Today, there are many ways to live a more sustainable, eco-conscious life. But what about your time spent at work? Regardless if you work from a home office, satellite office, or a traditional office setting you will find that you spend the majority of your day there. Within the workplace, there are numerous ways you can implement sustainable practices into your organization’s business and work life all while saving money and having a positive economic impact. It turns out, most sustainable business practices will save your company money AND they can be easy and fun to do.
Recycle!
This may be an obvious one, but many offices do not recycle. It is easy to have extra bins in the office or at your desk for recycling documents, notes, plastics, etc.
Incentivize carpooling, public transportation, and bike riding to work.
This is a great way to reduce emissions and save on car expenses and gas money.
Go paperless or use recycled paper.
Transition to digital documents or if you require hard documents, consider buying 100% recycled paper.
Shop local.
Buy fruits, vegetables, and snacks from local farmers markets or have a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) box with fresh food delivered to your office!
Avoid using plastic cutlery.
Buy metal or reusable cutlery and ditch single use plastics.
Use eco-friendly cleaning products.
This applies to your home and work office. Many common cleaning products are indoor pollutants that are dangerous for the environment as well as human health. Purchase environmentally friendly hand soaps and cleaning sprays that do not have harmful and/or toxic chemicals.
Create an office green team or group that creates sustainable awareness in your office.
This is a great way to get more employees involved!
Say goodbye to bottled water.
The doctor doesn’t require your daily 8 glasses of water to be from the bottle. Purchase a reusable water bottle or a water purifier for the office that can filter tap water. These will both eliminate your dependence on plastic bottles and keep them out of the landfills.
Switch your search engine.
Did you know that simply switching your search engine can help the environment? New search engines like www.Ecosia.org (that plants trees for every search) and www.Blackle.com (that saves energy) are easy and free!
Becoming more sustainable and making your workplace more eco-friendly doesn’t mean you have to go completely off the grid, or sell your car. There are so many easy adjustments and small changes that can make a huge difference! Simply being more aware and conscious of your actions in the workplace is a great place to start.
ADEC Innovations (ADEC) helps organizations recognize business drivers for sustainability practices and offers cost-effective sustainability management solutions. To stay current on the latest sustainability trends, subscribe to our monthly newsletter, GreenWatch.
