How You Can Help the Environment in Your Workplace

Global warming is a hot topic and more people are searching for ways to reduce their environmental impact by supporting green businesses. In fact, recent consumer trends show that over 60% of millennials are willing to pay more for eco-friendly products. For that reason, going green has become an attractive business strategy for many companies.

Enforcing eco-friendly policies in the workplace may seem challenging at first, but there are plenty of ways to encourage the uptake of sustainable practices. With this in mind, here are some useful tips on how you can help the environment in your workplace.

Develop an efficient recycling program

One of the first steps to making your business more sustainable is to develop an efficient recycling program. Businesses produce large volumes of commercial waste and this must be disposed of in a way that is responsible and environmentally-friendly.

Fortunately, creating an effective recycling policy is now easier than ever due to technological advancements, along with government incentives to reduce the amount of waste ending up at landfills. One simple way to improve your workplace recycling efforts is by hiring a waste contractor. These companies use specialist material recovery facilities to recycle your workplace waste, thus reducing your environmental impact. Make sure you spend the time choosing the right quality waste management contractor and not just the most affordable.

Improve your environmental management practices

As a manager, you play an essential role in encouraging the uptake of sustainable practices in the workplace. Environmental Management Practices (EMPs) refer to activities and measures in place to improve environmental performance and reduce the carbon footprint of the business. You can make the company more sustainable by focusing on ways to improve the efficiency of your workplace EMPs.

Taking environmental courses can be an excellent way to improve your skills and make your EMPs more effective in the workplace. Many companies now offer fully-flexible online environmental courses aimed at managers or senior members of staff. For instance, Act Associates offers a NEBOSH environmental certificate and an awareness award that has been designed to broaden your knowledge on issues of managing environmental risks in the workplace.

Educate employees on sustainability

You should keep in mind that your green policies will only be effective if your employees follow them in the workplace. Educating your staff on the importance of business sustainability is, therefore, an essential step to reducing your environmental impact. Here are a few strategies to encourage employees to support eco-friendly policies in the workplace:

• Make green policies simple and convenient to follow i.e. place easy to use recycling bins in accessible locations around the workplace.
• Offer employees green incentives i.e. a voucher for whoever recycles the most waste in the office per week, or rewards for using green transport methods like walking or cycling to reach your place of work.
• Place helpful signs around the workplace reminding staff of the green policies in place.
• Use social media to encourage employees to share their progress and communicate about sustainability in the workplace.

Focus on reducing office waste

One of the easiest ways to make your business more sustainable is by reducing the amount of waste you produce in the first place. There are lots of simple changes that you can make in the workplace to minimize the amount of waste produced. For example, technology means that it’s now possible to store huge amounts of data in the cloud, thus cutting commercial paper consumption. All modern businesses should be embracing digital processes as a strategy to reduce commercial waste and lower their carbon footprint. Alternative ways to minimize waste in the workplace include:

• Printing on both sides of paper
• Providing employees with refillable water bottles to reduce plastic waste
• Using emails instead of paper memos

Final thoughts

In the age of environmental decline, it’s more important than ever for businesses to take responsibility for their environmental impact. Fortunately, there are plenty of simple and affordable ways to make your company more sustainable and encourage staff to support green policies in the workplace. Switching to eco-friendly methods should enhance your brand image, increase sales and profits, and lead to cost-savings in the long-run. Use some of the above tips to create a greener, healthier workplace today!