Working people spend a solid portion of their day in their workplace. The growing trend and not only trend but also a necessity of running a responsible, self-sustained business, forces companies to apply some of energy saving and recycling measures that will provide unspoiled natural resources for generations to come. In the same sense, individual employees can contribute on their level, by implementing some of these Earth-friendly tips in their offices.
Lighting
Every employee can help in using as much natural light as possible. The work is usually done during the day and there is no reason for electric light, provided that windows are big enough. In their turn, employees can keep the windows clean and the curtains and drapes folded back. There is no better light source than natural sunlight. Save money by turning off overhead and task lights every time you have to step out of the office for a meeting or break.
Keep Power Bills Low
There is a number of ways how to cut back the power bills and eliminate hidden power usage. Lot of modern devices incline to or utilize power saving technologies, but it is the human factor that holds the switch. If the nature of your work requires staying late or working in the evening, replace incandescent bulbs with power saving ones. It sounds ridiculous to mention turning the lights off when they are not in use but you would be surprised how many employees fails to do so.
Hidden Power Leaks
Latest generation of office electric devices utilize stand by modes, which allow them to initialize in a short time between periods of disuse. Not many people know that even in these stand by modes, the devices are using up power, although “nothing is buzzing or flickering”. If you want to be sure that your PC, monitor, printer, photocopy machine, etc. are completely off the grid, adopt a habit of unplugging them instead of switching them off. A power strip with a switch is a more elegant solution.
Eating and Drinking
Offices are places where a ton of coffee is drunk every day. Don you share in protecting the Earth by drinking organic, fair trade coffee that is not grown on tilled rainforests sites, using stainless steel filters instead of paper ones and investing in reusable mugs rather than plastic cups. If you office makes use of a cafeteria, start by replacing plastic disposable utensils with stainless steel ones as with the serving dishes and trays.
Furniture
Earth-friendly furniture involves using materials like recycled wood, bamboo or natural non-toxic materials combined with organic wood elements. In addition of being beneficial to companies and individuals who use it, in a recent chat with highly-rated suppliers of office furniture, I learned that sustainable office furniture is specifically designed with the whole life cycle in mind – from raw materials to the end of its use.
Office Supplies
A good way of saving office paper is printing only what you must. Instead of copying documents for the meetings, store them on a shared drive and display them for everyone to see when needed. Also, unlike staples, paper clips are made of aluminum and can be recycled or even better reused a number of times, until they are deformed beyond repair.
Green living does not involve only our efforts of making this planet a better place for the future. It also affects the way we think. By making our workplace more sustainable, you can feel good about what you do every step of the way.
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