Creating a greener work place
It’s really been brought to everyone’s attention lately about the environmental impacts we’re now having. Whether it’s reducing your plastic waste, recycling items in the house, and buying more eco-friendly items. Another area we’re probably forgetting is work, there is so much you use at work and probably don’t think twice of.
My current employer is much more on ball with being more green, but my last one was the complete opposite. So think of how much your workplace uses, and the big impact it possibly has.
Going paperless
Do you really need to print every email, report, document? We store everything in our office digitally, everything is scanned in and completely paperless. Not only are heaps of filing cabinets bulky but it’s also time consuming to sift through them! Having everything electronically is easier to find, send to others and reduces your offices paper consumption.
Recycling
It isn’t hard to have two seperate bins to recycle in your office, but the hardest thing is getting people to read the labels. There is so many bottles that can be recycled but their lids can’t, yet no one reads the labels to see this! However, every little helps :).
Reusable water bottles
I have reusable bottles or so much, I have a work one that stays at my desk, a gym one, and a one I use at home. The hardest time to reduce plastic bottles is when you’re travelling (as I discovered even in Barcelona), but there isn’t an excuse really when we’re at home or work. We have a water dispenser at work where we all refill our bottles with, saves so much plastic bottle waste.
Green energy
Whether it’s buying lamps/lights with LED, having a building with solar panels, utilising natural light and having motion detection lights. We have motion detection lights in our office, which is quite funny when you don’t move for a while and the next thing you know you’re in the dark. They are good for people who forget to turn off lights when they leave rooms though!
Public transport
Whether you catch the bus to work or ride your bike in, it makes a hell of a difference to your emissions. I don’t live near a metro station, so I do drive to get there, but it does mean I’m not driving into the city. I do try to walk to as many places as I can, but it’s not always the easiest. But if you live near good transport systems, there is no excuse really!
By doing all these small things in your day to day work life can really help reduce your impact on the environment. Every little change each of us make, whether it’s buying shampoo bars or biking to work can help.
There was a recent survey carried out by seareach to see which elements are important to change in your work environment.
- Paperless – 20%
- Recycling bins – 18%
- Solar panels – 14%
- LED bulbs – 12%
- Green heating – 9%
- Reusable bottles – 7%
- Bike facilities – 6%
- Electric car charging – 6%
- Motion-triggering lights – 5%
- Plants and natural light – 3%
What are you doing to reduce your environmental impact? There is so many items that I didn’t know had plastic in and it’s really shocked me! I’m waiting for my reusable cotton face pads to come next, so I’m definitely trying to make some changes!
