A Green Office
Fast Track to a Green Office
While going green at home is all the rage these days, many of us simply don’t bother at work, thinking we can’t do enough to make a difference. But in fact even small changes here can have a big impact - just get your staff to follow these simple steps to do their bit for the eco-effort.
Draft an action plan
Draw up a list of specific steps that will help make your office more environmentally friendly. Make sure it’s realistic and start small - you can always revise the plan when you’ve achieved some of the early, simple objectives.
Appoint a Champion
Delegating responsibility for green matters to one or more interested members of staff will ensure changes are driven from the bottom up - and not seen as yet another management directive.
Learn the three Rs
Recycling is key to a green office, but reducing waste and reusing is even better. Reduce plastic cup waste, for instance, by bringing in your own coffee mug and reuse items where you can, such as envelopes and paper clips.
Don’t waste paper
Waste paper is one of the worst workplace sins but it’s one of the easiest to put right. Encourage staff not to print documents unless they really need to and, if they do, to print on both sides of the paper.
Bin and gone
Make it harder for staff to create waste by replacing individual waste baskets with central recycling bins for paper, cans and plastic.
Turn it off
Three quarters of the UK’s lighting energy is used at work so before you automatically turn the lights on, open all the blinds and make the most of natural daylight. Shutting down PCs and monitors overnight is another quick way to cut energy consumption - and costs.
Green up your purchasing
Switching to eco-friendly products not only directly benefits the environment; it also encourages suppliers to go green and raises environmental awareness. Why not change your energy supplier to a green company or use a green office cleaning company such as greenyouroffice?
Incentivise your staff
Encourage staff to adopt green working practices with competitions or incentives - offer prizes for the best waste saving idea, for example, or set up schemes such as car sharing, free breakfasts for cyclists or subsidised bikes. The more encouragement you give, the more enthusiastic your workplace will be.
with thanks to Kim Stoddart, MD of Green Rocket - greenrocketgroup.com - published in the Edge publication
