Whether you currently own a business or work for someone else, the action to become more sustainable in the office is something that we all need to encourage. After all, our planet is soon to hit a point where the damage we’ve done is irreversible so we need to combat this as soon as we can. The workplace can be one of the worst offenders for contributing negatively to the environment and even small changes can help to eradicate this or even just improve it. If you’re wondering what more can be done to be more sustainable in the office, we’ve put together some top tips that should help.
Encourage people to work from home
There are many reasons that working from home can encourage sustainability in the office. Firstly, there will be much less people using things such as cars to drive into the office. Without the commute, there will be less pollution. It will also use less electricity in the workplace, less paper and less lighting and heating if people have their own offices. These may all seem like small differences but can soon add up. Even if people just work from home for a couple of days a week and work from the office the others, it will have a positive impact. As long as people have clear organisational goals for the business, there’s no reason this will negatively impact the office.
Promote a paperless office
In this day and age there really isn’t any need for tons of paper to be used and printed all the time. Instead, encourage a paperless office. As long as there is an efficient digital filing system and a drive that people can all share their work and files on, it should actually make the process a lot easier than having to sift through shelves and folders of paper physically. If you do need to use paper, try and find paper that has been recycled and print double-sized to reduce the amount that is needed.
Recycle or reuse where possible
If you don’t yet have a recycling system in place, it’s time you got one. Have multiple recycling bins for all the different items that you get rid of in the office, such as paper, plastic and food waste. When things are done with, see how they can be reused again before they are chucked or thrown out. If you have a coffee machine or water cooler, get rid of paper or plastic cups and instead make sure people use their own glass or china ones which can be washed and reused multiple times instead of thrown in the bin.
It is the responsibility of us all to make sure we’re sustainable in life, whether that be at home or at work. By doing so in the office you can help make a larger impact and encourage practices that will hopefully then be used at home too. These are just a few top tips to be sustainable in the office. Have you recently tried any of these? Which would you recommend? Let us know in the comments, we’d love to hear from you.
Photography by Luke Porter
