What does it mean to be green?

The Shiny Towers crew is, on the whole, pretty eco-conscious. The office has an energy-saving kettle that takes just three seconds to (almost) boil, and a large amount of what is brought into the office is recycled. At home, many of us recycle, turn electronics off standby, switch to energy saving bulbs or use eco-friendly gadgets when we go on holiday.

But it turns out Britain as a whole hasn't quite got the right idea. According to a British Gas survey cited by Hippyshopper, we're a nation of eco-blunderers. We know baths waste water so we take showers - but power showers, which can use up more water than the average bath after just five minutes! We turn off standby, but don't switch bulbs, and we boil wash terry cloth nappies to avoid choking landfills with plastic ones... except that creates massive amounts of CO2. It seems like eco-friendly technology can help us, but it's not a given that it will.

It turns out that technology is no substitute for common sense. Now, while that's a statement of the bleeding obvious that even Orlando Bloom as Legolas couldn't rival, it still needs to be said precisely because of the kind of statistics we're reading in reports like the one above. What can purveyors of eco-friendly electronics do to make green living easier and more appealing?

1. Ditch the packaging

The consumer hasn't had to lift a finger and already we're all being greener. So much extraneous crap is used where, often, a more inventive construction would offer just as much padding and protection of delicate items. We're already seeing a push towards recycled and recyclable packaging and long may it continue, but recycling uses energy too, so having less to begin with is better all round.

2. Dump standby

We don't need to get Schroedinger on this. Most devices need be only on or off. If there's a timer function then you can have standby, but otherwise what is it good for? Perhaps features such as a sensor with timed shut-off (if you're not in front of the TV set for more than five minutes, it shuts down, or turns off the picture) can be developed usably.

3. Meaningful measures

Would it be so hard to show, by means of a simple, comparative measure, how much water is being used by a shower or how much energy you're using when you leave the lights on? Let's appeal to consumers where it makes sense - money. When the shower hits the red line, you've used up as much water as a bath... when the lights are left on for X many hours, you're spending this much. I'm sure such devices already exist but they need to become an industry standard.

We've been asked to turn down the temperature of our washing machines and most of us get that because the numbers are in front of us and it's obvious that lower equals better. If we think we're having a shower for the good of mankind but there's nothing to tell us that actually we're doing more harm than good, we're getting nowhere.

And those are just the obvious ideas. Do you have better ones? Do you think this eco-friendly lark is just another consumer campaign, or do you have some suggestions for simple, logical ways we can improve our lifestyles? Comment and let us know.