10 Easy Ways to Go Green at the Office

1. Go digital as much as you can. Before printing anything, always ask yourself “Can I achieve the same result digitally?”

2. Reduce the size of the characters and the edge, and print on both sides. This allows you to halve the amount of paper needed, at the very least.

3. Reuse. You don’t really need a new piece of paper to take notes. And what about post-its? Yes, they are comfortable and easy to use, but non-essential!

4. Use compact fluorescent bulbs instead of incandescent bulbs. They use 75% less energy and last about 10 times longer.They will definitely more than compensate the higher initial cost.

5. Use natural lighting. Most of the time, artificial light is not needed. Turn it off and open the curtains! Decorating the walls with light colours can also help to reduce the amount of artificial light needed.

6. Unplug. One of the major causes of energy waste at the office is due to machines that are turned off but still plugged in. So just unplug them!

7. Buy multi-purpose machines.  It goes without saying that the less number of machines you use, the smaller your carbon footprint is.

8. Buy in bulk. It will allow you to save a lot of useless packaging, which is probably one of the most harmful things for the environment, not to mention for your wallet (remember that we pay for it).

9. Eliminate paper towels. Cloth towels in the kitchen and in the bathroom are a big step toward a more sustainable office. If you want to bring your green strategy to the next level, cloth napkins are the way to go.

10. Make your employees conscious about the environment. Explaining the value of more sustainable habits will make them more likely to make green choices, in and out of the office.

Keen on planting trees and getting active about the future? Come to our Eden Festival of Action to help us regreen the Garden Route.