9 Sustainable Workplace Ideas that You can Adopt
The world has seen a significant rise in global warming. Along with that, the environment has deteriorated over time. The reason behind this is that we have forgotten the concept of being sustainable.
The current corporate world has played a role in adding to environmental turmoils.
But organizations are now focusing more on sustainability, which will help the environment. They are trying to reduce their carbon footprint and opting for a green work environment. This will help the ecosystem in a various manner. Moreover, employees will get used to the habit of becoming more sustainable.
The main goal should be generate productivity using fewer resources possible.
Let us have a look at how we can create a sustainable work environment.
9 Ways to Create a Sustainable Workplace
1. Curbing Electricity Consumption
Be it at home or a workplace, saving energy always helps not only your bills but the environment as well. In workplaces, we have seen the usage of power. The unnecessary operation of machinery and lights is diminishing sustainability.
This had been adding more to the ever-growing pollution.
But the reduction of energy consumption will help the cause of sustainability. You need to create awareness and make everyone acknowledge it. The best ways you can put in place are-
-
Stickers asking employees to switch off lights when not in use
-
Installing automatic lights with motion sensors
-
Regular clean-up of machines
2. Green Office
Emphasizing the use of plants in a work environment helps to bring in natural beauty. Not only it circulates fresh air, but it also helps in the change of scenery. This can prove out to be handy because a change in scenery always helps in-
-
Increase in productivity,
-
Enhance the mood of employees'
Do keep in mind having plants in the work environment will reduce an organization's carbon footprint.
3. Focusing on Solar Energy
One of the cleanest forms of energy that one can resort to is solar energy. Solar power is clean green electricity sourced from sunlight. It is renewable energy and inexhaustible like other sources of energy.
Building a sustainable workplace can start from using solar energy. It will signify that the organization has taken up initiatives to practice sustainability. This will improve the negative environmental impact caused by an organization.
4. Going paperless
The papers used by an organization take up a considerable percentage of the office space. This is leading to a crisis not only in the workspace but also affecting the environment. Millions of trees are cut down to cover our needs for daily usage of paper.
It is an irreplaceable resource that has led to negative impacts on our environment.
Going digital is the solution to this growing problem. It saves you the cost of using paper daily. Also going digital makes it convenient to back up necessary documents. . Which saves time and space for an organization. Thus, providing a helping hand in protecting trees and reducing carbon emissions by huge numbers.
5. Green commuting
Organizations can encourage their employees to reduce carbon emissions by asking them to-
-
Walk to work if they live nearby
-
Use a bicycle and endorse it
-
Use public transportation or carpooling
You can enhance these efforts by incentivizing them. An increased number of perks will improve the active participation of your employees. Thus, leading to sustainable company culture.
One can also provide remote working or work from home benefits. It will reduce the carbon footprint of every individual of an organization.
This will set a perfect example among others to follow the sustainable way of organizing a workplace.
6. Sustainable Dining
Most of the organizations that we know have a dining space equipped with various facilities. And to make it more sustainable, organizations can opt for a sustainable office kitchen and provide a healthy diet for the employees.
Reducing junk food and the usage of styrofoam and plastic can help elevate the efforts of creating a sustainable workplace.
Instead, one can use utensils made of wood or clay, which are reusable. Thus, cutting down costs and maintenance. And helping the environment with a positive mindset.
7. Water conservation
Water, as we know, is a resource that is not renewable and has been depleting over time. With big corporations growing each day, water usage has also increased, posing a more significant threat to the ecological cycle.
And if your efforts are to create a workplace that thrives on sustainability, then water conservation needs to be focused upon.
You can start with good water management by installing low-flowing showerheads and dishwashers and informing your employees about how there are policies and incentives so that water management is practiced.
One of the most critical steps towards water conservation is water recycling and rainwater harvesting. It might seem to be a costly affair at first, but it is efficient and beneficial for the greater good in the long term.
8. Employee Awareness Campaigns
To increase your efforts of creating a well-planned, sustainable workplace, your employees need to know everything about it. This is why it is essential to run campaigns that will help them understand how sustainability works and its benefits.
Moreover, gaining knowledge about the subject will increase their engagement and efforts to build an eco-friendly workplace. It will create a corporate culture that focuses solely on energy efficiency and sustainability.
9. Eco-friendly Corporate Gifting
As a manager, to promote sustainability, you can also come up with eco-friendly corporate gifting ideas. Spread the message by gifting your employees with materials that are nature friendly. Some of the choices can be tote bags, reusable straws and chopsticks, stainless steel bottles, thermal coffee mugs, and much more.
These are efficient and do not cost much. Plus, it elevates your sustainable efforts and employee engagement. Your employees are going to love these gifts as they are reusable and will promote sustainability.
Over to you!
When you come to think of it, we have done very little to preserve our precious natural resources—not thinking about the after-effects it will have on us and our future. With that being said, we still have time to save the environment, and a sustainable workplace could just be the start we need. It is time that we become environmentally friendly and help the Earth to recover. Think about it and comment below more ideas so that we can achieve a greener planet.
Mrinmoy Rabha is a content writer and digital marketer at Vantage Circle. He is an avid follower of football and passionate about singing. For any related queries, contact editor@vantagecircle.com
