11 Clever Ways to Reduce Your Office’s Carbon Footprint

Reducing your office's carbon footprint is more than just a social responsibility. It's good for the environment, saves you money, and helps your brand develop a positive culture and reputation. Here are 11 clever ways to reduce your office's carbon footprint and reap the benefits of sustainable business.

1. Switch to green appliances

There are many opportunities throughout your office building to implement green appliances and cut back on those small emissions that add up during the day. Here are some of the most widely used examples:

• LED lightbulbs
• Smart devices (thermostat, speaker, power strip, etc.)
• Solar USB chargers
• Refillable pens
• Recycled paper products
• Non-toxic cleaners

One energy-saving appliance might not make much of a difference on its own, but a building full of them can significantly reduce your office’s carbon footprint and utility bills. Every effort helps!

2. Cut back on food waste

Food waste is a complex environmental problem. When we get careless with our food, we’re also being careless with the resources used to grow, package, and deliver it. An office’s food waste can cause significant emissions you might not have considered, especially if the building has a large kitchen and cafeteria.

Instead of throwing away your office’s excess food, donate it to a local food bank or homeless shelter. You could also repurpose it for other dishes or send it to a compost pile. The world would be a better place if humans were more careful and considerate with their food.

3. Buy Fairtrade food and drinks

Along with reducing food waste, your office should also purchase the right food and beverage products. Instead of searching for the cheapest options, look for brands with the Fairtrade certification and local vendors. Fairtrade sets high standards for food processing and work conditions, while locally sourced products require fewer emissions to reach your building.

4. Get a tap water filter

Plastic water bottles are significant contributors to global pollution, leading some organizations to ban them outright. You don’t have to be that extreme, but you should get a tap water filter and encourage your staff to bring their own reusable water bottles to work. Tap filters are easy to install and cost much less than buying hordes of plastic bottles.

Plus, drinking filtered water from a stainless-steel bottle is healthier than drinking unfiltered water in a plastic container. Between the microplastics and other potential contaminants, you’re better off getting water from a centralized source that you can trust.

5. Avoid single-use items

Plastic bottles aren’t the only single-use items that we abuse to the detriment of the environment. The United States alone goes through 40 billion paper and plastic utensils every year, including coffee cups, plates, and cutlery.

Every member of your staff should have their own coffee mugs, and the office kitchen should have washable cups, plates, bowls, and silverware.

6. Optimize your building’s temperature

Office temperature is often a contentious topic among employees, leading to frequent adjustments to the thermostat that hike up emissions. Instead of letting the quarrel continue, establish your building’s ideal temperature and stick with it. A smart thermostat will help you with this task and automatically reset the temperature if the building gets too hot or cold. Keep your employee morale high and your energy bills low.

You can also do little things to conserve energy with your HVAC system. For example, sealing air leaks and drafts can save up to 30% on annual energy costs. Using different curtains for each season also helps moderate the building’s temperature. Perfecting these details is a huge step toward creating an energy-efficient building.

7. Go paperless

Paper used to be crucial for all kinds of businesses, but few documents require printing in most industries with today’s technology. We have the digital tools – email, cloud computing, e-signatures, etc. – to track our transactions and record information without paper’s help. So, why not adopt a paperless policy and cut a big chunk of waste out of the picture?

8.  Encourage responsible waste disposal

Many companies support recycling and composting, but they don’t give their employees the means to complete the tasks. You can’t put out a green bin and expect everyone to get the hint. You need to educate your staff about the rules to responsibly discard trash and provide bins in every room so they have no excuse. Emphasize the importance of recycling, composting, and other disposal habits so they understand the full picture and get the most out of their efforts.

9. Use alternative commute options

The average worker’s daily commute accounts for 98% of their office carbon footprint. That means one of your employees can almost entirely eliminate their negative environmental impact just by switching to an alternative commute option, such as walking, cycling, or carpooling. In an ironic twist, the greatest reduction in your office’s emissions won’t occur in the office at all.

10. Try hybrid work schedules

You could also try hybrid and fully remote work schedules for employees whose jobs don’t require them to be in the office every day. Telecommuting became a necessity for many companies during the pandemic, and most people decided they prefer the hybrid arrangement over a full 40 hours on-site.

11. Assess your business travel

Taking a long-distance flight to attend a business meeting isn’t worth the expenses and carbon footprint, especially with video conferencing gaining popularity in recent years. We understand that an in-person appearance is sometimes necessary to secure a deal or share sensitive information, but it’s usually just a formality.

Update your office for a greener future

In order to create a greener future where humans live sustainably on the earth, we must update our buildings – from small day-to-day items to big-picture plans. Start by switching to green appliances, organic food vendors, and paperless products, then focus on waste disposal procedures, work schedules, and travel methods. All of these office elements can reduce your business’s carbon footprint and create a better environment for everyone.