From Guest Blogger James Burbank: Little Green Things We Can All Do in Our Workplace
One of the most controversial questions in the entire field of sustainability and green living is whether the damage has been done and whether the climate change is irreversible. The author of this article is not someone who claims to have the knowledge enough to make even an uneducated guess about whether this is true, but he is someone who is aware that little things we all do every day will surely do no harm. (Can’t we assert that that they will do at least some level of good? – Ed.)
For many of us, the most of the “work” we do towards being green and doing something for the environment is mostly done at home. When we go to work, most of us tend to turn into automatons who are simply punching the clock, doing what we are told and not even bothering with how energy-efficient the office is or how much paper or even water is wasted. In reality, we can do things, even if we are the lowest of the low in the company hierarchy, let alone if we are in management or actual owners of the business.
Stop the paper misuse
This is one of the changes that you will have difficulties implementing if you are just an employee without any pull in your company. Namely, it takes management to change the practices of the entire firm, especially when it comes to the use (or more precisely misuse) or paper. Still, no one can stop you from approaching someone and telling them about using electronic signatures, about not putting every single insignificant memo to paper, about perhaps using recycled paper.
If you are in management or if you are a business owner, it is even easier to make the change and to stop using paper for anything but the most important documents and contracts. Most other things can be sent online and there is really no need to print out every memo in dozens of copies.
Reduce the energy consumption
Electricity is wasted in offices to such extents that it is unreal. You will find offices where people have heaters under their desks because their company is wasting electricity cooling the office to levels that are too low. This is just the most jaw-dropping of the cases; there are many others. Luckily, there are many things that you can do to reduce the waste of electricity at your office.
For instance, you can talk to someone about the lighting. There are tons of offices that waste electricity on artificial light when they get perfectly sufficient lighting from windows. You can also talk to someone about unplugging appliances and computers at night and especially during the weekends when the vampire electricity use is even more staggering. It would also be a good idea to ensure that the AC is used smartly.
Monitor water consumption
When compared to how much paper and electricity is wasted in an average office, the amount of water that is wasted may not seem like too much. Still, it is more than noticeable and there is still much that we can all do to contribute at least something.
Many offices waste water with improper installation of their sprinkler systems that spend half the time watering concrete and asphalt. There are always leaks and running taps in the office that everyone ignores even though they have been on for years. It is a good idea to have a professional kitchen plumbing firm come in, or a bathroom one, from time to time, to check everything is working and not wasting water, especially if it is a larger company with big offices.
It goes without saying that there are dozens of other things that you can do in the workplace, but these are some basics that will definitely contribute to the energy efficiency in your workplace. If you are the owner or if you are in management, these will be very easy to implement and as an employee, you can always approach the management by telling them this will also save them money. They will not ignore that.
