The new year is an exciting time brimming with opportunity for a fresh start and a new beginning to do better and be better. For some, that might mean hitting the gym or tightening their wallet, but for those looking to up their sustainability game, we say forget about making a resolution and instead, make it a Greener You Revolution!

For those of us concerned about our impact on the environment and are back to working in the office, we’ve put together a list of four simple, but effective, eco-friendly tips to incorporate into your return-to-office life that can make a big impact.

Most people are familiar with the traditional carbon footprint contributors — food, transportation, and household energy — but did you know your digital actions leave behind a carbon component?

Sending emails, browsing the internet, playing music, or streaming a video all require a significant amount of energy to power networks and cool data centers that ultimately fuel our global network of devices.

If fact, current data indicates that more than 5 billion people worldwide use the internet. Multiply that by every email sent, query searched, or video watched equates to a massive energy surge that ultimately generates a significant amount of CO₂ emissions.

This isn’t to say you need to go off-grid, but rather try to be more mindful of your digital actions. Start by regularly emptying your inbox, reducing your cloud usage, limiting your video streaming, and opting for non-HD options when you do.

Another important reminder is to always dispose of your unusable electronics properly and safely.

Phantom energy is the electricity electronics consume while not being actively used, such as a cell phone, laptop charger, or even a desk lamp. Consider unplugging these items when devices are fully powered or not being used to help combat energy wastage.

Another tip to reduce energy is to put your computer into ”sleep mode” versus using the screensaver when leaving your workstation for long periods of time.

It’s estimated that the average American office worker goes through 10,000 sheets of paper annually — nearly half of which ends up in a landfill.

Between the cost of paper and the energy required to print documents, the benefits of going paperless are abundantly clear from both a financial and environmental standpoint.

Here are a few tips to help make a paperless transition in your office:

• Switch to digital invoicing
• Transition to paperless meetings
• Use e-signatures
• Scan documents
• Download documents to the cloud