Strategy

How can I make my office a little more sustainable?

Offices are hugely responsible for the negative impact on the world’s carbon footprint due to the amount of electricity that gets used, the lack of recycling that takes place and the amount of transport that is used getting from A to B.

One business that is on a serious mission to make their office a little more sustainable is CBS; not only has it installed new windows and insulation to keep heat loss to a minimum, but all company directors are to drive electric cars, which can be charged for free in their company carpark.

sustainable office

You can read more here.

Here are five suggestions on how you can make your office a little more sustainable:

1. Avoid the heating

Encourage your employees to wrap up a little warmer on the colder days so that the heating can stay off or stay as low as possible. Remember that some people get cold quicker than others, so keep the heating in the office off until everyone agrees that the temperature is too low to be productive.

2. Office supplies

There are plenty of switches that you can make in the office that are more sustainable. Take a little look around; what stationery items can you see that are made of plastic? Are there alternatives that you could purchase that are better for the environment?

A good idea would be to purchase pens with ink cartridges that can be refilled, rather than purchase plastic pens that go in the bin every time they run out. 

3. Cut down on printing costs

Most people these days take their laptops or tablets to meetings and conferences, and normal handouts tend to go to waste. Sending documents out beforehand will encourage people to view documents on the screen, rather than having them printed out in front of them.

Before printing something out to give to a bunch of people in a meeting, ask yourself “do they really need this in front of them?”. If the answer is no, then just get it up on the screen so that they can make their own notes.

4. Encourage walking and carpooling

Encourage walking, carpooling and cycling in the office to prevent traffic congestion and pollution. Find out who lives in each area and see if there is anyone who could pair up for the commute. Your employees will be grateful that they can split the petrol cost.

There are also schemes such as the ‘Cyclescheme’ which offer discounted bikes for those that want to start cycling to work.

5. Recycle!

Ensure that there are plenty of recycling bins dotted around the office so that your staff members don’t have an excuse for not doing their bit. Make it obvious which material goes in each bin so that your employees aren’t getting confused as to what goes where.