How To Go Green At Work
For a lot of us, we have dedicated ourselves to living a green life at home. But what about outside the home? What about at work? Is it easy to translate the same dedication to a green life at the office or at work?
Redefine commuting
Let’s face it. Bringing your own car has more cons than pros. You need to worry about traffic, gas, tolls, parking spaces, parking availability and parking fees, among others. Consider carpooling with your friends or officemates. If your city has a great public transportation system, consider taking the bus or train going to work. You could walk or take your bike to work.
Telecommuting
Another option to avoid even being on the road, if you don’t have to, is telecommuting. Work from home instead of the office. Commute to the office only if you have to but limit it to just some days in a week. You can maximize email, instant messaging and video conferencing to communicate with your other co-workers at work without having to leave the house.
Computers and other office equipment
Be sure to activate your computer’s energy-saver settings. When leaving for the day, don’t just press standby and shut down your computer. Make sure to unplug other equipment (including printer, scanner, etc) when not in use, as they contribute to power wastage when plugged but unused.
Green Materials
Use only recycled materials for papers and envelopes. There are also recycled pencils and refillable pens and markers available for use. Better yet, go paperless and keep communication online. Reading memos and reports online, instead of printing, saves paper and space, by eliminating file cabinets.
Break Time
Bring your own lunch to work in reusable containers. It’s cheaper and eliminates or minimizes packaging waste. Bring your own tumbler to work, too, where you can pour in water, your coffee or juice. You don’t have to stay inside with your lunch, though. Go outside and walk to the park or nearby benches and have your lunch there. It’ll be good to breathe in the outside air and will re-energize you through the rest of your workday.
Influence Others
Encourage your co-workers, family and friends to join you in living a green life. It’ll be more fun to share this lifestyle with other people. And it’ll be more fun for the environment.
