Sustainability is a business imperative, and the workplace is a great place for employers to make an impact. Creating more sustainable workspaces, i.e. greening the office itself, brings benefits beyond a positive climate impact. Energy-efficient workspaces are typically cheaper to operate, so there’s a potential for savings on utilities and maintenance. They’re also more pleasant to work in, which can aid recruiting and retention efforts, especially among environmentally conscious young people. Lastly, greener offices prove a company’s commitment to sustainability, which can be a powerful branding and marketing tool.
Tomorrow’s offices can and should have a much smaller environmental impact than they do now. Here are some sustainable measures you can implement as an office manager to reduce your environmental impact:
- Work with ESG focussed suppliers
If becoming environmentally sustainable is a critical strategy in your business plan, ensuring your supply chain is as green as possible is an excellent way to build a solid foundation for your green values. Seeking out green suppliers for your business needs is a great way to start. This could be anything from suppliers of recycled paper or cups, to cleaning companies that use eco-friendly cleaning products. To ensure environmental and economic sustainability, businesses have to network with others to make sure that eco-friendly practices become an accepted standard
- Establish a sustainability initiative task-force or green team
If your company does not have an explicitly eco-friendly mission, it’s likely up to individual employees to encourage sustainable purchasing and system implementation in the office.
As the saying goes, there’s strength in numbers! Round up your eco-minded co-workers and set up a sustainability task force. Together you can brainstorm creative ways to propose your ideas to the office decision-makers, as well as put systems in place to measure and monitor how the initiatives are impacting your office.
Some questions/pointers to get them started:
– Does our cleaning company provide sustainable consumable product choices which focus on plastic packaging reduction and CO2 emissions reduction?
– Options to explore include: toilet paper products which are plastic free (using only recycled cardboard packaging), sustainable bamboo pulp kitchen roll, cleaning products with natural ingredients avoiding harmful acid and chlorine content.
- Institute a Company Recycling Program for Electronics
In addition to recycling the usual paper, cans, and bottles in the office, don’t forget about the e-waste that is so essential to businesses and so toxic to the environment, so called WEEE recycling (Waste Electric and Electronic Equipment). When old electronic equipment finally bites the dust, don’t just toss it, make it company policy to recycle everything you can using an approved WEEE recycling specialist. Recycling for Charities that donate to local schools makes recycling e-waste like monitors, printers, keyboards and cables a breeze – and you can choose which charity gets the proceeds from your recycled electronics! Many computer manufacturers offer take-back programs for old computers, so make use of them.
- Turn Off Lights That Aren’t Being Used
Turn off the lights in rooms and corridors that aren’t being used to reduce lighting costs by as much as 15%. Roughly 40% of the electricity used in a typical office building is used for artificial lighting. While most offices have switched to energy-saving light sources, lights are often left burning around-the-clock. Use natural daylight as much as possible and install motion-activated light switches.
- Install Climate Control Settings
Install a programmable climate control model at a comfortable level throughout the year, which automatically turns off the heat and air-conditioning after hours. By turning down your thermostat for at least 8 hours a day, you can save up to 1% per year for every degree!
- Decorate The Office With Plants
Office plants provide numerous benefits. In addition to their aesthetic value, plants can help reduce your office’s carbon emissions as well as naturally purify the air in your office. Something as small as putting a plant on everyone’s desk will not only improve the environment, but also employees’ happiness and productivity levels. Plants create oxygen, keep people calm, and remind them they’re on a green team.
The impact you can have with any initiative will vary depending on your industry and the specifics of your company. The key is to identify partners in other departments and someone in senior management to support you—that may be easier than you think. Whether you’ve been an environmentalist forever or were recently inspired by the surge of climate activism worldwide, climate change is likely on your mind. You may have even adopted ways to reduce your personal carbon footprint at home. But imagine if you could help your whole department—or even your entire company—make some changes that could affect the environment for the better.
