Being Green at Work
The severe devastation of the planet cannot be linked to a single event or a particular person but instead has resulted from several decades of neglect and misuse. So the means to fix our world's woes does not lie in the hands of just one man or a particular group or even a nation. It is up to every one of us to contribute in our little way in the expectation that the total of all our initiatives and efforts to protect the Earth will be enough to alter the devastation we have wrought.
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Going environmentally friendly is as good for your business as it is for the environment. Practising sound ‘Go Green’ ideas doesn’t necessarily imply lavishing big bucks, the fact is, choosing useful ‘Go Green’ ideas will help you save money. From swapping over to disposable kitchen supplies and turning off lights when not in use, going green could significantly cut down your expenses. Millennials are attracted to companies who are socially conscious and eco-friendly at the office and in business. We’ll discuss some easy ways to be green at work.
Go digital
One of the recommended ways to become more environmentally-friendly in your workplace is to cut down paper waste. Start receiving paperless files or docs by changing from a fax machine to a fax modem. Work with digital forms if possible and whenever possible read your e-mails and documents online instead of printing them out. Have employees take their laptop computers to team meetings to make sure they aren't printing a lot of reports. Also saving files on your computer saves money and space (but you must remember to always backup to an off-site data system to ensure your files are securely saved no matter what happens to your computer). You can also make use of compact flash drives to move and share documents as they are more convenient than CDs and have security features that protect sensitive data.
Read the green print
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Any time printing is unavoidable, make use of the draft mode on your printer and choose double-sided printing. You should apply the same rules to your copier as well. Additionally, you can use 100% post-consumer recycled paper. You could also use printgreener.com to avoid printing blank pages.
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Green your PC.
It is important that we also focus on making computers more efficient and environmentally friendly. Start by putting computers on standby or hibernate them if they won’t in use for over 10 minutes; switch them off when you're done working for the day. Secondly, if you want to upgrade from old desktop computers, it is advisable to change to a laptop for more efficiency. In addition to being portable, they use 80% less energy. And when upgrading, make the most of the take-back programs. Some manufacturers, such as Sony and Dell, offer excellent recycling options.
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Make use of the daylight
Daylight is a great natural resource. But natural lighting is not sufficient sometimes. Hence, energy-efficient light sources like compact fluorescent light bulbs or LEDs should replace incandescent lighting for energy conservation. Always remember to switch off the office lights after the day’s work, or install occupancy sensors/ timers on lights, so they will automatically turn off when no one is in the room.
Use green marketing tools
Showcase your eco-friendly lifestyle in your marketing materials, both internally and externally. Let your suppliers, customers, and workforce see that you are taking active measures to protect and conserve the environment; it will eventually build lasting loyalty and improve your company's image. This can be achieved in a lot of ways, but the easiest is to add an eco-friendly tag line to e-mails that tell the recipient to think green before printing the e-mail.
