2008 is brand new and shiny and you've probably made a few personal New Year's resolutions already. Maybe broken a few too. But January is also a good time to make a couple changes at the office, and a good one to start off the year with is to audit the environmental friendliness of your tech vendors.

To start, ask your suppliers if they take back and recycle recyclable items, such as toner and printer cartridges. For those vendors that manufacture equipment such as computers and monitors, ask about their factories, recycling and disposal facilities. While just about everything we do has some negative environmental impact, these can be lessened by companies who actually care about the planet, or which are at least pushed to care by customers who ask pointed questions.

Now, while that's great advice, no company wants to lose in the good environmental PR race and appearing green has become de riguer for anyone in a competitive industry. That means some inquiries will be met with: "We are committed to ensuring our products and policies meet or exceed the community's highest standards of sustainability, environmental consciousness and long-term eco-responsibility."

Ignore that baffle gab. First, ask for numbers. For example, Xerox announced in November that, since 1991, it has diverted more than two billion pounds of waste from landfill sites by reusing and recycling printer cartridges and toner. (Xerox also gets kudos for starting an environmental action program back in 1991.) Interestingly, the company also claims its environmental program saved it more than US$2 billion in waste-disposal costs.

Second, ask your vendor about practical, day-to-day initiatives. Big numbers are impressive, but point to that new LCD monitor your supplier just sold you and ask what he/she will do in two years when it's time to get rid of it. Will the supplier pick it up and ensure it is reused or disposed of properly, or at least help you do so? If not, look for one who will.

If everyone puts a little pressure on individual vendors, the entire industry can be made more responsible.

Peter Wolchak