A lot of people have adapted to greener living at home. It is not that hard to do at your own home because you are in full control of how you live. However, the workplace is a different story. You are one employee among many in a company headed or owned by someone else. Decisions and changes need to be approved before implementation. Also, different types of personalities in the workplace make it more difficult sometimes to come to a consensus in any type of decision. If you want to see your company move in a greener direction, read this article for some advice on how you can get the ball rolling.
First of all, find out from your employer if there is already a company policy about recycling and energy-saving. Sometimes there is a policy in place, but just not officially enforced. It would be helpful, if you find out so that you know what kind of foundation you have to start with. If there is already a policy, you can help build upon it. If there is no policy, offer some suggestions.
A typical office generates tons of documents every day. A lot of times, people print out things that are not necessary to print, like emails. Be aware of how much paper you use in a typical day. Take notice on what you use it for. Do you print a lot of things so you can read them later at your convenience? Perhaps you should store those in a digital “to do” file instead of printing them out. When you print out drafts, consider using the other side of paper that has already been used.
Refrigerators are energy guzzlers. Every time you open the company lounge’s refrigerator, the fridge loses a bit of its cold temperature. Then it spends extra energy just to build the coldness back up. You can use the refrigerator less by bringing a lunch that doesn’t require refrigeration.
Paper is not the only thing that you can recycle in the workplace. Soda cans can certainly be recycled. Certain plastics and used toner cartridges can also be recycled.
Get your co-workers in on the move to a greener office. Encourage each other and remind each other of energy-saving habits, like turning off the PC and office equipment after work. When you can get a small group of co-workers to do things in a greener way, it will catch people’s attention. You may even inspire other departments to do the same. It is like a chain reaction. Pretty soon, a big part of the company will embrace greener activities just because one person in one department chose to make a change.
Following energy-saving habits at work not only helps the environment, but it will help you and others be more conscientious about saving resources. Over a typical week, you probably use more energy at work than at home. Positive changes can start with one person, and that person can be you.