In the office, some green/zero-waste habits are personal process, others are a group initiative. In this article, we’ll look at what each of us can do to reduce our waste, reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and even improve our quality of life by setting new standards.
Every day brings the opportunity to do better.
Here are some ideas for action that I invite you to consult, where you can pick and choose actions to take to improve your ecological impact.
Save energy
- Streamline emailing: yes, emails pollute too! According to a 2017 study by Statista, about 269 billion emails are sent and received every day generating each one an average of 19g of CO2 in the atmosphere. It’s crucial to streamline your emails and limit the sending of attachments to stop these numbers from increasing.
- Optimize your internet searches: consulting a simple web page consumes about 0.02 grams of CO2 per second. For a page with complex images or videos, it is 0.2 grams.
So avoid loading web pages unnecessarily! Consider these simple tips:- Add frequently visited sites as favorites,
- Type your search directly in the navigation bar without going through the home page of your search engine,
- Perform searches with precise terms.
- Delete your emails regularly: storing data in your email box consumes a lot of energy. Remember to regularly clean your inbox by deleting messages that are no longer useful, especially those with heavy attachments.
- Turn off your computer and screen before leaving: a computer with a screen in use consumes between 80 and 200 W whereas it consumes only 20 to 60 W in standby. So remember to turn off your screen during your lunch break, for example, but especially to turn off your computer completely before leaving. Indeed, nearly 40% of the consumption of office equipment is done at night and on weekends!
- Unplug chargers and devices that you do not use
Ban plastic consumables
- Install a water dispenser: your employees will lose the habit of bringing their plastic water bottles.
Discover our mains-fed water fountains : - Offer water bottles or mugs to your employees: and personalize them with your logo. You will eliminate single-use plastic cups, while communicating positively on your brand image!
Discover our solutions : - Offer reusable dishes at the cafeteria: a.k.a reduce your waste effortlessly.
Travel with less pollution
- Develop carshare: a good atmosphere in the office, colleagues who live close to each other ; go ahead and carshare.
- Encourage your employees to use bicycles: you can easily convince your employees to opt for bicycle trips by offering them a purchase bonus or simply by installing a bicycle room.
- Take public transport: your employer pays 50% of the cost of your trips. Take advantage of it!
- Encourage remote working: it limits travel for those whose position is compatible.
Limit your paper consumption
- Print on both sides: and in black and white of course!
- Reuse as much paper as possible: printing errors or test sheets? Don’t throw away your papers, reuse it: to make drafts or for taking notes.
- Limit printing: print only when necessary. Otherwise, stay in digital format.
Be green with green!
