By Geraldine Mills
A sustainable workplace is something that any business should aim for now and not just as a new goal to aim for to get brownie points. If a workplace is committed to sustainability, the first step they need to take would involve the employees in it. Otherwise, their efforts aren’t making any results.
Encouraging your employees to be eco-conscious will enable them to work sustainably. Plus, they can adopt those practices in their day-to-day life, including their life outside of work.
On that note, there are seven ways you can encourage your employees to be more eco-conscious. Try them out and see which ones stick the most for your employees.
1. Implement a recycling program
Managing your waste in the workplace is something that you should prioritize more if you want a sustainable workplace. According to Maid Sailors’ NYC office cleaning, implementing a recycling program will help you get started on better waste management.
Of course, you can’t implement a whole recycling program without giving people in the office the right training first. Otherwise, they will not know how to manage your recycling program. Constant training and showing them examples will give them a good idea of how to implement your recycling program properly.
Once they get the hang of things, you can start setting up the recycling bins all over your office. Please get in contact with recycling centers near your office to get a set-up going with them so that your efforts to recycle aren’t in vain.
2. Conserve energy within the office
Committing to energy-conservation efforts in the office will help your workplace be more eco-conscious, but it will also help you save on money. There are a lot of ways you can conserve energy in the office. One simple way would be to instruct everyone on how to be smarter with how they use energy in the office.
For example, you should tell people to unplug appliances or electronic devices when they’re not in use. It would help if you also encouraged everyone to turn off the lights in a room, not in use.
Aside from these individual practices, you can also revert your office to use renewable energy sources.
3. Promote a paperless office
Another way you can shift towards a sustainable workplace could be the start of promoting a paperless office. Going paperless is not a simple task, but it can be gratifying. When you’re just starting this shift, it can feel not very comforting, but once you get it done, you find that it’s a lot more convenient for you in the long run.
When you convert your relevant work documents to their digital form, you can access them anywhere. Aside from that, going paperless in your workplace reduces the fire hazard that it generates.
You can do this process one step at a time. It can be not easy, but once you get the ball rolling, you’ll find that it’s a lot easier to maintain a paperless office.
4. Reduce by reusing
Instead of stocking your kitchen or office pantry with a lot of disposable cutlery, it’s better that you use reusable silverware instead. Disposable plates, cups, and other cutleries that are from recycled material are only recyclable once. After that, they’re trash that you’re polluting the world with again.
It’s a lot simpler to keep reusable silverware in your office pantry anyway. All you need to do is clean them after usage and their good to go once again. Plus, you won’t have to spend money all the time to restock on your plastic cutlery when you have reusable ones available.
5. Invest in office plants
One way you can encourage your employees to be more eco-conscious is also a little fun would be to invest in more office plants. Encouraging your employees to raise their indoor office plants will help brighten up your office. Any room can benefit from having indoor plants in them as a way to beautify the space.
Aside from beautifying any space, they can also help improve the indoor air quality of your office. Since your office is likely in the middle of a hub or a city, air pollution can be rampant. Therefore, you should invest in ways to improve the indoor air quality of your office.
6. Encourage sustainable transportation
Incentivizing your employees to use public transport or other eco-friendly transportation options will get them to use these on their daily commute. As much as possible, you should discourage them from commuting to work using private vehicles. It would be even better if they cycle to work if they can.
7. Reward Incentives
It can be hard for people to shift towards a different lifestyle, even if it’s only in their workplace. However, sweetening the deal can surely make them feel a lot more motivated to try.
Giving monthly rewards and incentives for staff members for accomplishing monthly sustainability challenges is a way to make being more eco-conscious fun. Try and come up with ones every month so that your employees have a clear goal to aim for with their shift towards an eco-conscious existence.
Over to You
Encouraging your employees to be more eco-conscious will impact them in all aspects of their lives. If your workplace is committed to sustainability, then you have to start with your employees.
The ones listed in this article are but a few of the many ways you can encourage them to be more eco-conscious. Do your research and look for more ways to change your work style to better the environment. All of us will benefit from it since our environment affects our quality of life.
About the Author
Geraldine Mills is a self-confessed wanderlust from the land down under, Australia! She funds her adventures by working as a brand consultant and as a travel writer. She loves sharing the allure of backpacking and being one with nature.
More Tips from Geraldine Mills
- Ways to Be a Sustainable Traveler During Your Beach Holiday
- Go Green: 9 Energy Saving Tips for a More Eco-Friendly Home
This piece was prepared online by Panuruji Kenta, Publisher, SEVENSEAS Media