TechSoup Blog - GreenTips

Recycle that Old TV

Anna Jaeger — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:40:47 -0700

Do you need to get rid of that old TV in your office storage room because of the digital conversion? Be sure to e-cycle it to help keep valuable materials and toxics out of landfills. If you buy a new TV (or converter box), look for an energy efficient model with the Energy Star label.

Don't know where to recycle your old TV? Many of the manufacturers will accept their televisions at no cost. Look up the manufacturer website to find locations or go to the EPA website where several are listed. You can also consider your local electronics store like, Best Buy, but they might charge small fee.

Planet Green's Fix-It Tips for Common Gadgets

Anna Jaeger — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:12:49 -0700

It is much greener to keep your electronics running rather than recycling them. Planet Green and Treehugger have gathered together how-to tips and videos to keep your electronic gadgets running longer.

This will also save you and your organization money, if you don't have to replace your stuff every 12-18 months, like the average U.S. consumer.

Free Tool to Help You Save on Energy Costs

Anna Jaeger — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 10:38:31 -0700

Do you forget to shut down your computer at night or put it to sleep while you are away at a meeting? Using power management on your PC can help you. If you aren't satisfied with the built in power-management tools that come with your PC (sorry Mac users, this tool isn't for you), check out Edison, a free tool for individuals to load on their computer. If you are looking for a more comprehensive solution for your office, one option is Surveyor, also by Verdiem.

Charge Your Gadgets While You Walk or Ride

Anna Jaeger — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:20:44 -0700

This week EcoGeek reported on a new kinetic energy-based charger called the nPower PEG (personal energy generator) by Tremont Electric. It immediately converts kinetic energy to electricity and feeds it to your gadgets (cell phones, mp3 players, etc).

It is also relatively small (9 ounces | 9 inches long x 1.5 inches in diameter) so you can throw it in your backpack or strap it to your bike and go.

Use Online Surveys to Schedule Meetings and Poll Your Constituents

Anna Jaeger — Thu, 21 May 2009 08:51:12 -0700

Trying to pull a group of people together for a meeting, but they are spread out all over town, or the state or even the world? Instead of banging your head against the wall, consider following Tena Hanson's lead. Tena is the Director of the Milford Public Library in Iowa and she uses Doodle to schedule her meetings remotely. In her blog post called "Schedule, organize, plan! Save time, money, and the environment," she also discusses how they poll their board members and other constituents using SurveyMonkey. This can save you lots of paper and time behind the wheel if people can efficiently respond in their own time online.

Install and Use Skype: Free to Use, Easy to Install

Anna Jaeger — Thu, 14 May 2009 14:04:18 -0700

I use Skype all the time, especially when I am telecommuting. It let's me have a brief exchange (instant message) with a co-worker without the time investment of finding their phone number and getting involved in a long conversation. If I need to speak with them using voice, I can do that using Skype too.

With Skype you can make free calls over the Internet to other people on Skype for as long as you like, to wherever you like. It is free to download and free to chat with others using Skype. You can even call landlines and mobile phones around the world for a reasonable fee. It uses a technology called VoIP. In this instance it means that you can talk to someone through your computer like you would talk to them over the phone. You do have to have the right setup and accessories, but they can usually be purchased for minimal cost and are easy to use.

What you need:

Telecommuting Helps Workplace Productivity

Kevin Lo — Thu, 07 May 2009 15:34:24 -0700

By way of Bloomberg, Professor Kanter at Harvard Business School blogged about myriad economic and societal benefits of working from home once a week. She argues that going into work and having to commute is antiquated and not reflective of the 24/7 nature of work nowadays, given the ways we connect with one another.

Follow our TeleGreen Your Work campaign for more tips and ways you can save energy while continuing to be productive in your work.

Substitute In-Person Meetings and Trainings with Online Conferencing

Anna Jaeger — Mon, 04 May 2009 12:50:09 -0700

This article, A Few Good Online Conferencing Tools, from Idealware, reviews a handful of tools available to nonprofits for online conferencing and webinars and also suggests some service providers.

Adding visuals to a phone conference can make a big difference perhaps by showing a document, software application, or slides. Or maybe you want to conduct a more formal online seminar—sometimes called a Webinar. There are a number of affordable software packages that can help. We talked nonprofit professionals about the tools that have worked for them.

Green Benefit: If you can reduce the need for travel by car and plane for your meetings and staff and volunteer trainings, you will dramatically reduce the CO2 produced by all of that travel. Each gallon of gas that your car burns releases about 20 pounds of atmospheric warming carbon dioxide. Also, think of all that time your staff or board can save by not having to travel for every meeting.

Try Basic Online Video Conferencing for Free

Anna Jaeger — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 11:27:55 -0700

Video conferencing is no longer a technology only for rich corporations. There are many different types of solutions at different prices and different levels of quality. Is video conferencing right for you and your organization? Try a free service in a one to one informal setting to get the hang of it.

One basic free video conferencing service is Gmail voice and video chat. Read what one of our non-technical volunteer's had to say about it in her recent post Using Gmail Voice and Video Chat: Is My Camera On? You can also read a forum discussion about multi-point video conferencing, which includes a discussion of Skype, net meeting, and other more robust tools.

Care2Call: Free Voice and Fax Services for Charities

Anna Jaeger — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 10:26:35 -0700

We received this great tip from one of our readers.

I want to alert you to www.voicenation.com. They offer a FREE service for 501c3 non-profits. Crucial Arts has been using their service for over a year and we really like the service. You can have calls forwarded to another number, voicemail messages sent to one or more email addresses of your choice, and faxes sent via pdf or tiff. We really like getting our faxes as pdf... makes them easier to manage. Voice Nation is great! Please let more TechSoup readers know about it. Their service is called Care2Call.

Best Regards,

The Crucial Arts Staff
www.crucialarts.org

We consider telecom services like this as green because they help you reduce paper (electronic faxes), reduce toxic hardware and toner, as well as energy (no fax machine). They can also aid in travel reduction since remote staff and volunteers can stay connected. We will be sharing more travel reduction tips starting April 20 for our upcoming TeleGreen Your Work educational campaign.