Climate change is the biggest existing threat to humankind and every year we are increasingly seeing its devastating effects. It goes against our ethos to contribute to this destruction, so instead we’re actively taking steps to help offset our footprint and help the environment.
We can all do more to help the planet. There are lots of things you can do to make your home office greener and reduce your environmental impact.
1. Make the most of natural light
The first step to turning your office green is to maximise natural light.
Set up your office where it will get the most light, often the north side of your home. You can also use light colours and strategically placed mirrors around your home office to give the light you do get a boost.
If you do need artificial light, choose LED light bulbs instead of incandescent or fluorescent.
2. Minimise printing, minimise environmental impact
The best option here is to abandon your printer completely.
The first question to ask yourself is “Do I really need to print this?”, more often than not the answer is a resounding “NO!”.
If the answer does happen to be “yes” then print on both sides of recycled paper and use remanufactured or refillable ink cartridges.
3. Manage your energy usage
There are a range of different ways to reduce your energy use, including:
- Turn off devices when they aren’t in use
- Enable energy-saving features on devices that have them
- Manage the temperature in your home office by keeping the door shut when the office isn’t in use, and closing vents when the room is unoccupied;
- Eliminate unnecessary devices, like space heaters, window AC units, and additional light
4. Sustainable, second hand office furniture
“Fast furniture” is having a detrimental impact on our environment as products are made with unsustainable materials, shipped from overseas factories, and are thrown away more often.
The most sustainable option is to use products that have already been made. You can often easily find these on Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree, vintage stores, markets and other sources. Chances are you’ll get something of higher quality for less money and with far less environmental impact.
5. Eliminate the waste you can- Save the environment
- Eliminate as much waste as you can by doing things like:
- Going digital instead of printing
- Never using bottled water or disposable cups (including takeaway coffee cups!)
- Eliminating packaged snacks in favor of things such as fruit and veg
- Using reusable and washable cloths instead of paper towels
- Recycling everything you can
- Composting organic waste
6. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Reduce: don’t buy new supplies you don’t need. Save your money and avoid cluttering up space by not buying things you may not even use and will end up throwing away!
Reuse: folders, pens, rubber bands and paper clips (just to name a few!), don’t throw away supplies you can use again when you can reuse them instead.
Recycle: for the remaining items you have no use for, recycle them. If they’re non-recyclable, dispose of them properly (for example batteries) or consider donating or selling items you no longer need.
We believe environmental sustainability is an ongoing journey to become better – we can always improve. We continue to review how our business impacts on the environment, and we intend to keep raising the bar and educating ourselves about how to minimise our environmental impact, both as a business and as individual team members.