Ditch the disposable products – This could be one of the most helpful JOCO lifestyleways to go green at work. While it may not be feasible to get rid of all disposable office products, there certainly may be a few things your office could buy differently in order to conserve the world’s resources. A couple examples would be: invest in coffee mugs in lieu of throwaway cups and consider buying several sets of real silverware instead of its plastic cousins. Or you could add a water cooler to the break room, foregoing the need for cases of water bottles.
Keep the off switch in mind – When you leave a rooswitch offm, flip off the lights. If your office will be out for a long weekend or holiday, make sure all appropriate electric devices are set up with energy savings settings, or completely unplugged if possible. By creating habits of conserving lights and electricity, you are making your office space more ecofriendly, one little plug – or switch – at a time. You can also use dimmers, motion sensors, or occupancy sensors to automatically turn off lighting when not in use to reduce energy use and costs.
Think before you print – Is it necessary to have a hard copy of that go green at workdocument? Do your employees really need to have a printed out agenda for each person for every meeting? Brainstorm ways to effectively use paper as an office and see just how many trees – and dollar bills – you can save. Set your printers’ default setting to print double sided and start a paper recycling bin, using the collected old documents to jot down notes and ideas. Your very own recycled notepad. Another option is to utilize file sharing programs like Google Docs instead of printing copies for every employee.
Give old items new life – Wait! Before you place that online order forthCADCRF0W more manilla folders, check to see if there are any old file folders you can flip inside out. Add a new label and they are as good as brand-new! Before you toss that old printer cartridge, check online to see if that specific type of cartridge can be refilled, which will save you money and the environment from more waste. And when it doubt, recycle it out! If your office doesn’t already have established recycling stations throughout the building, take an afternoon to make sure the bins are very clearly marked for all employees and staff to see.
Use coffee pots, not pods – While it may seem like the convenience of those winfa_coffeeoh-so-clever K-cups are worth stocking up on for morning meetings and afternoon pick-me-ups, have you stopped to think about the impact of said cups on the environment? In addition to being exponentially more expensive than traditional coffee beans, the metal pods are – for the most part – not recyclable. And after one use, become trash. Keep your employees caffeinated for far less money and waste by brewing beans the good old-fashioned way.