Sustainability in the Workplace Ideas

Sustainability in the workplace is becoming more and more of a priority for employers and employees alike in the face of increasing climate change.

80% of people surveyed by the government stated that they thought businesses should do at least a ‘moderate amount’ to deal with global warming.

So if you own a business and are looking for some sustainability in the workplace ideas, you’ve come to the right place.

Start recycling

If you’re not already recycling, this is something you can implement right away and will go a long way to making your workplace more sustainable. Whilst some companies might think that recycling is more expensive than general waste, you’ll often find that that’s not actually the case. So you might be saving money as well as the environment.

Educate employees

Providing resources for employees should be a priority. Encouraging behaviours such as reusing a coffee cup when grabbing a takeaway coffee during lunchtime can dramatically reduce the amount of waste an employee creates.

Change energy suppliers

Chances are, your current supplier creates a lot of greenhouse gases from the production of your energy needs. Consider switching to a supplier that utilises renewable energy.

Go paperless

Paper waste is a huge problem for companies far and wide. By moving your paper forms online you also takeaway a significant burden to recycle. Esignatures, digital financial statements and forms can all be switched to digital rather than paper format.

Change servers

Believe it or not, some hosting companies are more sustainable than others. Have a quick search on Google and you’ll find a list of all the companies who are carbon neutral. Some of these companies utilise tree planting programs to do this. With that in mind…

Implement a tree planting program

Implementing a tree planting program can help your company offset the carbon footprint associated with your business activities. Companies like goBambu have even found that customer acquisition and retention have both increased since they became climate positive as a company.

Company clothing

This goes without saying but make sure you get good use out of your current company attire before deciding to update your company’s wardrobe. When you are ready for a clothing makeover, try to opt for clothing made out of materials like organic cotton which is much less polluting than materials like regular cotton and polyester.

Use solar energy

If you have a dedicated building, it might be worth installing some solar panels for your energy needs. Solar power is green, renewable energy and can actually save your company money in the long run.

Optimise your supply chain

Go through your list of suppliers and optimise accordingly. You could even opt to choose suppliers based on them having a similar sustainability mission to you.

Sustainable dining

If your company is currently using single-use items, it might be time for a change. Whilst reusable cups, plates, hand towels, and the likes might be costly upfront, they will ultimately save you money whilst saving the environment. If you want to take it one step further, goBambu offers zero-waste reusable bamboo cutlery which can be composted after a few years of use.

Compost food waste

Whilst you can reduce food waste by only buying as much as you need, sometimes there will be leftovers. By purchasing a compost bin, you can collect food waste and take it to your nearest compost centre or your own compost patch.

Green commuting

The work commute is one of the most polluting activities across the globe. It’s estimated that the number of people occupying a car on their commute is an average of 1.6. That’s a lot of emissions for less than 2 people per car.

Encouraging employees to carpool, walk, cycle or use public transportation will increase the efficiency of their commute. There are even cycle-to-work schemes available where an employee can use their tax to pay for a large percentage of a new bike.

Water Conservation

Install water-efficient taps to or restrictors to conserve the amount of water used day-to-day. Also make sure to fix any leaks ASAP – it’s estimated that a slow dripping tap could result in up to 10,000 litres of water loss throughout a year.

So there we have it, 13 sustainability in the workplace ideas to help you and your company become more eco-friendly in the future. Feel free to start implementing these ideas as soon as you can.

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