What you can save by turning off your computer monitor, lights, shared equipment etc.:

• Save $50 and one tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year in your workspace.

• Reduce cooling costs in your building.

• Extend the life of your monitor.

How you can pitch in around the office:

• Turn off your computer monitor (and computer, if you are not required for network/security reasons to leave it on) at the end of the working day and whenever when you are away from it for 30 minutes or more.

• Designate someone to be responsible for turning off shared equipment (printers, copiers, scanners) at the end of the day.

• If you are the last one in your area to leave, please turn off shared equipment.

• Reduce the brightness level of the screen to the lowest level you find comfortable.

• Use compact fluorescent desk lamps as they consume about a quarter of the energy of an incandescent unit, with the same light output, and last about eight times as long.

• Unplug equipment that has to be recharged when they are finished charging as they continue to draw power.

• Use the "stand-by" button on your photocopier to lighten your energy load by 70 per cent.

Computers and energy savings facts:

• An average computer monitor uses 60 watts of power. Larger ones use up to 90 watts.

• "Idling" your equipment causes waste, smog and pollution.

• Screen savers do not save energy.

• You can turn off your monitor without closing any software programs. The programs will flash right back up when the monitor is turned back on.

• The electricity used by office equipment rivals that used in office lighting.

• A monitor that is off cannot be harmed by power surges.