3rd Place:Smart Plugs - best for saving energy and money
Go Green Ideas - Green Tips for the Office
1. Eliminate Single Use Cups
Single use cups are harmful to the environment. Plastic and Styrofoam cups are not biodegradable can spend years in landfills or make their way into our oceans and rivers.
Try carrying around a reusable bottle or thermos for your water or coffee! You are more likely to stay hydrated and will feel good knowing you are helping the environment!
Putting recycled paper in your printers is an easy go green idea. With today's technology, you and your colleagues won't even notice the difference!
For instance, the recycled printer paper below looks and feels like regular printer paper. However, it is made of recycled food and beverage containers!
Make sure your computer and printer are automatically set to print double-sided. According to the EPA, printing double-sided can reduce your paper waste by 10 - 40%.
Learn how to set up double-sided printing in less than 3 minutes here.
Green Tips for Office Supplies
4. Use Paperless Notebooks
Did you know that the average office worker generates about 2 pounds of paper waste every day? Fortunately, today's technology can help us use less paper.
If you can’t imagine using a paperless notebook, you can try using a notebook made from recycled paper to minimize your impact on the environment. Enjoy traditional notetaking while saving the planet!
7. Decrease the Brightness on Your Computer Monitor
According to a Harvard University professor, reducing your computer monitor’s brightness from 100% to 70% can save up to 20% of the monitor's energy.
Most people will not notice the difference from making this adjustment, so it is a quick and easy go green idea.
8. Turn Off Your Computer Monitor at Night
When you leave the office for the day, turn off your computer monitor to save energy. Hit the power button on your monitor or create a shortcut as described here.
9. Implement Waste Walks
Decrease carbon emissions and reduce costs by implementing WASTE Walks. A WASTE Walk is when employees take a step back, walk the floor and identify wasteful activities.
It is a fun way to get everyone involved to create ideas to decrease your office’s impact on the environment.
Furthermore, WASTE Walks don’t require additional funds, resources, or third parties. They take advantage of everyone’s brainpower to identify low hanging fruit and make improvements.
More importantly, the ideas are more likely to stick because the employees came up with them!
Learn how to implement WASTE Walks from this highly rated course!
Some offices have trash cans at every individual’s desk. Etsy increased its recycling rates and reduced waste after removing individual trash cans and utilizing central trash cans instead.
At first, Etsy’s employees were annoyed that the company took their trash cans. It was inconvenient to get up from their desk to throw something away.
However, they got used to it and noticed the benefits. Etsy’s recycling rate increased by 20%, and waste decreased by 18%.
Additionally, employees had more spontaneous interactions as the central waste stations started to serve a similar social function to water coolers.
11. Offer this FREE Zero Waste Course
Zero Waste is all the rage right now. It has become a popular challenge for people to try and have a “zero waste lifestyle” where their impact on the environment is minimal.
Millions of people commute to and from work each day. Thousands of cars on the road cause large amounts of pollution.
Commuting is a necessary part of life. However, there are some options that individuals can try that could decrease their environmental impact and help keep the environment clean.
Carpool
For instance, it might make sense to carpool with family, friends, or co-workers. That way, there is only one car on the road instead of three or four. Couples or family members use this method if their jobs are relatively close together. Instead of taking two vehicles, they opt to take one and drop the person off on their way to their job and pick them up at the end of the day. Many ride-sharing apps like Uber and Lyft have carpool options as well.
Public Transportation
Another potential option is to use public transportation, which is easy for people that live in large cities with robust train systems. Some cities also have bus lines or light rails that aid in commuting in an environmentally friendly manner.
Some people have found success in biking or even skateboarding to work as they combine their commuting time with their exercise time.
The most important thing is for each employee to figure out what works best for them, their schedule, and their family.
13. Buy Eco-friendly and Responsibly Sourced Coffee
If your office has windows, then be sure to optimize natural light. Avoid turning on light bulbs during the day by keeping curtains, shades, and blinds open.
For a more automated approach, you can try turning your office’s existing blinds into “Smart Blinds” controlled from your smartphone, Alexa, or Google. This DIY kit converts your existing horizontal blinds into automated blinds. Save time, energy, and money by leveraging the blinds you already have!
16. Invest in Energy Efficient Lighting
Using energy-efficient lights saves electricity and money. Energy-efficient lights come in all shapes and sizes. There is something for every need and every budget!
Offices can automatically save energy by using smart plugs. Smart plugs turn off lights, fans, and appliances automatically. Most smart plugs allow you to control your devices from anywhere using an app on your phone.
Adjusting your thermostat 2 degrees up in the summer and 2 degrees down in the winter can save up to 2,000lbs of carbon dioxide per year!
Alternatively, you could use an energy efficient thermostat that conserves energy by itself.
For example, the Nest Thermostat programs itself to save energy. It learns the temperatures you like and creates a schedule that saves electricity and money.
19. Use Water Conservation Devices in the Bathroom
There are opportunities to save water in the bathroom too. For instance, people have had success in installing Tank Banks.
It is easy! All you do is hang the insert in the toilet tank, and it automatically saves about 1 gallon of water per flush! It is simple and is maintenance-free.
You can also try installing sink accessories that automatically save water.
For example, the sensor below automatically turns off the faucet water when someone pulls their hands away, resulting in up to 70% water savings!
This sensor is easy to install and doesn’t require a plumber. It will fit onto virtually any faucet.
20. Encourage Water Saving with Tips and Instructions in Bathrooms
Similarly, you can print out water-saving tips and instructions and hang them up in the bathrooms. They are most helpful if they are above the sink where people can look at them directly when washing their hands. Try to swap the signs out and use creative designs to keep the message fresh.
21. Put Hand Dryers in the Bathrooms
Using hand dryers instead of traditional paper towels will automatically reduce waste. And they are a lot cheaper than you might expect!
A lot of hand dryers, such as the one below, plug into regular outlets for easy installation.
Try using compostable trash bags that break down naturally instead of traditional ones. Using biodegradable trash bags is a simple change that can help the environment. The best part is that your employees and colleagues won’t notice the difference!
Are you looking for a way to freshen up a room without using harmful cleaning products or sprays? Use these all-natural air fresheners to eliminate odors. They are made from bamboo and can last for up to two years.
25. Include Recycling Instructions Near Trash Cans and Recycling Bins
According to Stanford University, people are more likely to recycle if there are clear instructions on how to do it and an urgent message that describes the negative consequences of not recycling.
An example of helpful instructions and messages are below. Placing these above the trash can and recycling bins can encourage people to recycle.
You can implement this green office idea today!
There are tons of go green ideas for the office that your company can implement today.
Start small and implement go green ideas in your day-to-day activities.
Then, if possible, work your way up and encourage management to implement go green ideas for the entire organization.
Executives will often feel good about saving money and creating an environmentally friendly office.
Which go green ideas are you implementing in your office? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!
These are all great. New Things have happened since this article. For Starters, There is now a bio-based toner cartridge instead of the petroleum filled one. Environment First Printing manufactures a bio-based toner that uses soybean oil instead of petroleum… Check them out, I think you will be pleased!
A couple of words of caution about bio-based toner. Firstly, there are concerns about the impact on food security/food prices due to the use of soybeans for industrial processes. Printing less is always the most environmentally-responsible solution – switching to bio-based toner isn’t a license to print! And if you purchase a printer that carries an Eco-mark such as Blue Angel that certifies process emissions levels during printing bear in mind that substituting another brand for the manufacturer’s own brand toner means that the emissions profile will change, rendering the label invalid.
Thank you for your post! It prompted me to do my research. Well, the great news about Bio-Toner, at least the type that Environment First Printing brought to market uses ONLY soybean OIL…not the soybean. So no food security or food prices will be augmented. You are right, printing less is the best solution, but in our business…one must print.
So Glad we use bio-toner, and it sounds like a bunch of people online are using them now also…which is a great switch, it was for our office!
I think there are two suppliers, but we use Environment First Printing and find them to be very good. You can find them at http://www.environmentfirstprinting.com
But don’t put a brick in your toilet. THe brick will break down in time and cause plumbing problems. Use a “tank bank” or “toilet tummy” which will clip to the side and not move around, interfering with the inner workings of the toilet and causing different leaks.
Also bike mileage! There is car mileage, but bikes also need maintenance and having a reduced reimbursement per mile could encouraging bike commuting. 🙂
Excellent suggestions and practical too. One thing that I would like to add is that by choosing window tinting, you can save on cooling costs too. It also helps keep out the harmful UV rays without compromising on the natural light entering the workplace.
A unique list of ways to go green in the office. I like the option of removing the bins and having a central area for them. Lists like this help the switch to going green in the office and can really help to educate others. Thanks for sharing.
The tip to get rid of individual trashcans is great! This will encourage our employees to go to our main trashcan where they will also see our recycle bins. I think another great plan is to give each person a separate recycling bin.
Another great plan is to recycle your toner!!
Hey, these eco-friendly ideas are superb, and I think it will be great if I also have these ideas in my office areas, just like using recycled cardboard, etc. I really appreciate your work. Thanks for sharing these ideas with us.
