Environmentally Friendly Workplace Hacks

The planet is dying at an alarming speed. Unfortunately, there are still people who severely lack environmental awareness or are apathetic towards it. To save the planet, everybody needs to do their part in healing the earth. Your efforts shouldn't be limited only to the home; you should extend it to other areas of your life, including your workplace. That's why it's of the utmost importance that every business adopts sustainable lifestyle practices within the office space and thrives on increasing its ecological footprint.

This article serves as a guide on how to be environmentally friendly even in the workplace. Many people think adopting environmentally friendly practices involves drastic lifestyle changes, but that's hardly ever the case. Most of the changes you can make to better the environment are very simple and aren't inconvenient to you or others. Here are a few practices you can adopt.

Going paperless

One of the perks of living in the digital age is that many things can be done with the computer. Admittedly, deciding to go completely paperless might seem like a feat, it's still very doable. Documents, projects, and even meeting invites can be created, saved, and sent using computers. Applications like Google docs have been instrumental in making this possible. Utilizing this method can completely dismiss the need for using a printer, thereby reducing paper use. If you cannot avoid using paper, using recycled paper instead is encouraged.

Some plants can help in offsetting the chemicals released into the air by cleaning products.

Less toxic cleaning products

Many cleaning products have harsh and toxic ingredients that can be extremely harmful to people and the environment. Going for more eco-friendly cleaning products in the company is a great environment-friendly practice you can adopt. Method, Ecover, and Grove are examples of sustainable cleaning product brands.

The three Rs of sustainability

The three Rs of sustainability essentially stand for "reduce, reuse, recycle.” Consider the current practices you're engaging in that could be more environmentally friendly. This goes beyond putting plastic, paper, and glass objects in the recycle bin.

Ask yourself important questions like, what product do you use a lot of but can be replaced by a more environmentally friendly option? Do you need to throw that item away or can you use it for something else? One example is taking company notes on a laptop rather than on a piece of paper. Another example is reusing your plastic bag to carry other items instead of tossing it out after single use. Or you can do away with plastic bags entirely and go for a better option.

More plants in the office

Office plants can serve more purposes than just aesthetics. Plants purify and improve the air quality. Some plants can help in offsetting the chemicals released into the air by cleaning products. Getting plants in the office and encouraging other employees to own a desk plant can be good for the environment as well as employee morale.

Monthly "Green Challenges"

Workplace competition doesn't always have to be related to getting a big promotion. You can encourage some friendly workplace competition by regularly organizing monthly green challenges. Essentially, you reward members of staff who had the most impact or were most successful in reducing their carbon footprint for that particular month.

It's clear that being more environmentally conscious can be straightforward. It’s noteworthy that when using environment-friendly practices in the workplace, an essential ingredient is teamwork and a collective effort to better the planet. On a final note, the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic also revealed that it was possible to be productive while working from home. There's no harm in continuing this practice. If employees can effectively work from home, they should be encouraged to save energy that regular office spaces might take up.

Encouraging remote work

The 2020 Covid-19 pandemic revealed that it was possible to be productive while working from home. There's no harm in continuing this practice. If employees can effectively work from home, they should be encouraged to save energy that regular office spaces might take up.

From this article, it's clear that being more environmentally conscious can be straightforward. It’s noteworthy that when using environment-friendly practices in the workplace, an essential ingredient is teamwork and a collective effort to better the planet.