How To Remain Environmentally Aware When Entering The Workforce

Many offices have resigned themselves to maintaining an antiquated space, making it difficult to stay environmentally aware as a young entrepreneur. The minimalist lifestyle is much more attainable while still in university, but once beginning a job for the first time it becomes necessary to play by a company’s rules. However, in recent years, there has been a push for employers as well as employees to focus more on maintaining awareness of what might not be so environmentally friendly and working on methods to make their offices much more aware for the betterment of the planet as well as the company.

How Can You Make A Difference?

Change begins when everyone involved makes an effort to move certain plans or ideas into action. Therefore, it is vital for employees to wholeheartedly embrace the plans their company instills for a greener work space and mentality. Without everyone’s cooperation, there is no real way to make a significant shift in behavioural patterns—even small changes are enough when first implementing new strategies.

  • Work on digitizing all of your documents so that paper products become obsolete and, therefore, lest wasteful. You can do this by partnering with virtual data room providers and using their platforms to store and share company documents with ease and security.
  • Take any opportunity to work from home rather than going into the office. This can save on the energy it takes to power your cubicle space and also on the transit emissions that got you there. A great tool to stay in contact when you are working remotely is Skype, or other video communication platform. This way you can still have your meetings without physically having to always be there.
  • Try and conserve as much energy when you do have to go into the office. Don’t use artificial lights if you don’t need to and pack your lunch in reusable containers to avoid as much waste as possible. Even packing a lunch that doesn’t need to be warmed up is an effective way to conserve energy while still staying nourished; such as with a sandwich and protein-filled nuts as a snack.

How Can Your Employer Make A Difference?

There’s only so much change you can make on your own as an employee, and a new one at that. A majority of the responsibility is on your employer to make motions toward a greener space that is friendly to both the environment and the people working for the company. If you feel like your employer is not doing enough to make environmental awareness easier for you and your coworkers, below are a few suggestions you can bring up with them at an appropriate time.

  • Suggest that employees are provided laptops and VDRs rather than just desktops so that it is easier to work remotely when possible and avoid additional energy usage when unnecessary. This will also save the company money in the long run as they will have less of a need for a physical space to pay rent for.
  • Ask to keep a few plants around the office for some well-needed oxygen and natural filtering in an enclosed space. Plants are also an easy way to add some colour into a bland area without having to spend money on non-recyclable decorations that serve no other purpose.
  • Suggest a more efficient and convenient recycling method so that anyone within the office can manage their waste in the most environmentally friendly way possible. When trash disposal isn’t efficient, many people opt for the easiest and often more wasteful way of doing it themselves.

Maintaining an eco-friendly space doesn’t have to be difficult, especially if everyone is on board to make that change together. By respectfully voicing your opinion and providing a few do-able suggestions on how to make the space less wasteful, you will have a better chance at emboldening others to participate as a team and offer a few ideas of their own so that together you can shift the company into a more contemporary mentality.