Want to be happier, healthier, and more efficient? Invest in a sustainable office. A sustainable office would not only benefit the environment but also enhance your productivity and cut down your expenses. This article gives you cool easy ideas to transform your workplace into an eco-friendly space.

Your Sustainable Office is only 7 points away!

1. Add Greenery to Office – Green Office

• Add plenty of indoor plants in your office. Employees can have their own small plants on their desks or they can even hang them on the ceilings.
• Having greenery in the workspace can make the office look more attractive and plants could help uplift the mood of everyone around it.
• Adding plants can also improve the air quality and overall health of the people in the office.

2. Green Commute

• Implement a hybrid model in your office to lower your company’s carbon footprint.
• Incentivize employees for using public transport or carpool to the workplace.

3. Be a power saver!

Office buildings in India are responsible for one-third of total energy consumption today. Take a look at these effortless actions that you can incorporate into your daily office life to reduce energy and your hefty bills.

• Swap incandescent bulbs for CFLs or LEDs.
• Try using natural light as much as possible, switch off the lights near windows.
• Switch off your computers and laptops instead of putting them on standby mode.
• Unplug appliances like microwaves, and printers when not in use.
• Invest in fans for your office. Portable fans let you stay cool while reducing AC usage.
• Keep your ACs at 24-26 instead of 16-18.

Do you know, according to our Power Minister, R.K. Singh, if people start adopting this measure, 20 billion units of electricity will get saved in 1 year.

• Make Earth Hour an ongoing effort. Switch off all the appliances for 1 hour every week and see the difference.
  Doing something as basic as this can help you become more sustainable.

4. Go Paperless!

Given the growing digital economy in which we live, avoiding paper is not so difficult. With minor changes, you can have your own paperless office.

• Switch to online alternatives. Request paperless statements for your bills and rely on digital signatures.
• If it’s a video conference or an online meeting, use the tools provided by popular online platforms to prepare and share notes. Switch to collaborative online tools like Flowdock, Asana etc. for improved efficiency.
• Reduce the number of printers in your office. Send emails instead of printing out agendas for every employee.
• Swap to paper made of sustainable materials like bamboo, cotton, etc. and try using both sides of it.
• Even if you go completely digital and minimize the use of paper, make sure to recycle the paper you do use.
  

   

   

5. Choose to reuse

Incorporating the practice of “reduce and reuse” in your office can do wonders for you. Encourage reusable products in your office instead of disposable or single-use ones.

• Go for reusable water bottles and cups for your employees.
• Instead of paper plates and plastic cutlery, you can stock your break room with reusable silverware and cutlery.
• Use cloth towels in your kitchen and avoid paper towels.
• Employees can carry their own handkerchief instead of using napkins and tissues, which are single-use.
• If you have any broken or faulty equipment in your office, repair it. You don’t need to buy different items every time.
• Rather than buying individual tea and coffee sachets for employees, buy these items in bulk.

6. Sort the Waste

• Remove personal bins and install central trash cans.
• Invest in good quality-labeled bins and promote good habits among employees in order to manage waste properly.
• Replace polythene with compostable corn starch garbage bags.
• Tie up with a reliable recycling center.
• Donate your still-in-working office inventory.
• If you still want to discard them, give them to the e-waste recycling centers.

7. Sustainability Workshops

A sustainable office is achievable only when everybody works towards achieving it. Community efforts towards sustainability will not only create a positive impact but also help to improve teamwork.

• Set up workshops and meetings to promote the idea of sustainability among your coworkers.
• Organize weekly or monthly fun competitions in your office. For example, you can challenge your employees to go for a month without using disposables or use public transport for a week.
• Offer gift cards or free snacks as rewards.

The key to success is not just reading these suggestions but also implementing them. It is not easy to make an office sustainable overnight. But it is still worth the time and effort. You are not just making your life simpler, but everybody’s life out there.

For more such informative articles, visit our sustainability blog page.