The world is scrambling to find solutions to save our planet from disaster. We are all responsible for finding solutions in our society to reduce the use of plastics, and replace them with more sustainable fabrics, as 400 million tonnes of plastic waste is created every year. Check out these simple but innovative ways to embrace sustainability in your office.
Is your office really sustainable?
Do you separate rubbish, save water and electricity, and try not to print unnecessary documents? Sure you do – as these are the most basic things we may do to help the environment. Have you ever thought about going further, and trying out something more innovative?
We have to admit that offices are the biggest producers of waste, beyond manufactures of course, yet, we may not even be aware how many things we may change to make our office greener. The benefits for the environment may not be clearly visible, but beyond helping our planet, we look after employees’ health and their productivity.
Surround yourself with eco friendly products
The term eco-friendly is so broad, we may use it to describe almost all types of products we use every day. It doesn’t only have to concern food and cleaning products, but all of the office supplies too, starting from copying paper and pencils, to ID cards or ID cards printers.
We should definitely supply our office with recycled copying paper, toilet paper, or tissues, and try to use all of them wisely. Is it necessary to use paper towels all the time you wash your hands, or maybe it’s enough to use a hand dryer instead? Find the suppliers who use recycled materials to produce their goods, and buy them instead of their old-fashioned ancestors.
Keep documents electronic instead of on paper if you don’t need them on paper. They are even safer than their old paper versions. But talking about innovative ways of turning our office into green places, think about replacing your ID cards with more ecological ones. If they’re made from 75% of recycled material, we may call our office sustainable.
Go hybrid
Another wonderful idea helping your brand save lots of money on electricity, and other necessary items, encourage your employees to go hybrid. You may of course invest into hybrid company cars, but this time we’re going to talk about working from home.
The pandemic showed us we are able to function even when locked down at home for a long time, but we don’t want us to go that far. Ask your staff to work three days in the office, and two days at home.
You can barely imagine how much you help the planet when they all don’t have to commute to work. Not only do you save your office costs, but also reduce the carbon footprint.
Make your office green – literally
Apart from working on all these green solutions, bring the greenery into your office. If you have a lot of space in your premises, invest into lots of plants that help clean the air, produce oxygen, and influence the productivity and health of your employees.
If it’s possible, make a small garden outside, on the balcony or the roof of your office building. Grow flowers, or even vegetables there, and let your employees spend their breaks in a pleasant and relaxing environment.
As a sustainable office, you will be able to supply the canteen with your own vegetables or fruit, and in return, the kitchen waste may be used as fertilizer to be used in the garden. Can you imagine a more sustainable office than that?
This article was produced by Adam Bennett of Digital ID. Sustainability is one of Digital ID’s four key business pillars, with the brand recognising the green responsibility it has, being a leader in the plastic card industry.