The need to go green is on everyone’s mind at the moment. And while at home we may be virtuously recycling waste and taking our reusable bags to the shops, at the office it can be a different story – it can be a hotbed of eco-unfriendly sins.
The path to a green conscious is easy – a little effort makes a huge difference. To ensure the company you work for is as green as possible, it’s important to get colleagues involved in greening over the office. Send round an emailed memo with a list of ideas for everyone to follow.
Paper waste is one of the biggest culprits of a burgeoning carbon footprint. Encourage everyone to print on both sides of
paper, by altering the settings on the printer. Also, do you really need to print everything? An online backup is more secure than paper-based filing systems, and more eco-friendly.
By selecting your suppliers carefully, you can also make environmentally friendly choices. Take a closer look at your packaging supplier, stationery company and travel provider. Do they offer recycled and recyclable options for paper-based materials? Are the dyes used non toxic?
Check out their websites too, as you should be able to find out more about their own commitment to the environment. Find a supplier whose corporate social responsibility policy closely matches your own.
Next, pay a visit to the staff kitchen. If you’re still using plastic cups, which are thrown away after one use, stop. Ask colleagues to bring in their own mug, and provide some for visitors. This will drastically cut back on the volume of waste you produce every month.
If your company provides tea, coffee, milk and sugar, ask your manager to think about switching to a fair-trade brand. This means that the people creating the product are receiving a fair wage for their work, and that they have suitable conditions to work in.
On the subject of milk, you may like to go local and support your nearest dairy. Although the milk round is dying out, they do still exist. This way you can have fresh milk delivered daily. If it’s in glass bottles, even better, as these will be recycled.
Busy offices receive lots of deliveries throughout the day, and this in itself can create unnecessary packing waste. Speak to the supplier, and find out if they are willing to have the packaging materials returned to them for reuse or recycling. Packaging suppliers are becoming more aware of their need to support the environment, so may be open to this.
Consider how people get to the office. It’s not uncommon for the entire office to travel to work in their cars, with just one person in each. You could set up a car-share scheme. Employees can group together, and take it in turns to drive. This initiative will save both carbon emissions and money on petrol.
So, now you can see how it’s possible to make-over your office with minimal effort. Speak to your packaging supplier, your local dairy and, of course, your colleagues, so you can all pull together and do your bit for protecting the environment.