Take Your Green Habits to Work: 5 Simple Tips
By Melissa Mansfield | September 24, 2010 at 4:22 am
Melissa Mansfield; Photo by Jeff Singer / jeffsingerheadshots.com
But what about at work?
Most of us spend the majority of our time working, but we don’t always take our green habits into the office. That’s a major missed opportunity, because businesses are usually much bigger contributors to waste, pollution and global warming than individuals or families.
For example, according to Californians Against Waste, while California as a whole diverts over 54% of its waste from landfills, large office buildings divert only 7% of their waste.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that our individual efforts don’t matter — they do! But we have a chance to make a bigger impact when we create change on a bigger scale.
And the great thing about greening your office is that aside from helping the environment, you’ll often save time, energy and money.
Getting Started
You can always start by organizing sustainability programs at work if they’re not already in place. You know your work environment best: Are colleagues and the higher-ups ready to think green? Are they open to change and new programs? If so, go for it!
But, it’s not always easy to suggest change in an office environment, so they may not be ready for a company-wide effort — YET. So, let’s start simple — with you!
General tip: Think about your habits at home — how do you conserve energy, reduce waste or prevent pollution? Take those same approaches to your worklife at the office or on the road.
Tip #1 – Save paper
- My friend Mike, who works for an auto company in Detroit, has his printer set to print double-sided by default. This simple measure can cut your paper costs in half! I do another version of this — I reuse paper already printed on one-side as my printer paper or note paper.
- At my friend Sarah’s law firm, they’ve gone paperless. She told me, “It’s an accomplishment I thought would be impossible! When I transitioned from a large to a very small law firm, I thought there was no way I could work in a paperless office — I used to go through reams of paper at my old law firm. But finances dictated the change, and I find it very easy now!”
- And, of course, once you’re done reducing and reusing, you’ll want to recycle paper and cardboard.
Tip #2 – Save time and travel costs
- Go virtual with conference calls and web tools!
- My friend Mike inspired this tip too. He explained, “I work for a huge company with office buildings scattered across town. In any given day I might have half a dozen meetings scheduled with people in those buildings. Five years ago, I’d hop in my car and drive to see those I needed to meet with. Today I’m all about using technology to facilitate meetings — conference phone lines, web collaboration tools, etc. It’s green because I and others are not driving around town, but it’s also a productivity gain for me as I’m not wasting time traveling.”
Tip #3 – Reduce food-related waste
- You probably drink coffee or tea every day at — or on the way to — your office. If so, there’s no reason to use a disposable paper cup each time. Bring your own mug!
- Same goes for water – bring your own water bottle to fill up throughout the day. (Learn more about why plastic water bottles are horrendous in almost every possible way — and not any healthier than tap water.)
- Lunch? Instead of takeout, bring your own. You’ll cut down on landfill waste and save money. If you don’t have time to prep your meals and you need to eat out or at your company’s cafeteria, then consider bringing your own reusable containers and utensils. (And use these when you do bring your own lunch too.)
Tip #4 – Conserve energy
- When you’re away from your desk for an extended period of time, turn off the lights and put your computer in hibernate or sleep mode.
- When you leave for the day, shut down your computer and any other machines that don’t need to stay on (e.g. printer, copier).
Tip #5 – Ditch the car
- I’ll be honest, I hesitated to include this one, because I know how hard it can be to change your commute if you live within a car-focused system like the U.S. But, it has to be said! If you can walk, bike, carpool or take public transit to work, you will do so much to reduce pollution and you will probably enjoy your commute much more.
These tips are pretty simple, but they can make your daily working life a lot greener! You’ll be saving time, energy and money — and helping the environment. They don’t cover it all though — what else do you do to green your office?
Watch “Keep It Green” Fridays at 9:30pm ET on Halogen!
About the Author:
