In our modern society, people spend approximately 90,000 hours at work. Since employees dedicate a large proportion of their lives to their work, working in a healthy environment is essential. Workplace design has a major impact on its users’ physical and mental health; therefore, creating a green workplace helps employees’ well-being and overall productivity.
The idea of introducing green initiatives into the workplace can be intimidating at first. However, there are numerous methods to go green in the office without bringing the entire forest inside and without spending a lot of money.
In this article, we present to you five ideas you can implement to create a green workplace and upgrade the quality of your work life.
Promote the Use of Recycling Bins
As much as this may appear obvious, you’d be shocked how many of us don’t have a recycling bin or don’t use the ones we do have. Every year, the United States alone wastes away $11.4 billion in recyclable containers and packaging, indicating that recycling bins are not being used properly.
To create a green workplace, you can start by keeping a recycling bin in the office. Or you can create a recycling campaign in which everyone has a recycling box on their desk and just one rubbish bin located in a communal area to encourage consciousness about how we discard waste.
Avoid Using Paper
We live in a time when workplaces are increasingly getting digitized. And nowadays, activities that require waste of paper, such as printing single-sided or having a guest book on paper, aren’t really necessary. Begin by decreasing waste at the front desk by switching from a paper visitor book to a digital alternative.
Reducing paper usage wherever possible is essential for adopting green initiatives in the workplace. However, if you’re going to utilize paper or print marketing material, make sure to use recycled solutions. Making new paper from recycled materials requires less energy than making paper from virgin tree products and leaves more trees to absorb excess CO2.
Incorporate Indoor Plants in Your Environment
A vital step to creating a green workplace is including indoor plants in your office. Everyone understands that plants require light to develop; however, even when having direct sunlight is impossible, other light sources come into play. In such cases, LED growing lights are a great solution.
LED growing lights enable you to grow attractive indoor plants in any climate and at any time of year. There are different kinds of LED grow lights, all specifically designed to stimulate photosynthesis and aid in the growth of your plants. They are more cost-effective, yield better plants than all other standard lighting solutions, and are a great addition to your office’s design.
Conserve Energy in the Workplace.
At the end of every workday, make sure the last person to leave the building turns off all electric items, including lighting, heating, and air conditioning.
Furthermore, during the day, it may not be necessary to have all the lights turned on, so be mindful of electricity usage and turn off lights in empty meeting rooms and corridors where possible. If your budget allows, consider sensor-activated lighting, which will not only help you save energy but will also assist you to save money in the long term.
Assign Fun Green Tasks to Employees
Why not develop monthly green challenges with your team to get everyone on board and enthused about green workplace initiatives? Consider biking to work, driving less, wearing recycled fibers, bringing your lunch in a wax wrap, and bringing your own keep cup or coffee cup. On average, an office worker in the US uses approximately 500 throwaway cups annually; imagine what a difference one keep cup per staff member might make! You could even design a board for green challenges and incentivize your staff and employees by naming the ‘greenest employee’ of the month.
Final Thoughts
Green offices provide more than simply financial and environmental advantages. They also have a positive societal impact, particularly on the health and productivity of employees; therefore, creating a healthy work environment is vital for everybody’s wellbeing.
