Blog

Having an eco-friendly office is easier than you think!

Corporate sustainability, a business approach that focuses on a "green" strategy, is a growing economic trend that's not going away. Companies like Subaru, Wal-Mart, and Samsung are doing their part to recycle materials and reduce economic waste. No matter how big or small your company is, every bit of environmental friendliness counts. Start by creating an eco-friendly office environment! In celebration of Earth Day on April 22, we've highlighted 5 simple eco-friendly tips for the office:

1. Recycle your e-waste.

Electronics like computers, servers, tablets, phones, monitors, batteries, printers, copiers, and cables should not be disposed of in regular trash cans. When electronics are sent to a landfill or incinerated, they pollute the environment with toxic chemicals. Instead, hire a company like Living Green Recycling to pick up and recycle your e-waste items.

2. Encourage employees to bike to work.

Make your office "bike-friendly" by identifying safe bike routes employees can use, providing bike parking, and providing changing facilities and lockers. No one wants to bike to work in a suit! Not only will your employees benefit from an enjoyable, energizing trip to work, the environment will benefit as well by reducing tailpipe emissions! Don't forget to celebrate Bike to Work Day on May 12, 2016.

3. Shut down your computers at the end of the day.

Computers can be major energy drainers. Set your computers and other devices to energy-saving settings during the day and be sure to shut them down when you leave the office. Keep in mind that "sleep" settings still use power, even when the device is not in use. To be extra sure your devices don't consume energy while you're away, plug all of your devices into power strip and turn the strip off at the end of the day. Bonus: This will cut down your office's electricity bill!

4. Buy your office supplies in bulk.

If you know how many pens, post-its, and paperclips you'll be using this year, buy them in bulk in order to reduce the amount of packaging and shipping materials. Plus, you'll save yourself the hassle of having to reorder supplies every time they're running low. Pro tip: Buy eco-friendly office products like recycled paper and journals.

5. Clean up the air with office plants.

Did you know that your office furniture, cleaning products, and even the carpet emit chemicals into the air? Luckily, plants absorb indoor air pollution and increase the flow of oxygen. Buy plants for each desk to help improve indoor air quality and spice up the workplace with some color.

Get eco-friendly journals for your office.

Every company needs journals, so start buying journals that are sustainable and all natural! Appeel journals are organic to the core. Completely "tree free," the journals use organic paper made from apple pulp and covers are 70% recycled leather materials and 30% apple peels.

This post was written by Michelle Drucker, the manager of marketing at BookPal. She is currently reading Sprint by Jake Knapp and The Art of Strategic Leadership by Steven Stowell and Stephanie Mead.