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According to a new Office Depot survey, “green” has gone mainstream in the small business community. Half of all respondents are interested in making their offices “greener,” according to a survey of 2,500 business professionals commissioned by Office Depot, a leading global provider of office products and services. The survey also found that cost and understanding are the two primary factors preventing businesses from going greener at the office.

“It is encouraging to see such strong interest in going green among small businesses,” said Yalmaz Siddiqui, Director of Environmental Strategy for Office Depot. “The good news is that creating a greener office is simpler than ever. Not only are there more high-quality, low-cost greener products available than ever before, but the range of solutions to help reduce waste and energy has also grown significantly.”

Although more than half (55 percent) of the survey respondents stated they do not associate going “green” with saving money, this is a common misperception Siddiqui said. “There is actually a range of cost scenarios that a business could face when deciding to go green,” he explained. “Some choices, like remanufactured cartridges, cost less; some require an upfront investment but come with long term cost savings, like compact fluorescent lights; some products entail no price difference; and some green ideas do cost more. The trick is to understand the different options and not assume that going green will always result in higher costs.”

To help business professionals understand how simple and cost effective it can be to go green, Office Depot has created Small Steps to Your Greener Office: Saving Money while Taking Care of Your Business and the Planet. Available at http://www.officedepot.com/greenyouroffice, the free online guide outlines a simple way to think about going green, and helps any workplace – be it a home office, a small business, or a larger company – become more efficient and less wasteful.

To get started, Siddiqui suggests four key steps:

1) Ask Why Green? Each organization has a different environmental impact, as well as its own business priorities and practices. The key is to decide what to focus on. If the desire is to save money, then choosing green ideas that deliver cost savings should be prioritized. If the organization is concerned about climate change or toxic chemicals, then the focus should be on those actions that reduce fuel and electricity and non-toxic alternatives to current product choices. And if the focus is on simply saving money, businesses should rethink the products they are buying and habits they are practicing. The important thing is to step back and think before embarking on a greening program.