Ways to make your office more eco-friendly

Being eco-friendly and kind to the environment is a hot topic and an important issue that people across the globe are championing. 

With the need to be eco-friendly being more important than ever, people are changing their habits in a bid to be more green and help our world. 

It is amazing how even a few small changes can significantly impact on your environmental footprint. Not only is it important that individuals make positive changes to benefit the environment but that companies do too. 

Whether you are looking to up your existing office’s green credentials or set up a new office that is eco-friendly a few small changes can be a positive change that is better for the environment. With that in mind, we take a look at ways companies and offices can go green and be more eco-friendly. 

Go paperless

Put simply print less. Thanks to the digital age we now live in which offers a variety of ways to save documents digitally and share information with other virtually it is easier than ever to go paperless. Whenever possible keep things digital, ways of doing so is using emails instead of letters and opting to use electronic statements and invoices in place of paper ones. Reduce the temptation of printing by having less printers in the office.

By going digital and paperless you help reduce deforestation and pollution as well as increasing the amount of trees left to nature which absorb carbon dioxide. As well as the eco benefits of going paperless you also save money and space by printing less.

Unplug

Many offices across the globe have got into the habit of only setting their computers and devices into sleep mode rather than powering off and unplugging. The downside to this is that power is still being consumed when it’s plugged in. This phantom power, or standby power, not only has a negative impact on an office’s carbon footprint but it is also an unnecessary expense for the company. The little change of powering down device AND unplugging is a great positive eco change.

Along with unplugging electronic devices, it can be wise to switch to energy saving devices to help create an environmentally friendly office. Other ways of being kinder to the environment when it comes to electric usage in an office is to utilise devices such as motion activated light switches.

Sustainable and eco-friendly office 

When purchasing office furniture, products and fixtures for your office to help make it a green office purchase sustainably made and eco-friendly products. Looking at the office furniture you will use is a great start on becoming a more environmentally friendly and socially responsible office.

When looking for green office furniture look at sustainable office furniture made from FSC certified and recycled materials. It is also worth looking at an office furniture’s environmental record and green ethos along with their packaging and waste during the production process.

Along with office furniture it is wise to look at the greenness of office fixtures such as flooring. Whether you are updating your office’s flooring or designing a new office the environmental footprint of flooring is important to look at if you want to have an eco-friendly office. For example Paragon Carpet tiles are produced in the lowest carbon creating tile factory in the whole of Europe making them an environmentally friendly flooring option. So when if you get paragon carpet tiles fitted by flooring contractors North West you have boosted your office’s green credentials.

It is also important to look at swapping products that are used on a day-to-day basis with ones that are sustainable and eco-friendly products. For example look at green office stationery such as recycled paper and eco pens made with recycled materials. Other switches can include having a drinks water fountain and encouraging the use of reusable water bottles.

Bring nature indoors

Bring some beautiful nature into the office and improve indoor air quality by having a desk plant. Plants can also boost mood and productivity. Put simply plants in the office helps to create a cleaner, happier work space.

Also maximum natural light within the office space which could help reduce the amount of artificial light you need to use that will reduce your electric usage being better for the environment and your office’s finances.

Do you work in a green office?