Ever thought of taking into consideration the Three R’s of being environmentally friendly that we grew up with? If you haven’t yet then you should take a look as they have evolved now, adding two more R’s to the list, which makes it: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and now, Repair and Rethink!
We provide you here a list of 10 simple ways to go green in the office and often save money in the process while maintaining a friendly environment, which is as follows:
1. Go Green!
Having some green plants in the office more likely reduces that "sterile" look, making it more comfortable for everybody. Make your office literally green with plants! They absorb airborne pollutants (which are rampant with off-gassing office furniture), and emit healthy negative ions and oxygen into the air.
2. Use Natural Light
Open the blinds and let daylight in wherever possible. And of course, don't leave the lights on at night when everybody is gone. Artificial lighting represents 40 percent of electricity consumption in a typical office building, and almost a quarter of all electricity in the States. And so often this is unnecessary. So why not save the bills for later use of money!
3. Eliminate Paper Towels
Even in the bathroom you can use cloth towels or hand dryers. Toilet flushing is the largest water consumer in office buildings. Make sure all taps have low-flow aerators installed to reduce water wastage. Cloth napkins are not only useful in the kitchen but in office toilets they work just as fine.
4. Avoid Screen Savers
Set monitors to power off after the same amount of time; it's just as easy to set a company policy that disallows the use of screen savers. Screensavers take a lot of energy of the laptop or either it’s a computer so it’s better not keep one.
5. Update Mailing Lists
By ensuring your mailing lists are up to date, you avoid sending out unnecessary letters, thus saving the paper, printing, and postage. Employees can be just as - if not more, productive when working from home. Most also consider it a perk to telecommute, even if only for a few days per month. Increasing numbers of digital storage devices and systems for businesses make going digital and updating data very easy to do.
6. Reusable Pen and Products
Consider stocking the office with reusable pens instead. Stock the supplies cupboard only with refills for these pens. This creates incentives to keep track of and use their pens, and they're actually cheaper in the long run and usually much nicer to use. Reusable and environmentally friendly cleaning products protect the health of not only your cleaning staff but also your employees, by eliminating harmful substances and odors from the office.
7. Try LED Lamps
You may actually be able to reduce the number of desk lamps you have in the office. If you must buy new lighting though, consider LED lamps, which use even less power than compact fluorescent bulbs do.
8. Keep Multi-Purpose Machines
The fewer office machines you buy, the smaller your footprint will be. Consider using multi-purpose machines that handle copying, scanning, faxing, and printing, as well as other multi-tasking machines.
9. Buy in Bulk
Think creatively about using jars or dispensers for these items that make it easy — and sanitary, for all to use. Rather than buying individual packets of coffee, creamer, sugar, pepper, salt, jam, and other consumables, buy these items in bulk instead! Office workers that has to work on the coast can also store a bulk amount of water and other liquids in water tanks for later use.
10. Second Hand Appliances
You'll save by-product wastage in the production of a new appliance (and you'll save money too). Don't use the lazy excuse that the new item was already produced so you may as well buy it; like second-hand furnitures would be it!
