5 Ways To Create An Eco-Friendly Workplace

April 24, 2021

Being eco-friendly is one of the most important aspects of running a business in today’s world.

There are a few reasons for this. Firstly, a company that is kind to the environment is likely to have a better public image than one that isn’t and is less likely to receive negative publicity or even be subject to legal troubles.

Secondly, depending on where your business is operating, you may even be able to receive government funding if you are able to prove that you have environmentally friendly working practices. Sustainable practices can also often be more cost-effective for you than wasteful ones.

Last but not least, you probably want to feel the sense of pride that your company is a force for good! But how can you create a workplace that is eco-friendly and sustainable? In this guide, we will look at five ways you can do this.

Recycle Any Waste Produced

You have definitely heard about how we should all recycle at home, but unfortunately, it is easy to forget about this when it comes to the workplace. The first thing to do is to make sure that you have separate bins for recyclables on your premises and encourage employees to use them when discarding materials used for work as well as food packaging from lunch breaks.

If you are working in an office environment, this will probably be simpler than if you are working in a space such as a restaurant, bar, or even a factory. Businesses that produce much larger amounts of waste, such as those in the manufacturing industry, can tackle this problem by investing in equipment such as an industrial baler.

Encourage Public Transport or Carpooling

If your employees commute to work, the carbon footprint of your company can be large if each staff member drives to and from the workplace. You can tackle this by encouraging staff to use public transport when they can or even to set up a carpool or ride-sharing scheme. You may be able to incentivize this by allowing workers to claim public transport fares or gas money for carpooling as expenses.

Consider Adopting Home Working

If you want to go a step further and eliminate the need for the daily commute altogether, it may be worth considering adopting a home working model for your business. Of course, this will not be possible for all types of companies but maybe viable for office-based businesses. Even if it’s not possible to fully abandon the physical workplace, you may be able to set certain work-from-home days to reduce the amount of commuting.

Choose Your Stock and Equipment Suppliers Carefully

One aspect of running an eco-friendly business is avoiding suppliers with environmentally destructive practices. Do some research into a company before you use their services! When purchasing equipment, you should also opt for energy-efficient equipment when you can—this will reduce your energy bills as well as your carbon footprint!

Develop a Company Green Policy

Putting all of these suggestions into practice and making sure that all staff members follow them can be tricky. Writing them down as an official company Green Policy, and requiring all employees to read and follow it, can help massively.