Justice Management Division
Serving Justice - Securing Results

DOJ encourages employees to take steps to reduce their environmental impact while at the office. Here are a few tips to help you get started. If you don’t have control over some of these items, talk to the person who does.

Please contact Renae Steichen with any questions, comments, or other ideas on how to green DOJ.

• Use Less Paper
• Print and copy documents on both sides of the paper
• Use electronic filing instead of printing
• Scan and email documents
• Conduct document reviews and provide comments electronically
• Use recycled content paper
• Government must use at least 30% post-consumer recycled content paper, use as close to 100% recycled if you can
• Did you know: The average U.S. office employee uses 10,000 sheets of paper per year. It takes one tree to make 9,000 sheets of paper.


• Become Energy Efficient
• Turn off lights when leaving the room
• Turn off your monitor when not using it for 15 minutes or more and shut your computer down entirely when leaving for the day
• Did you know: If 1000 employees turned off their computer monitor at the end of the day it would save enough energy to light 52 homes!
• Use a power strip to turn off peripheral devices such as lamps and phone chargers


• Use Transportation Wisely
• Use public transportation to commute and for office trips when available
• No public transportation? Try carpooling, biking, or walking
• Did you know: For every passenger mile traveled, public transportation is twice as fuel efficient as private automobiles
• Use fuel efficient and alternative fuel vehicles
• Teleconference or video-conference meetings instead of traveling


• Recycle
• Ask your property manager about your building’s recycling program
• Did you know: Recycling one ton of paper saves 380 gallons of oil, or 4100 kilowatt-hours of electricity (enough energy for an averaged sized home for 6 months)
• Properly separate recyclable materials – make sure your coworkers do the same
• Assign a recycling monitor in your office to ensure full and correct participation


• Reduce Office Waste
• Reuse items – such as binders, folders, envelopes, paper clips, etc.
• Don’t buy new items unless necessary
• Reduce bottled water consumption – use tap water or water cooler
• Did you know: According to the Earth Policy Institute, manufacturers use 1.5 million barrels of oil each year to produce bottles for the US bottled water market alone.
• Eliminate use of disposable plates, utensils, cups – bring your own from home


• Purchase Green Products
• Green products help conserve natural resources, improve worker safety and health, and can stimulate new markets and create jobs.
• Green product attributes include features such as energy and water efficiency, made from recycled materials, and low or non-toxic products.
• Find what products you can buy green at "DOJ’s Green Purchasing Site"

Learn what you can do to Green Your Meetings and Conferences.