As organisations around the globe increase efforts to improve their environmental impact, we share 6 top tips for making your office greener.
1. Print your documents more efficiently
On average, office based employees print 10,000 documents a year. Although this figure is falling (as people convert to viewing documents digitally) there will always be instances, legally, or through customer preferences, when print is needed. The key is to optimise the way remaining documents are printed. Too often internally printing, enclosing and mailing letters generates waste: in terms of paper, energy consumption and equipment replacement. Consider switching to a third-party supplier who can help you print documents more efficiently and eliminate waste.
2 – Supply your documents electronically
It might sound obvious, but are you presenting all of the customer, employee and supplier documents you can online? Over the last decade, as technology has evolved, more people are open to receiving secure digital communications. Using our Aceni solution for example, customers can view their information online, when and where they need it. Are there any instances where you could put this into practice within your office? Could you offer your customers the same piece of information but communicated through a different means?
3. Turn off your computers
When the clock strikes five and it’s time to go home don’t forget to turn off your computer. You’re looking forward to a good night’s sleep, so let your computer get the rest it needs too, by shutting it down. We actually program our computers to turn off automatically at a certain time each night, just in case we forget! You can also set your monitor to turn off after a few minutes of inactivity. This will considerably decrease the amount of energy wasted, especially if there are many computers in your office.
4. Recycle more
It sounds fairly simple, but many companies just empty their waste into one main bin, or make it difficult (not on purpose) for their employees to use the recycling facilities. What we do, is ensure that our recycling bins are clearly labelled and that they’re accessible throughout our office. For instance, we make sure we place a paper recycling bin next to a printer/copier and our food recycling bin in the cafeteria. Wherever we place a standard bin, we make sure there is a recycling bin next to it too.
5. Buy local
Paper, paper towels, cups, toilet paper – all the office essentials have to be sourced from somewhere – so why not try and source them locally? If you’re sourcing them from afar, think of the road miles it will take to reach you and the emissions this will release in to the environment. Similarly, are there employees that travel long distances to get to work who could share that same journey with other employees? Carpooling is a great way of reducing your carbon footprint. Why not incentivise carpooling in your workplace to get your employees. on board and encourage those living locally to cycle to work with a bike scheme?
6. Involve your employees
For your company to successfully reduce its carbon footprint, recruiting the support of all your employees is essential. It’s about fostering a culture were working in an environmentally efficient way is the norm. At Datagraphic for example we do this by involving employees at all levels with our carbon neutral planning. We also encourage employees to be greener by providing reusable water bottles and offering items such as bamboo pens which are produced from sustainable resources.
Following just a couple of these tips into your workplace could make a huge difference to not only the environment, but to your profits too. Using less paper is an issue that is of great concern in today’s society. At Datagraphic, we’re always seeking more sustainable ways to do business and to help our clients make sustainable choices.
