With the inevitable consequences from possible climate change, more and more companies are making environmental consciousness a core part of their workplace culture. It’s crucial to adopt such policies in order to reduce our impact on the planet; After all, it’s the only home we have.
It’s essential to develop policies from the ground up with your workforce. Also, it’s important to note that sustainability doesn’t necessarily have to be an added expense for your business. As a matter of fact, several eco-friendly practices can significantly cut down your costs.
Let’s take a look at some eco-friendly policies you can implement for a greener workplace.
- Go paperless
Paper communication is slow, cumbersome and simply wasteful. In the age of emails and instant messages, it’s time to join the paperless work culture. Applications such as Google Drive and Trello have made collaboration convenient and eco-friendly.
- Reuse and recycle
Words are not enough to make a difference. It’s imperative to establish and implement a clear and detailed recycling system. From the kitchen to the workstations, everyone should know how and where to discard waste.
Electronic waste is another major concern. Make sure such waste is recycled properly and safely.
- Make it fun with challenges
A handful of people can’t bear the responsibility of running a green workplace. It’s necessary to involve the entire workforce. Encourage your employees to participate in the green initiative by creating weekly or monthly challenges. For instance, you start no single-use plastic for a month campaign.
- Purchase environmentally-friendly supplies
Ensure all the office supplies at your workplace are safe for the environment. From recycled paper to refillable cartridges, switch to sustainable alternatives.
- Get green cleaning products
Whether you have in-house cleaners, or you outsource this service, it’s crucial to use green cleaning products. Non-toxic cleaning products are better for the environment and your employees.
- Conserve energy
Every person in the organisation should be diligent about turning off lights, computers and other electronics when not in use. By doing this your company can lower energy consumption and avoid skyrocketing energy bills. Whether it means installing motion-sensor lighting or reminding employees with printed signs, make conserving energy habitual.
- Switch to renewable energy
Generation of non-renewable energy is depleting fossil fuels and driving up greenhouse gas emissions. It’s high time for your company to switch to a renewable energy plan. Visit an energy comparison website to easily find the best energy provider offering green energy plans for your business.
- Utilise natural light
Instead of completely relying on electricity, design your office space to make the most of natural light. While changing your office architecture to incorporate more windows is neither easy nor cheap, try to work with what you have.
- Offer work from home
Offering employees, the option of working from home a couple of days in a month can significantly reduce your company’s carbon footprint. For one, work-from-home policies reduce office energy consumption. Secondly, your employees won’t have to spend time or fuel for the commute. It’s a win-win.
- Encourage green transportation
Encourage your employees to use bikes, buses or other forms of public transportation. Carpooling is another effective way to reduce pollution.
- Revamp cafeteria menu
Recently, global real estate company WeWork announced that it will consider no longer serving meat at events. For your office cafeteria, you should introduce a weekly vegetarian or vegan menu.
- Work with green vendors
Prioritising green vendors will further promote your environmental consciousness. Outsource to and purchase exclusively from sustainable companies.
Creating an environmentally-conscious workplace is a choice that you must actively pursue as an organisation. We all have to do our part to save our planet and taking the above-mentioned measures can be your company’s contribution.