With the joint effort of employees and managers alike, along with consistent education, fighting climate change by creating a carbon-neutral office environment is possible. Not only will you be positively impacting the environment, but you’ll certainly win the support of your employees and clients through your sustainable practices. Below are some of the key ways that your office can reduce its carbon footprint.
1. Choose Energy-Efficient Lighting and Appliances
A simple yet effective way that you can work to make your office more environmentally friendly is by switching to lighting that requires less energy. Aside from opting for LED light bulbs, taking advantage of natural light is always a great idea. You could also install motion sensors that will switch lights off when not in use, as well as dimmable lights that can be adjusted to different situations and lighting requirements.
2. Reduce Food Waste
According to a recent report by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), the UK produces approximately 9.5 million tonnes of food waste annually. What’s worse is that an estimated 6.4 million of this total could have been eaten – the equivalent of over 15 billion meals. When we waste food, we also waste the energy and resources expended to grow, produce, package and transport it. On top of this, when food is taken to landfill sites, it produces a greenhouse gas known as methane – a major contributor to global warming.
If your office has a cafeteria, the amount of food that goes to waste can be substantial. Making sure that as little food as possible is disposed of should be a top priority, but even if it does, the best your organisation can do is participate in programs that promote food donations, composting and recycling.
3. Promote a Paperless Culture
In this day and age, most companies will find that very few documents actually need to be printed. When everything is kept online, in a cloud-based program or sent via email, it seems redundant to continue to waste paper through printing. Adopting a paperless policy and ensuring that employees are well aware of it will definitely help to push your business towards an eco-friendly future. Not only this, but going paperless has been proven to save a significant amount of time and money, and also means better organisation, more collaboration between employees, increased productivity and more security.
4. Encourage Waste Recycling
Encourage employees to recycle by leaving them with no excuses to not sort their rubbish out properly. Make sure that there are plenty of recycling bins in place, along with instructions on how to sort waste accordingly. Stress to employees the importance of recycling in the workplace, and keep them updated on any regulations implemented by the local council.
5. Optimise Heating and Air Conditioning
When considering the huge amounts of energy used for heating and cooling in an office, it’s clear that all utilities should be optimised to ensure maximum efficiency. Review what can be upgraded within your office – whether it’s heating or air conditioning equipment – and take the necessary steps to have new and more efficient systems installed.
Reduce Your Office Carbon Footprint with Mitchells
Mitchell’s is committed to helping businesses in Gloucester go green through the installation of energy efficient heating and cooling equipment. For more information, please get in touch.