Even if you've already set up your home office, it's not too late to make it a little greener. With a few small equipment and habit changes, you can take great strides to making your workspace friendlier to New Zealand's - and the world's - environment.

Let's get stuck in with some tips.

1. Change how you print

You don't need to avoid printing entirely to go green, but you do have to think smarter about your paper, ink and electricity usage. Consider these points:

• "Duplex" mode prints sheets double-sided, essentially cutting your paper usage in half.
• Printing in black and white where possible limits your colour ink needs, making it last longer.
• Using a printer with eco-friendly refill bottles instead of small cartridges wastes less plastic.
• If you do use cartridges, you can hand them in for recycling at stores like Warehouse Stationery and Harvey Norman.
• 100 per cent recycled paper reams are available. Look for brands such as Reflex, J.Burrows and OfficeMax.
• Switch to a low-wattage ink jet printer like those from Epson's EcoTank range. These use less electricity than a single lightbulb!

2. Try eco-friendly stationery

We've already discussed eco-friendly ink and paper, but what other office supplies come with a thumbs up from the environment? Well, actually quite a few. The next time you're in your local stationery store, look for these products:

1. Stapleless staplers - Yes, they exist! And you can buy recycled-plastic versions, too.
2. Refillable pens - So you can stop hoarding Bics.
3. Recycled Post-Its and notebooks - Recycled Post-Its in particular are not only 100 per cent recycled, but 30 per cent of that is reclaimed post-consumer waste.

It's also advisable that you cut out anything that doesn't have a green alternative. Rubber bands are one example of this.

3. Turn off equipment after use

Electrical equipment still uses electricity even when you've placed it on standby - this is called standby power, and while it might not seem like it's costing much, it builds up over time. In fact, it is estimated that standby power totals about 10 per cent of the average New Zealand's power bill.

If you aren't actively using something, turn it off at the wall.

Epson has your printing needs covered

Even if you already have a printer, if it isn't going to be fully eco-friendly it will always be holding you back. Consider making the switch to one of Epson's EcoTank small-office printers, which tick all the boxes we mentioned above - they use high-volume refill bottles that can save up to 80 per cent on ink costs, operate using only 10-20 watts (depending on the model), and enable fast double-sided printing.

To get your EcoTank printer, find your nearest Epson dealer today.