Green Tips For Your Office

Whether you own, manage or simply ‘work in’ a business, most companies are interested in ideas to make their work environment more ‘green’ (i.e. environmentally friendly). As technology advances, new ways to make businesses green spring up and it’s also true that people are increasingly more enthusiastic and cooperative toward green initiatives nowadays too. So here’s some Green Tips For Your Office:

Let’s look at some green workspace tips first:

1. If you’re still planning where to build or locate a business, try to pick a spot close to public transportation. Not only is it ‘greener’ but many of your employees will love you for it for the savings to their budget.
2. You’ve got more influence that perhaps you realize. Ask your vendors about their ‘green policies’ and take that into account in your decision on which ones to deal with.
3. Try a ‘no shoes’ policy. Not only does it actually reduce pollution inside your premises but you’ll be amazed at the smile it puts on everybody’s face.
4. Use green cleaning products inside your business where possible.

Now…how about some green break room tips:

1. Have employees bring their own cups and other break room ‘gear’. It’ll save you some money and it’ll also help the crew feel like they’re at home.
2. Always consider buying ‘used’ equipment for your break room. If you can find something that is a bargain but still looks, nice….. why not buy it? Plus, you’ll save a lot of energy too.
3. Hand washing actually takes about the same or perhaps even less time as the hassle of using an automatic dishwasher, it uses a lot less energy and it does make employees feel more ‘at home’. In fact some employees actually enjoy doing it.
4. Definitely steer away from buying break room consumables (like cream or sugar) in individual sizes. Buy home-sizes, save money and eliminate the packaging waste.

Now… Here’s some “energy” saving tips:

1. There’s no reason to have a fully-powered office during off hours when nobody is there. Use power-strips and or timers that you can turn off when the equipment is not needed.
2. Use sensors that turn lights off when nobody is in the room (e.g. the copy room) during the day. If you’re able to incorporate natural lighting within the business, by all means do so.
3. Rechargeable batteries are more efficient than ever so use them on any battery-operated devices around your office or business.
4. Certainly invest in solar energy for your office or business power needs if you can. Solar technology is very efficient now and has a very good ROI.

And don’t forget the green office printing tips…

1. If you’re printing isn’t for a ‘final’ copy you can use ‘draft’ mode on many printers and save lots of ink. Ink cartridges aren’t cheap, right?
2. Be conscientious about how many people really need copies of printed documents. Often, people get copies who don’t really need and they could just as easily ‘share’.
3. Don’t print in color unless it’s really necessary.
4. Buy ‘remanufactured’ printing equipment and/or expendables as long as you can get a warranty and/or assurance of quality.

These are some no-cost or low-cost ways to make your business or office ‘green’ and sustainable. Nothing here is inconvenient or lowers the quality of the work or product you put out. Your employees will respect you for ‘going-green’ and it will definitely make your community a better place to live and work.