Every single business, no matter how large or how small, has a responsibility to have an eco-friendly workplace. Below I’ve listed some of the things that every place of work can look into improve their impact on the world. Not everything will apply to every workplace and this doesn’t include any products made and sold by each business. This applies mainly to offices but all businesses can take some of these ideas on board.
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How to have a more eco-friendly workplace
My first tip would be to nominate a member of staff to be the ‘environmental officer’ or similar at your workplace. It’s their responsibility to look after all of the things below and to regularly audit the business to see what additional improvements could be made.
Hopefully some of these things are already being done where you work, but if not they’re pretty simple to implement.
1. Recycling
Every place of work should be recycling to some degree already but if you aren’t you need to start doing so. Things that are easy to recycle at work…
- Paper / Cardboard (If you have any sensitive documents that need to be shredded find out if a local animal shelter can use the shredded paper as bedding.)
- Drinks Cans
- Glass bottles
Things you can start collecting to reduce your overall waste*
- Crisp / Snack Packets
- Writing instruments (pens / highlighters / correction fluid / marker pens)
- Some parts of cleaning products (like the triggers) can also be collected.
*Terracycle UK collect all sorts of things that normally can’t be recycled like crisp packets and writing implements. Collect these items at work and then get your workplace environmental officer to deliver them to the nearest Terracycle collection point. If there isn’t one nearby why not become a collection point for your local area? This will make your business look good to your neighbours!
2. Cleaning Products / Schedule
Whether your staff clean your workplace or you hire an outside cleaning company, you should be looking at what cleaning supplies you use.
Environmentally friendly cleaning products can initially cost you more money, but that’s a small price to pay for a healthier workplace and planet. You can also make a lot of savings by being sensible about your cleaning routine. Does your office really get that filthy in one day that you need to vacuum daily? Do the windows need to be cleaned every day?
If you’re providing a waste collection point for commonly recycled items, and for some of the not so commonly recycled items, you might not need to empty your bins every day. Therefore being more eco-friendly might mean you reduce how much you spend on a cleaner for your business meaning that any extra cost for eco-friendly cleaning materials is easily outweighed by the savings on wages.
- Use chemical free / non-toxic cleaning products.
- Use reusable cloths or rags.
- Does your workplace really need a deep clean every day?
- Buy plastic free toilet paper / paper towels for any bathrooms onsite. (Check out GreenCane)
3. Energy Usage
One of the easiest things to do have a more eco-friendly workplace, and to save your business money, is to ensure that electrical items are switched off when they’re not in use. Replacing items that can’t be repaired with the most energy efficient alternative should always be looked into.
- Replace all lighting with energy efficient bulbs.
- Switch things off when not in use (computers at the end of the day, lights in rooms not being used).
- Buy energy efficient appliances for any staff kitchen you might have.
- Don’t vacuum every day unless it’s absolutely necessary. Once a week is probably ample for a small office.
- Are you able to fit solar panels? Get them installed.
4. Stationary
Who is your stationary supplier? Do you go through more stationary than you actually need? Remember that you should only print things out if you really need to because most documents can be safely stored on your computer (and backed up). Try to avoid sending out letters to customers, use email instead. This will save you money and energy.
- Buy recycled or carbon neutral paper.
- Avoid envelopes with a clear plastic window.
- Buy ballpoint pens that are made of mainly recycled materials (and then collect all the used pens so they can be recycled too).
- Provide reusable notepads instead of disposable ones.
- You can buy cardboard box files and storage boxes instead of plastic.
- Does your workplace need rulers? Buy metal ones.
- Find eco-friendly printer ink.
5. Coffee and Water
Get your staff out of the habit of buying plastic water bottles and takeaway coffees by ensuring that you provide water and coffee in the workplace.
- Provide a water dispenser in the office – the bottles get used up to 50 times so you reduce single use plastic by a huge amount. Just make sure you don’t provide plastic cups to serve the water.
- Provide free coffee at work. It doesn’t have to be a jar of nescafe. Try to buy coffee beans and avoid pods (which almost always end up in landfill).
One of the best ideas for your business and your staff is to provide all staff with a reusable water bottle and a reusable coffee cup. Add your company branding to them to spread awareness of your business when your staff are out and about.
6. Work Events
Christmas decorations, office parties and other workplace celebrations can all be eco-friendly with just a little bit of forethought. Make sure that any decorations you buy are reusable. For any new stuff you need to buy make sure to avoid anything that contains plastic. Balloons are a big NO for all occasions!
- Buy or make eco-friendly bunting.
- Save up some of your waste paper and make decorations out of it. It can still be recycled at a later date but it’s cheaper than buying decorations. Get your staff to be creative and make one or two office decorations each using paper or cardboard that’s due to be thrown out.
- If you do end up buying Christmas decorations, avoid anything with glitter. Glitter is just thousands of pieces of micro-plastic which can be devastating to wildlife (and us).
- Have a team building day that includes a volunteering activity, like tree planting or a beach clean up.
7. Got an outdoor space?
If your workplace is lucky enough to have a garden or other kind of outdoor space then make it as wildlife and insect friendly as possible. What you can do here depends on the size of the area you have available, but even balconies can include vertical gardens, bird / bee boxes and more.
- Have a compost heap, if your outdoor space is large enough for one. You can then make sure your office food waste is not going to landfill.
- Build or buy a bee hotel.
- Have a log pile for beetles and other insects.
- Don’t mow all of your lawn. Allow it to become a wildflower meadow, or at the very least leave a strip of wildflowers around the edge of the lawn.
- Put up bird boxes and butterfly boxes.
- Provide water for birds, insects and other wildlife.
- Make sure there are spaces in your hedge / fence to make a hedgehog highway.
- If you only have a patio, fill some pots with wildflowers.
Being an insect and wildlife friendly business is also very beneficial to your staff. Seeing flowers and birds is good for everyone’s general wellbeing.
8. The Building
If your building has netting to prevent birds nesting you should try to have it removed asap. Netting causes serious injury and death to birds. This is not a great look for your business!
If you don’t have a garden or outdoor space you can still attach bird and bat boxes onto the building so that you’re at least doing what you can for wildlife.
9. Flexible working
Back in 2014 the right to request flexible working was put in place. Sadly only 10% of advertised jobs offer flexible working. There are several benefits to allowing your staff to work at home some or all of the time. It saves you money in office space and energy usage for a start. It’s better for families. Environmentally you are reducing the need to travel to work (which often includes using transport), so you’re reducing your workplace carbon footprint. If your place of work is suitable to allow staff to work from home, even if that’s only one day a week, then it’s something you should seriously look at.
The Benefits of Working From Home
There is so much that any sized business can do to be more eco-friendly. Saving energy and water, reducing the toxic chemicals you use and reducing plastic and recycling are all very easy to achieve and will probably save the business money as well. Do a quick audit at your workplace and have a chat with your manager. If you’re the person in charge of ordering office and cleaning supplies start pricing up the eco-friendly alternatives and pointing out where savings can be made.
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