As more people become aware of the importance of protecting our environment, the eco-friendly movement gains momentum. Offices are still a major source of pollutants and toxins, excessive landfill waste, and high energy consumption. The average person spends about a third of their life at work (yikes). Use that time to encourage more eco-friendly behaviors among your coworkers. Start by eliminating the worst offender in the office environment – the disposable cup. In New Zealand alone, 295 million disposable coffee cups are used each year.
You can reduce your carbon footprint and make your workplace more eco-friendly by implementing a number of measures. This can be done by changing the way you use products, how you clean your workplace, and raising awareness among your colleagues. Check out our tips for more information about how to create an eco-friendly office.
Launch a campaign of awareness.
Start a campaign of awareness with your coworkers or employees. It’s a great way to get your staff involved in eco-friendly habits. You could host lunchtime sessions with information and display posters that remind people to recycle, reduce, and reuse. Regular challenges can be a fun way to get people involved in the sustainability movement and promote friendly competition within your office. Who can last the longest without disposable coffee cups or plastic cutlery? You can give out small prizes such as food vouchers dr, inks, or reusable coffee cups.
Promoting environmentally conscious commuting is another good idea. Carpooling is a great way to connect people who drive the same route every day. Encourage those who live near the office to walk or cycle, while those further away can use public transport.
A regular email newsletter will keep eco-friendly behaviors at the forefront of everyone’s mind. Sign up for the newsletter in your kitchen or other shared areas. Your office campaign could include sustainable living tips, updates, and other information. Encourage others to add ideas and keep the campaign fresh. Keep an eye out for sustainability events and information sessions in your locality. Get a group together to attend. You may find new ideas that you can implement at your office and have a chance to present your own.
Consider your space
It is possible that your office’s inefficient layout could prevent you from having an eco-friendly work environment. Look at where your desks are located and any other areas you use for work. Do you make the most of your natural lighting sources? You may be relying on artificial light too much if your workspace is located in dark and shady areas.
Is your workplace too large for the number of employees you have? It’s possible that you are heating and lighting space that is not needed. Due to the use of remote work and office technology, which is more efficient, more and more companies are reducing their core staff. You could move to a smaller workplace if this is your situation as an owner or manager.
Reduce your electricity usage by switching off electronic devices when not in use or replacing older appliances with energy-efficient options. You can use the energy-saving features on your office computers to turn off the monitors after periods of inactivity. You can replace traditional light bulbs with energy-efficient ones and encourage your staff to turn the lights off in meeting rooms when not in use.
Use eco-friendly cleaning and office products.
You can harm the environment by using products in your office. Use recycled paper and printer paper. You can also reuse the back of the paper to print notes or drafts. Eco-friendly printer inks made with less toxic ingredients are also available. They are also better for your employees’ health. Ink refillable cartridges can also be used to reduce office waste. Most printers have an “economy” printing option that uses less ink and prolongs the lifecycle of cartridges.
Avoid giving your employees disposable products, such as plastic cutlery and throwaway cups or plates. Consider investing in energy-efficient hand dryers if your bathrooms use disposable paper towels. You could choose more environmentally friendly bamboo or sugarcane paper towels for the kitchen.
You can also replace your office cleaning products with eco-friendly alternatives. Consider using organic or toxin-free surface sprays, liquid dishwashing, or tablet and powder dishwashing. Clean office, clean conscience. Crewcare is proud to use environmentally friendly cleaning methods. Crewcare is committed to promoting a clean and eco-friendly workplace.
Using green cleaning products
Reduce the use of water
Cleaning with microfibres reduces the need for chemicals
We support our clients in recycling initiatives
Encourage the use of compostable bin liners and rubbish bags
Rethinking waste management
Be smart with your waste disposal in the office. Set up regular garbage bins and recycling bins, as well as organic disposal bins to reduce the amount of waste you generate. Encourage reduction and reuse – do we really need to buy plastic cups for the water cooler or bottles of water at the vending machines? You don’t really need to rely on disposable plastic as long as you have drinking glasses and mugs in your kitchen. Make sure that your commercial cleaning is aware of this so you always have clean dishes.
Go paperless or use less paper!
With a few simple adjustments, you can reduce your paper consumption by a significant amount. Check how you format your documents – do they use the paper effectively? You can reduce margins and font sizes to save paper. Also, it would be best if you used the double-sided printing option to halve paper consumption. Do you use paper for things that you don’t need to? We can work easily with electronic documents and PDFs as we are in a highly digital environment. This is an excellent option for manuals, policies, and staff training materials that would normally take hundreds of pages to print.