Interested in making your office a more sustainable environment? Doing so may seem like a daunting task at first, but once you get started, you’ll see just how simple it is. The key is making quick and easy changes and sticking to them. Here are several easy steps you can take to go green in the workplace.
What’s the meaning behind “going green”?
In general, going green means you opt for a sustainable and renewable way of living. A green lifestyle entails reducing, reusing, and recycling materials whenever possible. For example, you may repurpose a plastic water bottle into a pot for growing basil or oregano instead of disposing it.
Other ways of going green include:
- Choosing products that can be recycled or that come from recycled materials
- Purchasing used items, unless buying new is your only choice
- Buying an electric vehicle or bike
- Deciding to walk or carpool to places
There’s no “right” way to go green, so the way you reduce, reuse, and recycle from your office space will likely differ from green efforts one individual may make.
Tips for going green in the office
Every office, including yours, can implement green ideas that help the environment and save money. Here are five tactics you can implement in your office space today:
- Do away with single use cups
Everyone loves grabbing a morning coffee before the workday begins, however this habit can be harmful to the environment since most coffee stations use single serve cups.
Cups made of styrofoam and plastic are not biodegradable and spend years in landfills – often making their way into our oceans and rivers. To offer a “green” coffee experience, provide reusable coffee mugs for employees or encourage them to bring their own coffee cups from home. That way the whole office can enjoy their morning coffee, guilt free.
- Print double sided
The average office worker generates roughly 2 pounds of paper waste a day. Most of that paper waste stems from printing.
Implementing a double-sided print rule in your company means that printing services will be significantly reduced by half. This approach is recommended by the EPA as a top practice to implement if looking to reduce waste. While printing double-sided may not be feasible for all documents, completing the bulk of your print jobs double-sided will pay off in the long run.
- Decrease the brightness on your computer
Who knew something so small could make such a difference? A Harvard Law Professor found that reducing your computer monitor’s brightness from 100% to just 70% can save up to 20% of the monitor’s energy.
Adjusting your brightness by that much will likely go unnoticed, so it’s a quick and easy way for all employees to contribute to going green.
- Cut down on individual trash cans
Most office spaces have trash cans at each individual desk. While this is convenient, it’s not a sustainable choice. Deskside bins are notoriously used solely as trash bins, leading to overflowing waste streams and very little recycling.
A centralized waste station makes employees think twice before throwing something away and provides a solution to making sure waste materials are properly disposed of. Implementing a centralized waste station in your office is a simple, yet effective step to take towards going green.
- Adjust your thermostat
Did you know that reducing your thermostat during the winter and raising it in the summer can save energy? It’s true! Following these two tips translates into using less petroleum usage, resulting in less carbon emissions.
Some prefer to make changes to temperature manually, but in a busy office that can prove to be difficult to remember. Luckily, using a programmable thermostat is a tried-and-true way to regulate temperatures in your office. By setting a schedule on your thermostat you can easily ensure your company is saving energy year-round.
Edenred supports sustainability
If you’re unsure of where to start when it comes to going green, don’t worry Edenred can help you find ways to go green.
Schedule a meeting to begin piercing together your plan of action!
