Everyday recommendations that Centro Banamex makes to its partners, suppliers, clients and visitors.
Switch off your computer at night and also during the day when you won?t be using it for a while. The same goes for other pieces of electrical equipment and appliances (most consume electricity even if they?re not actually being used).
Work from home (if possible, and as long as the boss okays it). This can save money and gas and reduce pollution and stress.
Go vegetarian one day a week (animals are expensive to raise: 10,000 liters of water are needed to produce just 10 oz (300g) of meat, as well as 183 sq. ft. (17 sq. mts.) of woodland.
Use rechargeable batteries (the world produces 15 billion alkaline batteries, and very few are ever recycled; what?s more, recharging your batteries can get you out of a bind when all the stores are closed).
Make good use of paper, printing both sides, recycling, buying recycled paper or using electronic communication (a typical office worker gets through 165 lbs or 75 kg of paper each year).
Reuse wire coat hangers (they usually contain steel, which is not accepted by recycling centers, but they can be donated to dry cleaners and clothing stores).
Refill water bottles (90% of plastic water bottles are not refillable and a single bottle can take hundreds of years to decompose).
Recycle newspapers (70% of newspapers are thrown away with the trash; recycling just one day?s worth of newspapers would save millions of trees).
Reduce account statements (most banks, credit card companies, telephone companies and other services will send you an electronic monthly statement in place of a printed one; that?s what the Internet is for!)
Buy local food (the pollution and economic waste generated by transporting food from processing plant to table is astronomical. Buying direct from food producers in local markets helps the local economy as well.)
Turn off the tap while you?re brushing your teeth (water left running while people brush their teeth represents 1% of total world consumption)
Avoid using stir sticks for your coffee, or straws (ask for a metal spoon to stir your coffee o carry your own; if necessary, straws and stir sticks can be washed and reused.
Reduce junk mail (millions of trees go from door to door in the form of brochures, fliers and spam advertising: instead of throwing them out, you can collect them send them to a recycling center).
Pay bills electronically (worldwide, this could save each year untold quantities of trees plus CO2 and harmful printing byproducts).Take showers instead of soaking in the tub (a bathtub requires more than double the amount of water as a shower, plus the extra energy to heat it).
Switch from recycled plastic bags (which require a lot of energy to be produced) to biodegradable bags made from corn polymers and which are reintegrated back into the soil when they decompose.
Take shorter showers (each minute less running the shower can save up to 45 liters of water).
Clean your car at a car wash (they are much more water efficient, and this can represent a savings of billions of gallons nationally)
Use the cruise control on your car, or simply ease off the gas (indiscriminate acceleration and high speeds burn 15% more gasoline).
Switch off your answering machine when you?re not using it (answering machines, whether they are real or virtual, consume energy 24 hours a day; switching them off when they not needed can save a lot of electricity).
Be aware of animals (we use thousands of chemical products; maybe they?re not harmful to us ? or at least we don?t think they are ? but pets and wildlife are very sensitive to them; almost all products have an ecologically sound alternative, such as floor cleaning detergents).
Adjust the thermostat (just one degree less heating in winter, or one less of cooling in the summer, can save as much as 10% of total consumption!
Use biodegradable plates and cups made from maize, sugar cane or bamboo (use a ceramic mug when you drink coffee at work, which also does a better job of keeping the coffee warm).
Combine tasks (by combining various trips in one, you?ll save gasoline ? whether it?s yours or public transport?s ? money and, especially, time).
Switch off the lights (apart from anything else, in summer lights emit excess heat).
Look after green space, such as gardens, parkland or the grass verge of the sidewalk (watering plants in the morning is more efficient, because the water doesn?t evaporate so quickly).
Look after public spaces (It?s useful to keep a trash bag handy for those times when there are no trash cans nearby, and your good habits will hopefully rub off on others).
Recycle old cell phones (people change their cell phone on average every 18 months, meaning that some 130 million phones fall into disuse each year. There are various recycling programs available).
Avoid buying battery operated devices; you?ll save money and reduce damage to the planet.
Keep your automobile well serviced (not only will you extend the life of the car, but you?ll save gas and reduce drastically toxic emissions; also, making sure your car isn?t overloaded with unnecessary items reduces weight and saves on gas).
Plant a tree (it?s good for the atmosphere, the Earth and wildlife, and produces welcome shade).
Recycle aluminum and glass (20 recycled aluminum cans save the energy required to make one new can ? which is more than you think; every ton of glass that is recycled saves 35 liters of fuel necessary to make the same amount from scratch).
Change regular light bulbs for energy efficient ones.
Close off disused chimneys and seal cracks in windows, doors and walls to save heating and cooling costs.
Reuse gift wrap paper, or use alternatives. Be creative!
Use matches rather than lighters (most butane-filled lighters are made of plastic and metal, yet incredibly we call the ?disposable?; paper matches on the other hand are made of recycled material.
Use the information service rather than the phone book and recycle your old copies (it?s easy to request that the phone company no longer send you new copies; these directories can account for as much as 10% of municipal waste!)
Give away rather than throw away (before discarding something, take a moment to think if someone might have a use for it; there are many charities that accept donations of used items).
Buy electronic tickets and passes (the cost of processing a paper airline ticket is $10 USD, while an E-ticket costs just $1 USD; what?s more, the airlines can save as much as $3 billion dollars a year).
Share (if we share these basic steps with others, we really can make a difference. It?s not impossible to change the world).
