How to make your office greener: everything you can do to create a more eco-friendly workspace
Earth Day is upon us, which means that it’s time to invest in our planet and take action on climate. And it’s not just up to us as individuals; by working together as a team to make our office greener (and our business more sustainable), we can create an eco-friendly workspace that really helps to make a difference.
How, though? How can we channel all of that team spirit into making our office a greener and more eco-friendly workspace this Earth Day?
Other than going paperless and turning down the thermostat, here are a few, easy to implement, ideas we think might help you make your office greener and your team more eco-conscious.
Form a “green team”
There is - as we all know - no “I” in team, so don’t try to do all this work yourself. Instead, set up some time together as a group to brainstorm eco-friendly changes and implement new ways to go green. Come up with some new “green” rules, too, and help encourage each other to follow them in the office. If you have a remote team, try to help people make the same changes at home, without disrupting their personal space.
Organise a big cleanup
Official Earth Day organisers are encouraging people to join The Great Global Cleanup®, a worldwide campaign to remove billions of pieces of litter from public spaces. So, why not join in as a team? All you have to do is select a nearby area (be it a river, a park, a popular neighbourhood spot, a wood, or somewhere else entirely), grab some bags and litter pickers, and select a day in the calendar to work together to reduce waste and plastic pollution. Just make sure to pack some snacks and drinks so you can celebrate all your efforts afterwards!
Set up a green challenge
There’s nothing like a little friendly competition to lift people’s spirits, so why not set up a green challenge or two? Whether it’s swapping cars for bicycles or public transport, aiming to achieve a certain number of steps each day, or going without disposable cups and cutlery for a month, you can keep a chart to monitor everyone’s successes and offer free coffee or snacks as a reward!
Organise a potluck lunch
Rather than buy sandwiches and salads on the go, why not organise a potluck with your team? Everyone can bring a dish to share with their colleagues - and it’s bound to get everyone talking and recipe swapping in no time! Potluck lunches are always a huge success so this is an idea you can reuse for any special occasion in the office, from Halloween to Christmas!
Raise money for a charity
Whether it’s a sponsored run or skydive, a bake sale, a karaoke contest, a quiz night, or even a tree-planting project, get your heads together and come up with some fun ways to raise money for a charity and fight climate change as a team.
Switch everything off
Swap out the traditional swear jar in favour of a ‘lights on’ jar; anyone who forgets to turn off their equipment at the end of the day has to pop a coin in the jar. Come the end of the business quarter, you can use the contents to buy a treat for the team AND you’ll have a more eco-friendly office to boot!
Get composting
One of the easiest ways to go green is to begin composting food scraps together and donate them to a local farm or garden project; you could even coordinate the donation with a fun team day out! There are lots of fun outdoor activities you can do with your team while celebrating nature!
Get out of the office
Taking meetings outside is a good way to get everyone out of the office, which in turn means you can switch off all equipment, lights and heating while you’re out; every little bit helps to make a more eco-friendly world.
Set up an indoor gardening competition
Desk plants aren’t just a great way to make your office look greener; they produce more oxygen, too, which makes for a cleaner and more eco-friendly environment. Turn yours into a competition and see who in your team can create the greenest desk of all - and you can gift a prize to the person who keeps their garden looking loveliest the longest. If you want to go further, you can even organise a gardening workshop for the whole team!