Making an established workplace more environmentally conscious and sustainable can be a daunting prospect for many business owners but making your office greener involves a series of small, simple, and relatively inexpensive steps that can be implemented relatively quickly. This week, we look at ten such steps that businesses can use to begin their journey towards becoming environmentally friendly.
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Ban water bottles from the office
Instead, install a filtered (or even sparking) water tap and provide communal glasses or give your employees some re-useable stainless-steel water bottles.
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Minimise the use of chemical cleaning agents and personal products
There are plenty of natural, harmless alternatives available on the market.
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Invest in office plants
They filter the air, and will freshen up the office atmosphere.
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Appoint a sustainability team
To come up with creative ways to make your office a greener place, promote environmental awareness, and get your business involved in community environmental events.
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Set monthly green challenges
Promote environmental awareness in the office by setting monthly challenges (like plastic free lunches, no takeaway coffee cups, or commute to work), track everyone’s progress on a competitor’s board and give prizes to the winners.
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Set up a proper recycling system
With separate bins for glass, plastics, compost and paper. Go the extra mile and recycle your ink cartridges and espresso pods as well to minimise landfill.
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Switch to signing documents onscreen
Instead of printing, scanning, and sending documents that need to be signed, switch to using digital signature technology to not only speed up the workflow, but also save on paper and improve document security.
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Digitise archives
Digitising will free up office space, make archives easier for employees to access, ensure important documentation remains secured and minimise paper waste.
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Set up a carpooling program in the office
And consider encouraging public transport use by offering to subsidise fares.
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Partner with environmentally responsible suppliers
Do your research and choose to source your office fruit from an organic provider, or order your office supplies from a local business to minimise your carbon footprint.
Alpha Environmental offer environmental consulting for Melbourne businesses. To learn more about our capabilities, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us by calling 1300 039 181.
