Sustainability in the Office

The workplace can be a big source of waste, regardless of the size of the company. As people begin returning to the office, what better time to introduce changes to the norm.

Introducing new initiatives in the workplace can always feel a little daunting. It’s a process that will involve many people, who will all react to changes differently. It’s also easy to assume that office changes will be a costly and a time-consuming effort.

In the second part of our sustainability tips series, we take a look into ways to make your office more sustainable and reach your company’s CSR goals in the process. Here are a few recommendations that will help your business avoid landfill waste and reduce your carbon footprint.

You type, Ecosia plants trees!

Using Ecosia as a search engine is an easy first step. If you search the web with Ecosia that generates revenue for them through ads, which is then used to plant trees where they are most needed. Over 107 million trees have been planted so far! You can find more info here.

Paper free office

Going paperless can help in many ways, it declutters the office and it makes it easier to find the information you are looking for. Try to reduce unnecessary notepads, envelopes and avoid printing meeting notes if you can. And if you still can’t go paper free, consider double-sided copying and lighter weight paper. By setting printers to print on both sides of paper as a default, you’ll automatically cut your paper costs by 50%.

Reduce email content

Although cutting out paper is great, it’s also important to think about the digital side of office admin. Every email, text and Whatsapp video that we send has an associated digital cost, as it requires a server to process and transmit data.

According to Digital Clean Up Day, around 62 trillion spam emails are sent every year, which require 33 billion units of electricity. This is a widespread problem which has only gotten bigger – especially with more and more teams communicating from home.

For tips on how to reduce the impact of our daily technology use, check out the Digital World Clean Up Day website.

Recycle

When reusing isn’t possible, recycling is a good option. For any non-recyclable items such as packaging, it’s worth looking into local solutions. Our Sustainability Lead, Astrid Wynne discovered the Cone Exchange, which is a community project which takes non-recyclable materials from businesses and turns them into arts and crafts. Why not see if there are similar projects in your area.

Get in touch with your suppliers

If you have any unsustainable business operations which are getting you down, contacting your suppliers is a great place to start. For instance, our Goods Out department have been working closely with our packaging supplier to create a new form of sustainable server foam after months trialling different forms of existing packaging.

Set up a green team

Setting up a sustainability committee can be a great way to discuss sustainability initiatives, and work together to make change. It’s also a great way to keep track of the goings on in a business – especially as employees work both in the office and remotely.

Support green vendors

Whatever the task, you can go the extra mile by finding a green vendor. A local choice would be even better. An easy and effective way to screen and select your suppliers is by looking for specific industry certifications: New energy label: what it means for your home – Which? News.

Energy efficient lights

LED lighting is far more efficient than traditional bulbs as it produces the same amount of light for less energy. The environmental impact of LED lights is 4 times less than regular light bulbs. A simple change that comes with high rewards!

Smart power strips

These are useful for stopping unnecessary energy from being consumed. Smart power strips will shut down power to devices that go into standby mode, so for instance when you turn off a computer connected to other devices like a printer, the power strip will turn the connected devices off too. Another win-win for your budget and the environment!

Opt for sleep mode

Sleep mode, hibernate, standby are all ways to reduce power consumption, especially in offices with multiple devices running for over 10 hours a day, 5 days a week! This article from the BBC explains in detail the benefits and differences between stand-by, power-down settings and more.

Revamp your kitchen

Replace all disposable plates and cutlery with reusable items. It guarantees a monetary saving as well as helping your company adopting a more sustainable approach by avoiding plastic. It’s also worth looking into small elements which, when added up, make a big difference – such as greener cleaning products, reusable cloths, and using eco dishwasher settings.

Get cycling

Provide employees with incentives like discounts on bicycles or you can even provide them with a company one. Providing appealing competitions and prizes is a good way to encourage this!

Assess what you already have

A good way to know what needs changing and achieving desired results is to know where you stand right now. Calculating the carbon footprint of your business can also be a good way to measure if your efforts are working. There are a series of online tools that can give us an estimate and an idea.

Making the most of what you already have also applies to individuals. An example of this would be bringing in your own lunch to avoid buying single-use plastic, using a reusable coffee cup, and reducing meat intake. This is great for your wallet too – as we’ve found whilst working from home over recent months!

Reuse IT equipment wherever possible

At Techbuyer, we are product life extension specialists. It’s important to make sure your office equipment and laptops are being used in an efficient way and that they’re upgraded rather than replaced. This can have huge cost savings and tremendously help the environment.

Our Laptop Upgrade Service is a sustainable business stream that will boost the performance of your devices and extend their life cycle with new components, without needing to fork out for new IT equipment. In other words, it’s green and budget friendly!

Choose refurbished

Another thing to consider is whether you need to buy new. Quality refurbished IT equipment with Techbuyer is proven to perform as good as new, meaning you get the same performance for a lower price. We also buy used IT equipment and securely erase all data.

What’s more, the vast majority of businesses don’t need the latest generations of technology for the tasks they are looking to complete. For instance, a secondary school IT suite will never make full use of a Gen10 HPE server. At Techbuyer, our team assess your needs with you, and then suggest refurbished or new IT solutions.

Need support upgrading, repairing, replacing or selling your IT equipment? Our IT specialists with over 15 years of experience are here to help. We work with thousands of professionals, businesses and schools across Europe, the US and Asia Pacific and meet specific IT requirements for every client.