If you work in Bristol or Cardiff you’ll know all about Extinction Rebellion. Their occupation of Bristol Bridge and blockage of the M32 this week stopped many of us from getting to work in order to make us think about the environment.
Others have also been thinking about the environment for some time…..in fact, 93% of the world’s 250 largest companies are now reporting on sustainability…..
What about your company or the office where you’ll work today? What basic changes would make your work day work harder to save our beautiful planet?
……
You arrive at work and switch the lights on. Will everyone remember to switch lights off as they move from room to room today? Why not invest in motion sensitive lighting? What about energy efficient light bulbs? If people worldwide switched to energy efficient lightbulbs, the world would save US$120 billion annually.
You decide to go to the loo before things get busy… is your office loo a friend or foe?
Does it have…
Recycled toilet roll?
Long and short flush option on the toilet – need I say more?
Roller towel / Air dryer rather than paper hand towels?
Environmentally friendly cleaning products?
Now for a cup of tea. Milk and one sugar?
Did you know that UK milkmen are experiencing a renaissance? People are starting to turn back to having their milk delivered in a bottle which can be returned, cleaned and re-used. A plastic milk bottle takes 450 years to decompose naturally. That’s too long…
So, if you can, get the office milk delivered by a milkman. Some dairies (such as Chathams dairy in Shropshire) even allow you to go and fill up glass bottles from a chilled dispenser.
Do you have your own mug at work? Bringing one in avoids the usage of paper cups. Remembering a refillable water bottle will mean you won’t need any bottled water either.
Did you bring biscuits to work? Of course, you’re a great boss/colleague…in a reusable bag too.
What’s in the diary for today? Staff meeting and brainstorming session at 9am. Not on a paper flip-chart though. The only way is to use a whiteboard and then take photos of what you have written when the board is full.
11am. Now for some administrative tasks. Do you always photocopy/print on both sides of the paper if possible? Great.
Avoid shredding paper that has a blank side that can be used as scrap paper.
Use a printing company (if you need one) that is committed to using recycled paper and ink.
Lunchtime.
According to the UN, the food sector accounts for around 30 per cent of the world’s total energy consumption and, each year, an estimated 1/3 of all food produced ends up rotting in bins or spoiling.
That means about a ninth of the world’s total energy is wasted producing food that will not be consumed. Aargh…! That’s bad.
Finish your lunch.
Mid afternoon
Need a break? Your company has some outside space. It’s nice to sit outside on the roof and have a cuppa in the sun. Does your company use roof space/outside space to grow plants and flowers? It would really help the bees as they work to pollinate apple and pear flowers. The Dutch city of Utrecht has a great idea to help bees thrive. They turn bus stops into little bee havens with grass and wildflowers.
5pm. It’s time to go home. You car share with two of your colleagues. Let’s hope, after all your efforts today to become more sustainable, that you don’t have to sit in your car in a traffic jam for three hours because of a climate change protest!
If you need to make your brand more sustainable contact us today.