How Environmentally Friendly Is Your Office?

How To Know If Your Office Is Environmentally Friendly?

Calculating the actual environmental impact of your office is possible, however, you will likely require the assistance of a sustainability consultant as some of the calculations and required research can get quite tricky. If you are seeking a QHSE consultant to support you on your sustainability journey, QSM Group has extensive experience helping our customers to reduce their carbon emissions and effectively manage their environmental impact. Contact us to discuss your requirements.

If you are not ready to go as far as working out the exact figures behind your emissions, there are plenty of things that you can be doing to help build a more sustainable future for the generations to come. 

Here are 8 tips from our partner, Mango Live, Australia’s leading compliance management software provider, to help you reduce your office’s carbon footprint.

Tip #1  –  LED Lighting

• Replace standard lightbulbs with LED bulbs.
• LED bulbs use approximately 75% less power than standard bulbs.  
• A reduction in energy use means a decrease in greenhouse gas emissions.
• That’s a win-win!

Tip #2  –  Go Paperless

• It might be unrealistic for your business to go 100% paperless, but try to cut down on paper use and go digital.
• Where paper is necessary, try and only use 100% recycled paper
• If you use hand towels in the bathroom ditch these for a hand dryer or a hand towel

Tip #3 – Transportation

• Encourage “green” commuting.
• This could be as simple as:
  • Carpooling
  • Public transport
  • Biking
  • Walking to your office

Tip #4 –  Waste Management

• “Reduce, reuse and recycle”
• Teach your employees how to recycle properly.
• Encourage employees to reduce their waste.
  • Are disposable cups and plates really necessary? Can you use the other side of that piece of paper you’ve just thrown in the bin?

Tip #5 –  Toxic Products

• Switch out any toxic cleaning products and replace them with environmentally friendly cleaning products.
• If you hire professional cleaners, encourage them to use green cleaning products, if they refuse then seek out an eco-friendly company to do your cleaning.

Tip #6  –  Switch Off

• Are you aware that machines on standby power are a massive environmental culprit and expense? You can minimise this by setting up automatic programs that automatically power down company machines at night.
• Get into a habit of switching off computers, lights, machinery, and AC at the end of the work day.

Tip #7  –  Everybody Loves Plants!

• Ensure your office has at least one green plant in it. Plants are great for recycling the air in your office.
• There are other benefits of having plants in sight – they have been proven to reduce stress and positively affect peoples’ moods.

Tip #8  –  Lunches

• Remove the use of plastic wrap when making your lunch. A great alternative is Beeswrap, a sustainable wrapping to store food in. It is washable, reusable, and of course disposable.
• Buying a coffee for lunch? Bring your own mug. Having your own mug means you reduce waste by not having to throw out the disposable coffee cup. Another perk is that many coffee shops tend to offer a discount to customers who supply their own mugs.

What does your office do to protect the environment?

We would love to hear from you about your sustainability initiatives in the comments below.