Is your office eco-friendly place? To answer to this question, no matter if you are owner of company or employee, there are things you can do to make your workplace a greener place starting today. We present you some easy ways to go eco, because being waste away is good business!
Switch your old, inefficient light bulb to low-energy lighting like LED lights. Don’t leave lights on all the time and always turn off the computer when you are out of office. It will help to save lots of energy and cut costs.
Try to produce as little waste as possible. Especially, focus on reducing paper waste. You can encourage your employees or colleagues to print things on both sides of the paper only if really necessary. Even small changes can have a great impact when the whole office gets involved!
Introduce recycling bins into the office. This can be one place, or bins in areas where they are used the most, for example a separate bin for paper next to the printer would be a great idea. Remember to be ensured that bio bins are emptied regularly to avoid unpleasant smell.
Bring your lunch to work in a reusable container to keep it fresh and reduce plastic waste. Make a coffee or tea in a mug and use metal or bamboo cutlery – you are going to realize very fast that eating without single-use plastics is possible and easy!
Try these quick 5 tips to do your bit for the planet:
- Recycle everything. Buy yourself a recycling tidy bag with separate compartments and put it by your desk. Buy recycled paper products. Don’t print things needlessly – there’s certainly no need to print out most emails. You can also recycle your printer and toner cartridges, sometimes in exchange for cash. Check your local council’s website for details on recycling policy in your area.
- If you can, rearrange your office to make the most of the natural light available. You’ll save on electricity bills and it’s psychologically better for you. If you work in an office with very little natural light, make sure you go outside for some fresh air at least once or twice a day.
- Reduce the amount of junk mail coming through your letterbox by signing up to the Mail Preference Service. Put the junk mail you do receive to good use by using it as scrap paper, packaging padding and so forth. Make sure you shred it first if using it as packaging, particularly if it has your name and address on it.
- If you’re the only one at home during working hours, only heat the room that you’re using as an office. You can save even more on your heating bills by putting on warmer clothing and make sure you move about once in a while: it can get very cold sitting in one position for hours (not to mention bad for your back). I have been known to sit at my desk with a hot water bottle on my lap!
- Switch your gas and electricity providers to ‘green’ energy providers who use environmentally friendly methods of energy production, such as wind turbine farms. However, these green tariffs can be more expensive so this step may depend on your cash flow. Make sure your home office is well insulated (thick curtains, carpet even things like cavity wall insulation if you want to take it this far).
When we make smart choices in places we spend the most of our time like home or office, the Earth will also do better and at the same time you save money!
Picture: Marvin Meyer
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