At the office, sustainability means supporting long-term ecological balance, resource conservation, efficient energy use, and waste reduction. If your workplace needs an environmentally friendly overhaul, there’s no better time than now to take action.
Sustainability continues to be a hot topic in 2024, especially as employees put more pressure on organizational leaders to create an eco-conscious culture. It’s not just about managing your company’s footprint.
You must innovate and ensure that team members are empowered and encouraged to think and act with a climate-conscious mindset.
We’ve come up with some tips to help you embed sustainability into business as usual. Start transforming your company into a more sustainable business.
Table of Contents
Eliminate Single-Use Coffee Cups
In-office brewing happens constantly, so cups perform a vital function. They keep the coffee warm and warm the hands of the drinker (but without burning). What’s best for us isn’t always best for the environment.
Each year, billions of single-use cups are used and thrown into landfills. The cost isn’t immediately paid by those who consume coffee. As the cups end up in landfill, they release methane, a gas that’s more harmful than CO2.
Methane is a concern because of its impact on the climate. It’s best to avoid using single-use cups, including paper cups, plastic cups, and foam cups.
Ban disposable coffee cups in the office. Switch to reusable cups (and mugs) to close the loop on consumption. If you have an onsite café, get them involved too.
This will make it much easier for the people in your organization to avoid single-use plastic. Reusable coffee cups last for years if they’re cared for properly.
Most of them can be recycled when they wear out. Anyone who is caught red-handed with a disposable cup has to purchase a round of coffee for the entire office. Take photos of employees with their reusable cups and give small prizes. You can host an inter-office competition. This type of activity can be very successful.
Go Paperless
Paper-based processes are expensive, slow down workflows, and adversely impact the environment. With today’s connectivity and technological possibilities, there’s no need to use paper. Adopt and implement a document management system HubSpot, for example, makes it easy to share documents from your Gmail or Outlook inbox.
Before you can bring on a document management system, it’s necessary to scan, upload, organize, categorize, tag, and format the paper-based documents you already have.
Start saving documents in the cloud to improve collaboration. They can be accessed by all authorized people, so it’s not necessary to save a local copy.
Electronic signatures have created a greener environment by reducing the consumption of paper. There’s no need for printing, copying, scanning, or physically archiving contracts.
You can sign documents on the go using your mobile phone. Moving away from paper signatures is a good step towards bringing about a digital transformation. Just think about it.
An electronic signature solution enhances information exchange and connectivity across departments. Don’t worry because electronic signatures are legally binding for nearly every business around the world.
Encourage A Greener Commute
A sizable minority of workers are still coming back to their desks. These days, there are so many ways to commute to and from work. Some of these options could help keep the environment clean. Encourage eco-friendly commuting practices. Offer employees incentives such as Cycle to Work schemes.
Pay for new bicycles, including accessories, and employees will repay the cost in regular instalments from their gross salaries. Riding a bike is a dependable mode of transportation, not to mention that it’s environmentally friendly. Emissions from transport continue to rise, and we’re not going to get to net zero without drastic changes.
Having fewer cars on the roads translates into reduced greenhouse gas emissions and improved air quality. There are numerous strategies you can leverage to promote employee carpooling. For instance, offer parking benefits to rideshare drivers such as parking spots or discounted parking rates.
Why don’t you make ridesharing a game? More exactly, offer prizes to the teams that log the most commutes or the most significant number of miles. Gamification will get people excited about participating.
Help employees discover potential carpool partners within the company network.
Rev Up Your Office Recycling Program
Chances are that your office recycling program isn’t yielding positive results. To support and increase office recycling, you’re going to have to make an effort.
In addition to paper, there are several waste items in your office that you can divert from the landfill. Cardboard is one example. It can be recycled around seven times before it degrades in quality. Mil-tek Balers take up little space and are very easy to operate.
They’re more affordable than other balers and have lower costs of ownership. The results aren’t surprising for those who’ve experienced decades of success with Mil-tek.
You’re probably curious to know if baler machines will endanger your employees. Balers aren’t dangerous, just to be clear. The recycling machinery is designed according to the latest safety standards, so there’s no risk of injury to the operator.
With the ability to pack more recyclable material into each bale, it’s possible to maximize storage and shipping efficiency. The bales can be sent off immediately to recycling centres.
Communicate the success of your workplace recycling program through the use of posters or social media pics. You don’t have to save the environment alone.
Plant Some Trees
Finally, yet importantly, plant some trees. Trees improve soil and prevent flooding erosion. Also, they help clean the air that we breathe by absorbing harmful carbon from the atmosphere. Trees absorb pollutants such as ozone, nitrogen oxides, and carbon monoxide while removing particles like dust and smoke.
You can plant an entire forest in your name and gift every employee a tree. Each one will be responsible for their tree. Therefore, they’ll have to monitor their growth and in doing so learn how it contributes to the health of the planet.
It’s up to you to save the planet. And what better way to do it than getting your employees involved?
