10 Ways How Offices Can Go Green [Infographic]

Off late, there has been a lot written and said about “Going Green.” It seems that the people have realized at last that there is no alternative to it if they want to survive. However, it the responsibility of each and every one of us to take the initiative in improving the present condition of the environment.

From our homes to the corporate offices, every step possible should be taken in order to save the environment from hazardous elements and reduce the usage of non-renewable resources.

Big brands like Adidas are stepping in to help save the environment by looking into the problem of ocean plastic. Similarly, every office should do their part in

Let us look at 10 ways in which offices can go green with the help of this infographic:

Let’s explore these aspects in brief:

1. Utilize Electricity Wisely

The importance of saving electricity cannot be emphasized enough. We all are witness to the wastage of electricity that takes place in the offices. Sometimes the well-lit offices do not have even a handful of employees present. Still, the lights keep glowing in the entire office.

The administration should see to it that only the required lights are turned on, along with other electrical equipment like printers, computer systems, and coffee machines. Moreover, the entire office infrastructure should be designed to save energy like the deployment of LEDs, which can save upto 90% of energy compared to conventional bulbs.

2. Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle Waste

We all use different non-biodegradable products like plastic cups in the office. These products cannot be degraded by microorganisms like bacteria, which harm the environment significantly. Hence, all efforts should be made to minimize the usage of non-biodegradable products.

As a solution, you can bring your own cups to the office that can be reused daily. Also, there can be two recycle bins present in the office for biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste. Recycling is critical in reducing the carbon footprint of the office.

3. Promote Work-life Flexibility

Remote work sure does reduce mental stress. But you might be wondering how it can help in saving the environment? What you are forgetting is the fuel consumed by the vehicles of hundreds of employees while commuting to the office.

The offices should be flexible to offer remote work to their employees. Even if ten employees work from home in a day, there are ten fewer vehicles on the road.

4. Aim for Paperless Office Environment

The slogan – “Save Paper, Save Trees” is age-old. However, some offices still do not grasp this concept. It is understood that no office can just stop the usage of paper altogether. However, its usage can be cut down significantly.

The offices can go paperless by using scanned copies of the same and making use of cloud technology to store data. Anyways, the data in digital form is more secure and accessible than on paper.

5. Use Environment-friendly Products

An office infrastructure comprises a long list of equipment that requires energy for their functioning. Whether it is the air-conditioning system, the computers, or the vacuum cleaning, everything consumes power.

There are numerous appliances in the market today that consume less energy than others. You can look for Energy Star-rated products when choosing an appliance for your office.

6. Walk, Bike or Carpool to Work

The less the number of vehicles you see on the road, the less is the carbon emission. Needless to say, being stuck in traffic takes up a lot of your time as well.

Hence, you can try to use public transport instead of your personal vehicles or carpool to the office with your colleagues staying in the same area as you. Moreover, the offices can also encourage their employees to walk or bike to the office if they live nearby.

7. Add Greenery to the Office

Since you are taking so much from nature, it is your responsibility to give something back. What better way to do that than keeping plants in your office? Making your office Go Green cannot begin to take shape without having plants in the office.

Plants keep you close to nature and help in reducing stress. And of course, more plants, more oxygen.

8. Say No to Screensavers and Standby

How many of you leave the office at the end of the day without turning it off? Generally, the system goes to standby mode, where it uses less power than usual. However, why waste even a little bit of energy.

You should make sure that you turn off your system before leaving for the day so that the systems do not consume power at night.

9. Save Water

No office can go green without optimizing the consumption of water. Water is essential for all life forms. However, it is in a limited quantity and should be used wisely.

Every office should utilize water smartly by deploying water-sensing fixtures to prevent overflow. Moreover, they should also implement rainwater harvesting in their offices to reduce water wastage.

10. Also Engage Others to Do Their Bit

You can do your best in making your office go green. However, the environmental issues are global, and it always better to involve as many people as you can in your initiative.

Apart from implementing environmental-friendly practices in your office, you can also educate and motivate others in making their offices go green as well.

If every office takes the initiative of going green, then only can we hope for a better environment for our future generations. However, these practices should not only be followed in offices. There should be a conscious effort to save the environment wherever you go.

What practice have you implemented to help your office go green? Do tell us in the comments section.