A Green Office

It’s 2020 and unless you have been living under a rock, you will know the impact that a 16-year-old Swedish activist is having. Greta Thunberg is screaming from the rooftops and making her voice heard, but is she telling us anything that we already don’t know? Probably not, but she is reminding us that change needs to happen.

During Covid 19, the waterways of Venice were clear with fish visible and research has shown a 25% drop in carbon dioxide over China since the end of January over 4 weeks. As the world went into a lockdown, manufacturing stopped and people were not commuting to work. This has had a positive impact on the climate and is a glimmer of positivity in a bad situation.

So what can be done in an office environment to make a change? Every office across the world has probably got one thing in common, a coffee machine. One change that could be easily made would be to switch to recycled paper filters.

A reduction in paper is something that every office should consider right now. Before printing any member of staff should ask themselves, do I need to print this or can this be sent electronically? If you do have to print, try printing double-sided.

Pens are another thing that can make a significant difference. Did you know that pens can be refilled rather than sent to landfill?

Another area which one can consider is green cleaning products. Green products eliminate harsh odours and toxins which are released into the air.

Why not encourage staff to walk to work one day a week or consider using public transport? If this isn’t feasible, why not encourage staff to carpool?