Simple Ways to Have a More Eco-Friendly Office
Eco-Friendly
Simple Ways to Have a More Eco-Friendly Office

Environmentally friendly offices is our favorite trend.

Have you done your Spring Cleaning yet? Besides dusting off those BBQ grills and putting away the winter jackets, now is also a great time to think about cleaning up our work environments! We spend around 40 hours a week at work. I know, bummer, right? For a lot of us that means we’re in an office. So, here are some simple steps to making your office environment more eco-friendly!
Author Elitia Barnes writes blogs about clean water and water filtration systems for LifeSource Water Systems. Elitia Barnes
Let’s Start with Paper!

Updated mailing lists - Making sure your mailing list addresses are correct, prevents paper and ink waste when pamphlets go to a wrong address. 

Double sided printing - Printing on both sides and using a smaller font decreases the amount of paper your office uses. And remember to recycle the ink cartridges!

Use recycled paper - This a really simple way to ensure you’re at least not killing new trees. It also takes less water and energy to produce recycled paper.  

Your Desk, Your Kingdom.

Use scrap paper - Save printed documents or emails and use the other side as scrap paper for notes. 

Desk plant - Having plants on your desk or around the office helps to clean the air and naturally keeps the temperature down. 

Environmentally friendly email signatures - Encourage others to think twice before printing out documents. For example: “Please consider the environment before printing the attached document.”

Eco-Friendly Office Culture!

Pack a lunch - Bringing your own lunch to work reduces the use of plastic and waste produced by restaurants, saves you money and can lead to healthier eating habits.

Carpool - A classic way to reduce your carbon footprint and save on gas.  If public transportation is an option that’s also a great way to live more environmentally friendly and can even be a good way to fit in more reading or end of day emails.

Casual Dress Code - Not only is this more comfortable, but also reduces everyone’s amount of dry cleaning! This saves a ton of energy. 

Office Kitchen - Cut back on using plastic or Styrofoam utensils, cups and plates. I personally have my own cup, bowl and utensils that I keep at my desk.  It takes less than a minute to wash up!

Power Down

Power Down - Some photocopier machines have energy saving modes.  You can also install a timer in the office that will automatically turn machines and appliances off over night.

No More Screen Savers - Instead of putting your computer to sleep, turn it all the way off when you leave the office.