Make Your Office Environmentally Friendly

Creating a ‘green’ workspace is great for the environment and can potentially save you lots of money. If you want to make your office environmentally friendly, you must consider these three Rs: reduce, reuse and recycle.

Reduce

Try to reduce everything you use within the office, from stationery to waste, water and energy. Limit the amount of paper you use by proof-reading before printing and storing any documents you can on a computer. When you need to print out multiple copies of a document, scan and print the minimum amount needed and then print more if necessary. If you have any employees, post announcements on a notice board instead of handing out separate copies to each individual.

Make sure you save on energy wherever possible. Turning the thermostat down by a mere one degrees could reduce your heating bill by up to 10% each year. Turn off lights when they are not in use and invest in energy efficient bulbs. If the sun sufficiently lights up your workspace during the day, there is no need to use artificial lighting. Always make sure you fully shutdown computers instead of leaving them on standby, particularly in the evenings and on weekends.

Reuse

Reuse whatever you can before throwing it away. Old scraps of paper can be grouped together and used as notepads, and envelopes can be reused by placing a white label over the former address. Gather together all the stationery you own and use whatever you can before placing a new order. When you receive orders, save the parcel paper and boxes to reuse in the future.

Recycle

Recycling is a must if you want to create an environmentally friendly workspace. To make recycling simple, invest in labelled recycling bins for each separate material. Nearly everything can be recycled in the office – paper, plastics, glass, cans, and printer cartridges and toners.

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