Things You'll Need:
- Desire
- Creativity
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Step 1
Before you even get to work, there are some environmentally friendly steps you should consider.
* Telecommute - Can you do your job from home? Do you talk on the phone or use a computer all day? If you're not the boss, you can propose this alternative to them, along with a plan of how it can work. It will save time and money for both you and your employer.
* Take public transportation - Many cities have public transportation that can get you to work. This is cheaper for you since you will have less gas and wear and tear on your car, and can lower your insurance rates by lowering the annual mileage you drive.
* Carpool - This has been done for years in large urban areas like New York and Washington, DC. You'll get many of the same advantages as you would from taking public transportation.
* Walk or ride your bicycle to work - This option has several advantages. It is clean energy, free, and great for your physical and mental well-being. Ask your employer to put in bike racks.
Any combination of the options above will start you on the road to becoming eco friendly at work. -
Step 2
Another very easy step to take at work, is to find ways to cut down on the amount of paper you use. Not only can it save millions of trees, but also cut down on the green house gas effect on the ozone. It will also save money. Paper makes up over 40% of the solid waste in the U.S. today. Ways to cut back the amount of paper that needs to be produced include:
* Recycling - This is very easy to do. Just set up recycling boxes throughout the workplace.
* Buy only recycled paper and paper made of agrifibers (non-wood based).
* Go paperless - If hospitals can do it, most other offices can too. Even attorneys and the government, both huge producers of paper, are finding ways to go paperless.
* Reuse scraps and backsides of paper.
* Print less copies of reports for meetings and have people share them.
* Don't supply paper cups or plates at work - Have people bring their own ceramic and glass plates, cups and glasses for reuse.
* Use mesh filters instead of paper filters in your coffee maker. -
Step 3
Cut back the amount of energy and electricity used at work. First, ask your boss to have your workplace audited by a specialist in carbon footprint issues, or even the local electric company. The waste of energy and money, along with the unhealthy side effects of electrical waste, should encourage all of us to try to conserve. Some eco friendly steps you can take include:
* Turning off your computer at the end of the day, and your monitor when you're away from your desk.
* Unplug all electronics when you are not using them unless it is absolutely necessary for the system to leave it plugged in. Every electrical item that is plugged in is drawing energy, even when it is OFF.
* Recycle light bulbs - Fluorescent light bulbs are highly toxic and should not end up in the landfill.
* Use a lamp on your desk - Smaller new energy efficient light bulbs put out more light, and use less electricity, than overhead lighting.
* Replace energy wasting spotlights on the outside of your office building with smaller energy-saving bulbs that only use 11 watts of power. -
Step 4
A few more eco friendly steps that you can use in the workplace include:
* Clean green - Encourage whoever is in charge of the cleaning to use green environmentally safe products and practices. Instead of a vacuum cleaner use a mechanical carpet sweeper. Microfiber mops minimize waste and use less detergent.
* Minimize water waste - If possible, have sensor taps on the faucets and use aerators to reduce the amount of water flow.
* If you use pencils in your workplace, replace the wooden kind with metal refillable pencils - This will cut down on wood waste and expense over the long haul.
* Recycle ink cartridges from printers and copiers.
Comments
pondripples said
on 7/2/2009 Good advice. Another thing you can do is collect batteries for recycling.
archip99 said
on 6/7/2009 Your advices are so true and actually I'm doing some of it. My boss compliments me often being eco-friendly and energy saving. TQ
paigeturner said
on 6/5/2009 Excellent tips. I especially like the idea of having sensor taps on faucets. Thank you for sharing.
slphilbrick said
on 6/5/2009 I implement a good many of these tips in my business; but it's amazing how many more options we can use when we set our minds to it. Good advice!
magnadea said
on 6/5/2009 Yes, we practice these eco friendly steps in our workplace. They are fairly easy and doing any one of them, is a good start in saving the planet.