9 Strategies to Go Green in the Office

Deforestation, overfilling landfills, depletion of the ozone, global warming. Now,

• Your company can personally buy and plant trees. Engraved wooden poster website Space Wolf Limited has vowed to plant one cherry tree for every wood item they sell.
• Your company can donate money to one of the many charities devoted to reforesting our world.

#4. Eco-Friendly Vendors and Purchases

Green conscious businesses analyze products and potential business relationships before purchasing from or hiring a vendor. Try to add analyzing how eco-friendly the company or product is before making the purchase or doing business with them.

• Choose to purchase products that are made from recyclable material and that it is able to be recycled.
• Buy refurbished office supplies.
• Choose products that have recyclable packaging.
• Check that vendors or suppliers are eco-conscious before doing business with them.

#5. Unplug Zombie Electronics

Business can increase efficiency by reducing the extra energy waste caused by their electronics when not in use. This will reduce the amount of energy you use and decrease your company’s overall electricity bill.

• Tell employees to turn off their computer rather than putting it into sleep mode.
• Only allow chargers for electronic devices to be plugged into open wall outlets when needed (plugged in chargers still seep energy even if devices are not attached).
• Purchase power strips that give employees the ability to turn off multiple appliances or office equipment in bulk before they leave for the day. Any appliance that has an electronic display or a light should be unplugged or turned off.

#6. Solar Panels

Invest in solar panels to power your business rather than using oil or electricity. According to Solar Panels: Are They Really Worth It, “every one kW of solar capacity” that is installed is “equivalent to planting 200 trees.” Beyond the energy and environmental benefits, businesses would be able to sell the extra power their solar panels generate to utility companies for some extra money.

#7. Use Energy Efficient Equipment

Businesses can increase their energy efficiency by purchasing the right pieces of equipment and products for their business.

• Purchase LED or CFL light bulbs for more energy efficient and longer lasting light bulbs.
• Purchase energy star compliant appliances, computers, and other office supplies.
• Purchase hybrid or electric company vehicles.

#8. Occasionally Allow Telecommuting

Telecommuting can give your co-workers the means to decrease the amount of gas they waste going to and from work

In order to decrease the potential inefficiency that employees might experience at work, companies can:

• Reserve telecommuting to experienced employees.
• Demand employees who telecommute provide a task based outline of what they want to accomplish while working from home.
• Have employees end each day by writing a report of what they accomplished.
• Have a limit to the number of days employees can telecommute or occasionally have a day where employees must work on site.

#9. Four Day Work Weeks

Reduce the work week from five days to four days. Reducing the work week by one day, will reduce the amount of gas employees utilize to commute to and from work. The shortened work week would also decrease the number of cars on the road during rush hour and decrease the amount of pollutants that get released through exhaust fumes into the environment by 14%.

Beyond the environmental benefits, a shortened work week has also been known to increase employee efficiency and happiness while decreasing employee absenteeism. Rather than jump immediately into a four day work week, companies might want to allow some of the more experienced employees give the new work regime a try. This trial period would allow your company to test how the strategy would work on a smaller scale.

Green practices and strategies are important to preserve a healthy environment. With a little work, small and large businesses can work toward decreasing how much they contribute to deforestation, adding to the overfilling landfills, the depletion of the ozone, and global warming.

Images: Trees, Computer, and Transportation from Unsplash

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