The fact that we need to “green our ways” is beyond evident, and it all starts at our own doorsteps. However, being the places where a large number of people meet up to collaborate for more than 8 hours a day, offices are on the frontlines of our collective pollution. If you’re being responsible at home, why not bring that mentality to your workplace as well? As a business owner, you need to take some crucial steps in order to make your company greener.
Conserving water
With water consumption on the increase and the global water resources on the decrease, the drinking-water problem that we are all well-aware of might become critical sooner than we might think. While refraining from having a steaming bath, or a half an hour-long shower at home is relatively easy, you can’t just order your employees to conserve water. What you can do, though, is invest in low-flow faucets and double-flush toilets, as these can save a lot of water and will actually pay off in the long run.
Recycling
Recycling is an essential part of making any business eco-friendly. Some materials, such as plastic and rubber can not only take hundreds of years to fully decompose but also release toxic components while decomposing. So, what can you do about it, as a businessperson? Well, make sure that your supplies are fully certified as recyclable or biodegradable before you acquire them. Additionally, you need to emphasize how important it is for your employees to adequately get rid of all the trash.
Reusing
The more stuff you buy, the more stuff is made, and the more stuff is thrown away after outliving its use. In other words, this means that more Earth’s resources are used and that more garbage is made; plus, you end up spending more money that adds up in the long run. All items should be used to their fullest potential, even when they seem useless – for instance, cardboard boxes, fiber-padded envelopes, and shredded paper can all be used as “popcorn”, for safe item packaging and shipping.
Make your office eco-friendly
In addition to all that we’ve mentioned so far, you need to make sure that your office, in itself, isn’t a pollutant. For one, if you don’t check the soil around your office, you don’t know whether your office surroundings are having a negative impact on the nature. Furthermore, this may even threaten the safety of your employees.
Speaking of employee safety, you have to make sure that your business is checked for asbestos – you don’t want to end up at the front page of the newspapers in this light. We recommend opting for a five-step program offered by a company that specializes in asbestos removal in Brisbane; this covers the walls, which are typically the most frequent asbestos “hiding spots”.
LED or CFL lighting
You’ve surely heard of at least one of these two eco-friendly lighting technologies. Both of them cause less environmental impact than the traditional light bulbs while providing the user with quality lighting that is as close to sunlight as possible. As if this wasn’t enough, LED lights have also been proven to pay off in the long run.
These green ideas should be enough to get you started, but once you start thinking ‘green’, you will start coming up with new and original eco-friendly ideas. Make sure that you conserve water and energy, recycle (and inspire your employees to do so as well), reuse whatever you can, use eco-friendly lighting options, and check whether your very office isn’t a pollutant in itself.
