One of the unfortunate facts about life is that the vast majority of us need to work to support ourselves. Also unfortunate is the fact that most of us that work are not in positions to make significant changes at our workplace.

Why am I stating the painfully obvious? Because in our lives outside of the office it is relatively easy to make eco-conscious choices if we want. At work that becomes much more difficult, particularly when you factor in office politics and bottom-line-driven bosses. Some businesses, however, are doing their part to help the environment.

I work at a big New England law firm. Law firms, by and large, are not eco-friendly workplaces. The nature of the work necessitates the production and reproduction of thousands of pages of documents on a daily basis, there can be a decent amount of travel involved, and people work long hours, which requires vast amounts of power to keep lights, computers, climate control systems, and everything else humming at all hours of the day. Luckily, my firm has started a “going green initiative,” which recognizes the adverse effects daily business can have on the environment and aims to mitigate them.

Some of the actions the firm has taken include: The donation of 120,000 sq. ft. of office furniture to nonprofit groups from recent office relocations; installation of recycled rubber floors, lutron and motion-sensor lighting controls, energy star appliances and electronics, and energy efficient HVAC controls in new offices along the East Coast; replacing inefficient computers, monitors, printers, and copiers with EPA-rated energy star ones; purchasing recycled paper and paper goods that are used on a regular basis as well as providing many recycling bins for paper, bottles, and cans; recycling old computers and toner cartridges; and encouraging double-sided printing whenever possible.

My firm is by no means the only law firm that is implementing these same measures. The American Bar Association, in conjunction with the Environmental Protection Agency, has set forth a challenge to all law firms to do become more eco-friendly in their practices (read more here). Replacing equipment and renovating offices is incredibly expensive, but even small things like encouraging recycling can make a difference. And double-sided copying saves money on paper costs.

If your workplace doesn’t appear to be making environmentally friendly decisions, there are things that can be done, just make sure to be careful if and when you bring them up.