Going Green in the Office

Going Green in the Office – Even If You Work for a Large Corporation!

If you work in a corporate office, you may feel that there is very little you can do to change the processes and procedures for going green in the office and making the business more eco-friendly.

Certainly, you may not have control over things like using VOC-free (toxin-free) paint on the walls, or whether your office is in an eco-friendly building or not.

But there are plenty of things that you CAN change to go green in the office.

Some of them you can do yourself.  For other changes, you may need to talk to other departments and gain their commitment.

Being green and eco-friendly is not just the right thing to do.

It’s also a sound marketing strategy – customers are increasingly interested in buying from green companies.

Here are 12 great ways.

1. Green Coupons: If your company offers Coupons, provide them electronically – for example, via a smartphone app which delivers coupons to customers’ phones.  (Just Google digital coupons).
2. Green Accounts:  Go green in the office by doing all your accounts electronically – get your bank and card statements electronically, and bill your customers electronically.  Accept payments electronically and pay bills electronically.  Don’t make special trips to the bank to deposit a cheque – save transport, paper, ink and all the equipment used to calculate and print financial details.  Don’t get receipts from the ATM unless absolutely necessary.
3. Green Documents: Register your business online and renew any certifications online to save paper and transport.   Send agreements and contracts electronically and digitally sign them.  Store your information – and back it up – electronically instead of printing documents and storing them in a filing cabinet.
4. Green Jobs:  Show applicants your company is green by posting job opportunities online.
5. Zero Waste:  Aim to become a zero waste company and tell others about how you do so.
6. Green Phones:  Buy used cell phones – you’ll save a great deal of money and very few companies really need their staff to have the latest, newest, coolest phones.  Mostly, they just need a phone.  Also, if you have contracts with cell phone providers, don’t upgrade the phones each time, instead negotiate a reduction in your contract.
7. Get Free Power:  You may be able to install solar panels to reduce your energy bills.  You can use solar energy to heat your water, and to power smaller items like computers, printers, and other office equipment.  Most countries offer tax credits and incentives for solar installations and you don’t have to outfit your entire office to be dependent on solar energy – just add more gradually as you can afford it.  At the very least, use small solar-powered chargers to recharge office electronics such as cell phones and iPads.
8. Green Paper:  Use e-business cards and email them rather than using paper.  There’s no paper, ink or delivery vehicles dropping off your business card order.  If you do need some physical business cards, make sure they’re printed on recycled paper with non-toxic inks.  Don’t buy newspapers, get your news online instead. All the major newspapers are online.  Use both sides of the paper when printing, and use recycled paper. Recycle the paper again once it’s completely finished – make it easy for staff by having boxes close to printers and copiers. Train staff not to scrunch up used paper but place it flat in the recycle box instead.
9. Office Equipment:   Go green in the office by using recycled ink cartridges in your printer, and recycle them when they’re finished.  Buy repurposed or refurbished computers, printers, and other office equipment.  Sell your used office equipment or send it to a company to be refurbished. Donate it for a tax write-off if the equipment is still in good working order, or recycle it if it’s beyond refurbishing.
10. Green Talk:  Tele-conference if you need to speak with distant colleagues, clients, contractors, suppliers etc instead of travelling to them.  Carpool if you’re travelling to conferences or workshops.
11. Green Products:  Evaluate the products you sell.  Consider selling only electronic or downloadable products because they save distribution and transportation, packaging, paper and ink. If you sell both tangible and electronic products, offer a discount for the electronic versions.  If you offer a service rather than products, offer discounts for online or phone consultations rather than face-to-face.  Tip:  When you are brainstorming new products, remember to work out how you can tell and promote your eco-friendly story.
12. Say No to Bottled Water:  Have a water dispenser at the office to make sure no one buys bottled water.  Educate staff on the problems that bottled water causes, and discourage them from buying any. (Here’s a a fun video).   Tip:  This can make a huge positive impact from an environmental point of view.  It’s one of the biggest things you can do to make a real difference in your business.

If you enjoyed these 12 tips, please Share, Like or Tweet them (buttons below) – thank you!