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Want to play your part for the environment but don’t know how? Don’t have time to focus too much on making your working environment more eco-friendly? Check out these 5 tips below for easy suggestions to green your workplace. No hefty green consultant fee necessary!
- No Printing Have an eco-friendly paperless day. Ask all employees to refrain from printing ANYTHING for a whole day once a week or once a month. The good news is that this kind of discipline will train employees to print less on other days as so many of us frequently print unnecessarily. This means substantial cost saving in the long run!
- Invest in Plants Trees and plants suck all the bad air out of the room. They literally remove toxins and add oxygen to the air being inhaled by your colleagues. This is especially true for employees with asthma and/or allergies. Here is a great resource to help you choose a plant for your office space.
- Lights Off Have an energy conserving lightless day once a week. Most offices use an inordinate amount of lights even when they have windows that offer natural light. Plus computers are back-lit and most of us spend all day in front of the screen. Create a more sustainable office space and turn all switches OFF once a week or once a month.
- Eco Potluck Fast food and its packaging is one of the biggest no-nos for our planet’s environmental health. From the harsh chemicals in the food and the packaging to the sheer wastage from the containers, eating take-out adds to the landfill. Have a potluck lunch day once a week. Ask all employees to bring one dish and have the company supply reusable plates and utensils. Sharing food creates bonds and camaraderie amongst employees so it’s a win-win.
- Get a Green Intern Graduates, lawyers and MBAs are out of work these days and need opportunities to pad their CVs. Why not recruit a ‘green’ intern? Bring on a young, hard-working person and have them work on a project that can help raise the company’s green profile. For example, a green intern could implement a company-wide Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) sustainability policy such as a recycling drive.
As a manager, implementing some of the above ideas will show senior management that you are committed to the evolution of the company and you are committed to helping the company contribute to a greener member of the business community. As part of the company’s branding exercise, you can promote these new policies with local media outlets and through the company’s social media pages. What are you waiting for? Green your office now!
Photo credit: marc0047 via photopin cc.
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