a school we can accept official purchase orders faxed to our FreeFax 0800 612 9524 or sent via email with the order attached to sales@office365.co.uk! Ordering in bulk can often mean you’ll qualify for further discounts too, so don’t forget to ask.

Finally, all new customers will earn an additional 10% off their first order, plus every order over the value of £60 qualifies for a free chocolate gift! Think of it as bribery for the school kids! You can pay using credit or debit cards, or even using PayPal when you buy online! However if you’d like to discuss payment methods further, then do feel free to contact us on 0870 766 1624.

The trouble is, the keyboard is so easily damaged and often the most commonly replaced piece of computer hardware! Have you spilled one too many crumbs over your keyboard? Worse still did you spill your morning coffee over it and now the keys keep getting stuck? Keyboard failure is a common complaint and you can be sure that 99% of the time the keyboards lack of response will be due to your own misuse! They say live and learn, well maybe it’s high time you learn and maybe it’s also time I stop being hypocritical and learn for myself! Invest in a new keyboard and treat it right!

Top Tips

You’ll wear the keys out faster if you hit them hard; don’t keep pressing a key over and over if it’s not working, this will simply make it worse. The chances are the key has something lodged underneath. Poise yourself and take a look; it could be repairable!

Keep all food and drinks away from your computer! If you accidentally spill your drink, it could cause your keyboard to fail which is more often than not, irreparable! Worse still and much more costly, it could ruin your entire computer. When it comes to food, this is simply a no go I’m afraid! Crumbs from your food could fall into the keyboard and cause your keys to jam and get stuck, this is unbelievably common. Either eat somewhere else, or cover over your keyboard!

Consider the germs and bacterial that builds up from constant use! Use keyboard cleaning cloths to keep the keys clean, and ensure that you use an air duster to get between the keys. Please note, always switch of your computer at the mains prior to cleaning!

Now that you know how to maintain your keyboard, you can allow yourself to invest in a decent one! How’s about this Logitech MK520 Cordless Keyboard & Mouse featured.

• Full-size keyboard with concave keys and contoured laser mouse
• Palm rest for resting hands when not typing
• Keyboard stores upright when not in use, freeing up valuable desk space
• Full-size mouse for either left hand or right hand use
• Laser precision provides smoother tracking
• Just £50.76 inc VAT!

Just what you need to make typing a more pleasurable experience, plus you’ll even enjoy a brand new mouse for free! For quotes on bulk orders, please feel free to call us on 0870 766 1624.

Hand Soap – We highly recommend when kitting out your washroom with all the small janitorial supplies, that you do NOT consider soap bars. Soap bars can be stolen (petty yes, but it happens!), they leave a mess around your sink, they can dry up and crack, and often they spread more germs than they clean. Instead opt for a hand soap dispenser. We would highly recommend one which is fixed to your wall so that these cannot be stolen too, plus, they enable you to refill them. Try our Purell Touch Free Dispenser featured, perfect for minimising bacteria spread as it will not come into contact with dirty hand, plus is available for just £6.82 inc VAT!

Hand Drying – Either way, the disposable hand towel and the hand dryer do the job. You could look at either one and say it is more harmful to our environment than the other, for example, disposable ones involve waste, however do come in recycled options (like our 5 Star Recycled Hand Towels featured), and a hand dryer does not involve waste, accept uses energy, however can come in low energy consumption. The choice is ultimately up to you. My personal recommendation is both. There is nothing more annoying when you’re in a hurry than having to stand and wait for your turn to use the hand dryer, or having to wait for your hands to dry while using the dryer. In many cases people run for a cubical to use toilet paper which is very wasteful and ends up clogging toilets. The ideal bathroom in my opinion would have recycled hand towels and a fast action hand dryer! Try our Veltia High Speed Hand Dryer featured!

Air Freshener – When freshening your facilities, please keep the fragrance topped up! It is a pet hate for staff and visitors to use facilities which stink! Not to mention you may have to deal with welcoming clients or viable customers to your premises while a ‘waft’ also heads their way to greet them! We suggest you do not opt for the cheapest option; these can often smell as bad as the odour itself! However maybe you’d like to try for yourself before you go with a more permanent option. We suggest that you choose an air freshener which does not require physically spraying; choose an option which releases fragrance by itself. A non permanent option would be our Glade Gel Air Freshener featured which is only £2.68 inc VAT! However a good permanent option is our Tcell Starter Kit featured which fragrances and neutralises odours continuously.

For more information simply visit our site where you will find our full range of supplies. Or alternatively call to speak to a member of our team on 0870 766 1624.

However us people are not the only ones who like a good brew! Thanks to my sister in law (to be!); I recently learned that feeding your house plants with cold tea will help them thrive! Cold tea fed to house plants will provide them with tannic acid which is good for them! So taking her advice, I began feeding the sunflower that my daughter is growing for her school project with tea. The plant is due into school for measuring in a few weeks time; it is a competition to see which child grows the tallest sunflower. Not that I’m competitive or anything (ahem!), I have been specially brewing tea for it! Combined with the additional carbon dioxide my 6 year old lovingly provides our little green friend as she sings it lullaby’s (yes, you heard right), it’s really doing rather well!

So thanks to ‘Aunty Amy’s’ green fingers, my daughter can walk into school with her hopefully ‘doozy’ of a sunflower and I shall watch from a distance as the other mothers and children ‘deflate’ upon viewing the spectacular, Guinness Book of Records size plant in her arms. Optimism? Possibly, it currently stands at a not so gigantic 4 inches… You never know!

So if you’d like to try out Amy’s gardening tips for yourself, or maybe you’re just hankering after a cup of Rosie Lee, then we have an enormous bag of Tetley on offer for you now. Our Tetley Tea Bags come in mega packs of 440 so will last your household or office of eager tea consumers for quite some time! Grab a bargain that makes everyone happy, yes, even your green leaved friends, for just £15.59 inc VAT!

For more gardening hints and tips, see Amy; for stationery, office supplies, janitorial, catering and education equipment, visit www.office365.co.uk!

The flipchart pad is a prime example of how it isn’t always necessary to invest a lot of money in high tech visual aids in order to create an effective presentation; the best visual aids are in fact the simplest. It is essential to remember the purpose your visual aid is intended for; you are looking to enhance your demonstration, not upstage it.

Often people invest in high tech presentation equipment, however find that due to the cost of replacement parts, bulbs, software and specialists accessories needed in order to complete the lecture; the machinery ends up dusty in a cupboard. There are several advantages to using a flip chart pad; you will not need to budget for bulbs, extension leads, specialist films and expensive markers; upgrading software, laser pointers and other such accessories; all that is required when using a flipchart pad is a box of flip chart markers. Using a flipchart enables you to brainstorm ideas and methods with your audience; you will be able to make last minute changes with complete ease!

Flipcharts are commonly used for:

• Presentations
• Training
• Capturing information during group discussions
• With an easel as a display and information board (where other methods prove too expensive or information is changeable)
• Teaching in schools, colleges or universities
• Track targets and goals in sales and manufacturing places of work
• Display menus or specials in cafes and restaurants
• Child play and learning in nurseries and pre schools
• Art classes and artists
• Coaching in schools, offices and sports teams

At Office 365 we have a selection of pads by the makers of 5 Star, Nobo, PAD, Quartet and Whitebox in a large variety of options such as perforated, plain, ruled and seven self adhesive! Ordering online couldn’t be simpler, however if you need any help or advise, please feel free to contact a member of our team on 0870 766 1624.

If you must move your head to view your screen or to read documents continuously throughout the day, then your neck and upper back are being tilted and turned. The improper positioning of your screen or documents will place serious strain on your neck, back and shoulders triggering pain, stiffness and fatigue.

I have been on the lookout for a well thought-out solution to this problem for some time and understand that I will need something to proper position my screen and documents at a comfortable viewing angle. If the position and angle of these items is correct, it will reduce the strain to the neck and upper back. It is suggested that the top of your screen should be at eye level or just below and that is should be set at about an arm’s length away.

I have finally found just the thing! Our Fellowes Compact TFT/LCD Monitor Riser featured provides the perfect accompaniment to every desk and the ideal solution to neck and back strain!

• Modern design complements any flat screen TFT LCD monitor style
• Adjusts from 76mm to 114mm, enabling the choice of three comfortable viewing positions for the user
• Space underneath the monitor platform provides paper storage
• Platform rotates 45 degrees, enables easily shared viewing
• Supports up to 14kg in weight (17 inch monitor)
• WxDxH: 426 x 289 x 121mm
• Enjoy 3 FOR THE PRICE OF 2 while stocks last!
• Just £62 for two inc VAT!

By using a monitor or laptop riser you can feel confident that the optimal viewing range is achieved! What’s more, the featured riser comes with additional benefits for you and your desk, like the handy paper storage space which saves plenty of room at your workstation! For more information about office ergonomics, to discuss bulk orders or to speak to a member of our team, simply call on 0870 766 1624. Alternatively, you can simply order the item on our website by following the direct links!

Remember, prevention is better than cure, so if you can make sure that your workplace is well equipped to handle your staff’s needs, you will be protected against injury. 43% of Europeans have suffered from backache associated with an inappropriate workspace! This can be caused through slouching, poor posture and improper support to the back. If your job involves working at a computer, any back pain or discomfort you experience is likely to be linked with this. Incorrect foot and leg positioning can also lead to back pain!

Here at Office 365 we suggest using back supports. Our selection of Fellowes back supports give firm support to the back’s natural curve. Take our Fellowes Office Suite Back Support featured for example!

• Mesh fabric allows air flow for your personal comfort
• Easily attaches to any office chair using Tri-Tensioner attachment
• Promotes improved posture
• Gently moulds to your body’s contours to provide maximum uniform support
• WxDxH: 450 x 160 x 500mm
• Weight: 0.17kg
• Just £40.67 inc VAT!

Used in conjunction with the Fellowes foot supports which elevate your feet ensuring your thighs are parallel to the floor; you’ll have the perfect back pain prevention! Using the foot and back support together will encourage you to work in a position that requires the smallest amount of muscle activity which will help reduce muscle strain and prevent discomfort and back pain. Our Fellowes Professional Independent Foot Support featured is the perfect accompaniment to this back support.

• Ergonomically designed to promote movement and comfort, improving circulation
• With independent platform motion to promote better balance and healthy circulation while seated
• Surface massage bumps help relieve tension and stress
• Dual mode allows you to choose active or fixed support to improve circulation
• Up to 30 degree range of motion for maximum health benefit
• WxDxH: 408 x 416 x 100mm
• Just £50.89 inc VAT