3 Useful Tips for a Greener Office
Gone are the days when having a green office was adopted only by a handful of concerned businesses. Today you find that there are many small and big companies that are working towards a greener office by doing things like reducing waste. And why not? By having an environmentally friendly office you’re only sending a positive message to your clients/customers.
Going green is definitely in these days. It’s not only a growing trend, but also a way to a more environmentally friendly way to do business. For example, if we look at the electronic screening services out there today, they’re not only creating value for their customers but are also helping the environment. How? Here’s an example: lexis nexis tenant screening services help property owners screen screen tenants before they rent their property out. Usually this would require the use of paper files and printing out papers. But since these services are electronic, they preclude the use of paper, hence contributing the green industry.
The point that we’re trying to make here is – having a greener office is definitely the right step knowing every other business is adapting the same route.
Contrary to popular belief, going green at the workplace starts with a few basic practices that can be easily implemented. In the following article we discuss a few tips that will help you make your office much more environmentally friendly…
#1: Get Everybody Involved
If you want your green office campaign to be successful, it’s important that everyone working there is well-aware. You need to get a buy-in from everybody. In order to achieve this talk to your employees and let them know about your plans/aims – whether it’s through email or doing something else to grab their attention. If you want you can also have meetings organized on a regular basis where everybody working in the office can share their ideas. In these meetings you go through the steps that are to be taken to create a more environmentally friendly office that will also save money.
#2: Reuse Before Recycling
Before you go out there and jump on recycling items, see if you can reuse them first. The fact remains that offices usually get through a lots of paper each and every day – and most of this is solely for internal use. You can do things like printing on both sides of the paper to make the most out of it. This isn’t hard to do if you have a designated printer that’s only for internal use where already printed paper could be flipped over and used again in the future. While recycling is a good practice, you should always try to see if an item can be reused.
#3: Bring Down the Consumption of Electricity
In a typical office you will find that different types of technology and machines are used on a regular basis. If these are used smartly, reducing electricity consumption becomes a lot more easier. Start simple and go for the lights first. For instance, if it’s the weather is sunny outside then have those blinds opened so that sunshine takes care of the lighting. Besides that, have your computer turned off (or at least the monitor) when it is not in use. There are many such things that you do reduce the overall consumption of electricity. Finally, you should also review the energy supplier you’re using for your office. Since there are many different renewable energy suppliers in the market, you may want to go for one that supports green.
Conclusion
From the above article we can conclude that it’s in fact easy to go green if you take the right steps. Having an office that is eco-friendly may not seem something that will make a huge difference now. But in the long run, you will see that the benefits are many.
Samantha Peters
This post is by Samantha Peters, who enjoys writing about Eco-friendly businesses and sustainable business models that take into account the triple bottom line, Planet, People, and Profits. You can follow Sam on Twitter @Sam_Peters1001.
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