Create an eco-friendly office

There is much more that can be done besides switching off lights to make your office space a more eco-friendly place!

Most people will spend approximately a third of their life in the office. Work place activities have impacts upon the environment in ways we may be unaware of. However, with a few small changes this can have a very positive and significant impact on your office’s environmental footprint. Take a few of the following tips and try to implement them in your office space today!

Go paperless

Well, it may not be possible to go fully “paperless” but offices have the ability to significantly reduce their use of paper. Consider the use of cloud storage services, electronic invoices and receipts. Encourage others to avoid unnecessary printing when documents can be stored electronically. When printing documents, print in smaller font and print double sided to make the most of the space!

Cups

A study by Recycle List Ireland found that 200 million disposable cups are thrown away a year. Reduce waste in your office by investing in ‘real’ cups or by purchasing keep cups for your employees. Place your company logo on them to promote awareness of your brand!

Recycling Bins

It is pivotal that people in your office understand what exactly can be recycled and what cannot. Consider running quick lunch time presentations on this. Place recycling bins in relevant locations such as paper recycling in the photocopying room, plastic recycling in kitchens.

Office Snacks

If you’re lucky enough to work in an office that provides you with snacks try to ensure they are sourced locally. Purchase your fruits from a local producer. You’ll get better flavour and also a  smaller footprint on the earth.

Work from home

Try and promote when appropriate cycling/walking/public transport or carpooling to the office. According to the 2016 Central Statistics Office in Ireland, around 200,000 commuters had an average work commute of 74 minutes each day. If it is possible for your company, let employees work from home a day or two per month. This will take more cars off the road and therefore reduce your companies carbon footprint.

Eco friendly office furniture

When purchasing office furniture for your space consider purchasing used office furniture instead of new. If more furniture is bought second hand this will lead to less furniture going to the landfill. If there is more demand for new office furniture this increases our carbon footprint due to the production process. Also consider, for example the type of chairs you’re purchasing; are they recyclable? Will they last a long time? If you’re looking for a recyclable chair be sure to check out the Herman Miller Aeron chair.