If you find yourself wondering how to be sustainable in the workplace, you’re not alone. A quick Google search yields 717 million results for the topic and with event industry trends for 2020 showing an increased focus on going green, and a wider societal shift towards sustainability, this should come as no surprise. Consumers are now shifting to an ‘eco-shaming‘ model which sees them publicly call out companies and organisations that neglect their duty to protect the planet. That’s why it’s more important than ever to make sure your business is as eco-friendly as possible and why we decided to come up with some steps you can take to make an impact for you and your coworkers.
How To Be Sustainable In The Workplace – Personal Tactics
Avoid Single-Use Plastics
If you’re wondering how you can be sustainable in the workplace then one of the things you can do to reduce your carbon footprint is to commit to not purchasing single-use plastics.
One of the simplest culprits you can omit from your daily life is single-use plastics, like water bottles. You can get a range of reusable water bottles online, some of which are thermally insulated which helps keep your beverage chilled, even without a fridge.
Set Your Monitor & Computer To Power Saver Mode
A simple change you can make is to find the power saver options on your computer or monitor and switch them to on. Most monitors have an auto-power off feature that turns off the display when there’s no activity, while both Mac OS and Windows 10 have settings to help you reduce the amount of energy you use.
On a Mac, you can:
- set your computer to automatically switch graphics card to the lower power one
- put your hard disks to sleep when possible
- reduce the amount of time your display stays on when you aren’t interacting with it
If you use a Mac, you can find out more about Energy Saver here.
On a Windows PC, you can:
- reduce the amount of time before your computer sleeps
- reduce the amount of time before your display shuts off
If you use a Windows PC, you can find out more about the power saving settings here.
Commute Choices
If you live within cycling distance of your office, consider getting a bike or cycling to reduce your carbon footprint. Not only will cycling to work help the environment, but it can also help reduce your stress from sitting in rush-hour traffic, improve your heart health and could even shorten your commute, saving you hours every week. Check if your employer is a part of the Bike To Work Scheme to see if you can get a bike at a reduced price or make use of bike-sharing services like Dublin Bikes.
Alternatively, you can make use of public transport services if they are available instead of taking the car, which will make your work commute more eco-friendly.
How To Be Sustainable In The Workplace – Company Tactics
Switch To A Renewable Energy Provider
Every company uses electricity to keep its daily business ticking over from basics like heating and light, to powering computers, printers, wifi and phones. By making the switch to an energy provider that uses 100% renewable energy, you can make sure that while your business is humming along nicely, your carbon footprint is being reduced.
Switcher has put together a list of energy providers in Ireland that offer 100% renewable energy to help you in your decision making process.
Go Paperless
It makes sense to reduce the amount of paper we go through on a daily basis, but for some people and workflows, it may seem daunting or impossible to go fully paperless.
Opting for a digital workflow can sometimes leave you wishing you had something physical to write on, especially for those raised on pen and paper. Incorporating a tablet with a stylus into your routine can help here, or using a wipeable surface like a whiteboard to get your thoughts down before taking a picture or transposing them into a digital document can help counter this.
Double-Sided Printing
If you must print, go for the double-sided option to cut the amount of paper you use by half. If you don’t have a printer that prints double-sided, you can print the odd pages, flip them around and put them back into the paper tray, then print the even pages.
These are just a few suggestions that will help you figure out how to be sustainable at the workplace in 2020. If you want to see how we can help you to incorporate sustainability into your next event, visit our contact page to get in touch.