There are many reasons why you should consider making sustainable practices within your business. Not only will it benefit the environment, but it has also been proven effective at reducing the overheads that come with running a business. As well as this, you will also be improving the health of your staff and attract new customers who are invested in doing business with sustainable brands.
By making small and meaningful changes you can completely transform your business, but adding these sustainable office ideas you will totally transform the way that your business and your employees run. Here are some tips on how you can make sustainable changes to your office.
Reduce and Reuse Office Waste
Offices can become quite wasteful environments, so you need to get all your employees on board with your new sustainable office ideas before you start. Photocopiers and printers are one of the main hubs in any office, but these can generate the most waste. Put up signs to encourage staff to print double-sided and only print if completely necessary. When it comes to ink cartridges, you can recycle all of your used ones and send them back to the manufacturer who may reuse them again or give you a discount off your order.
Ensure that there are enough recycling bins in your office, especially for paper waste. In open-plan office spaces, try to add at least one recycling bin for paper between 10 employees. Set up a “stationary recycling” corner, where employees can leave their old or unwanted stationary for other employees to avoid the unnecessary disposal of perfect good stationary.
Electricity Usage
Cutting your energy consumption will not only be good for the environment, but also your wallet. Try to investigate whether your office building can make the switch to renewable energy. Using renewable energy in your workplace can reduce or even completely dispose of utility bills, plus there may also be tax incentives which you can apply for.
There are some small things you can do to keep your office’s energy use in check. Ensure that the temperature in your office is the right balance between cost and comfort and do a check of the office space to see if there are areas which are being cooled or heated unnecessarily. If there are areas in your office which aren’t being used constantly, such as bathrooms, storage cupboards or kitchens, then install some energy efficient bulbs or sensor lighting to cut down on electricity usage.
Choose Sustainable Suppliers
Many suppliers now realise that businesses and customers are searching for green and sustainable products. Take a look at what things your business purchases on a weekly or monthly basis and investigate to see if there is a more sustainable option available. This could include kitchen or bathroom cleaning products, recycled stationery or even milk deliveries.
You should also consider the way in which your products travel to you, so see if there is a business that is local to you which offer similar products in order to reduce your carbon footprint. Before you set up contracts with any new service providers, ask if they have any environmental policies in place which may sway you in the decision that you make.
Learning more about sustainability in the workplace will be extremely beneficial in the way that your business operates and will boost employee morale. If your office or business space is unsuitable for making sustainable choices and it is something that you think will benefit you greatly, then you can always make the move to a more sustainable premise. There are now many sustainable focused grants, commercial bridging loans and finance options available for businesses looking to move.
