How can you be more sustainable at work?

When managing your waste in the work place, please ensure that you recycle as much of the waste as you possibly can, as this helps with making your business more sustainable by using these old waste streams and making them back into new products again and remove the need for using new materials to make brand new products. It may not seem a lot as one individual, but as a whole it will make a great impact around the world if we all recycle in our offices, factories, and even if you work from home, you can still contribute. Also use a company that diverts general waste from landfill so we don't harm the natural environment any longer. You can also say that you are zero waste to landfill by doing this too.

One of the most impactful things I’ve seen in my 15 years at the work place begins with culture. If the company has a culture of practicing ways to be sustainable, then it becomes contagious. You can put out recycling carts, convert fleets to CNG, but it takes leadership to prioritize sustainable practices in the decision making process, from how they hire, what major purchases are made, choosing how to implement a new service offering. Mid-level to low-level management can all participate and play a vital role in developing and supporting a sustainable workplace, but it will need the backing, support and defending from leadership at the top to make sustainability as a part of the work place culture.

The main thing to bear in mind is that almost all work is either profit-based or related to maintaining a budget. Many workplace green activities actually save money over time. A simple example of this is changing a fluorescent light to an LED light. Whilst you have an initial outlay you quickly gain savings. Many workplaces don't care about the environment but to do care about making savings which makes it easy to dress up green initiatives as mainly saving initiatives and therefore getting them pushed through!

The first step in becoming more sustainable is believing in the process and understanding the importance of making the commitment to reuse our commodities and divert as much material as possible from going into our landfills.

How can you save resources when you are not even given anyone to save you from much stress? Sometimes you don't even need to get feedback from your colleagues bcos they might not even be happy with you bcos Nigerian environment is toxic. For one to be sustainable at work is use the available materials and keep on researching for improvement, but there's still going to be problem. If you identify areas of improvement and there's no allocations/resources what happens to your sustainability?

Every workplace, regardless of industry, needs to reassess its energy usage. The exodus from offices caused by the pandemic has greatly reduced the energy consumption of offices around the world. With the return to work, this reduced energy use is a positive that should be maintained. Solar panels are an unobtrusive, and increasingly inexpensive, way to reduce the fossil fuel dependency, and ultimately lower the energy bill, of companies across all sectors.

One of the benefits of working at an environmental services company is the perspective you have (from what you can see and hear) of the workers of our clients in environmental awareness matter. And still is a bittersweet experience cause in one hand there's some kind of knowledge about sustainability but that knowledge (in most of the cases)seems to be not enough to make a substantially change in our reality and towards the future. The foundations are there but we still have a long way to go for people can care about environmental subjects on their own and not for being driven there for others (environmental self awareness). The job then is to keep pushing, to keep teaching and showing all the world what can be done to achieve that goal.

Simplest initiative which we implemented in our organization that help minimize single use plastic and significant reduction in waste. We provided Thermos Cups and Tiffin to all the employees. It resulted in ZERO use of disposable/ plastic coffee cups and water bottles. Staff started to bring lunch in Tiffins and no more usage of disposable containers. Offcourse, that requires awareness building & continuous encouragement of entire team towards achieving waste reduction goal.

We recently opened a new facility which was a great time to institute some more sustainability-focused rules. We will no longer purchase plastic water or soda bottles or disposable utensils. Employees are encouraged to use the water coolers and reusable plates and utensils provided. We have switched to zero waste dishwasher pods from the standard plastic container name brands, and we are in the process of sourcing greener paper goods. None of these changes have resulted in cost increases...simply a few shifts in supplies, policies, habits and awareness.

You can stock your break room(s) with reusable dishes and flatware, rather than disposable. If you don't have compost services at your office, see about starting a grassroots program, where you and your coworkers take turns bringing home kitchen produce scraps to put in a home composter.

Work with management to reduce the use of paper and adopt digital media. Or, collect all the paper that is thrown away and turn them into notebooks with the blank side available to write on.

The best way to manage waste is to prevent it. Waste management starts not with disposal, but with choosing raw materials and items that come with the least amount of packaging and collateral waste. This means that waste management needs to be considered at all points of the supply chain and at all levels of the business.

In addition to energy saving measures at work, check with your energy provider to see if they have green energy options that you can opt into.

Small changes can greatly contribute to minimizing our impact on the planet. For example, forget about paper towels and introduce automated hand air dryers. Many businesses also switch to water-efficient sink faucets to reduce their water costs and consumption. The same goes for lighting. Installing sensors helps you save energy. Or, you could also use recycled trash bin bags. There are just a few ideas for creating a greener bathroom

The very good comments so far explain how you can act on, implement or increase your business's sustainability. I would posit that for you to be "sustainable" you need to continuously improve your knowledge of your business and engagement with your colleagues. You need to be ahead of the game in your ability to contribute to the workplace environment. This can be a catalyst for both sustainability and reliability in your organization. Strive to be a leader and supporter for your colleagues to help them succeed. While it is important for things to be sustainable, it takes people to get there. You should work to be one of the leaders in that effort.

Reduce purchases of small plastic water bottles and instead purchase giant jugs of water or get water filtration systems. The coworking place I got to purchased huge 24 packs of water bottles. I go get jugs and encourage them to use water from the jugs and pour them into a cup or resuable water bottle.

Wastes can be first classified into Organic & Inorganic Wastes. Inorganic Wastes are then classified into Hazardous and Non-hazardous wastes. 3 vital tips for wastes management are then considered, that is, 1.Handling of Wastes 2. Storing of Wastes and 3. Disposing of Wastes In that manner we are promoting safer and friendly environment

On energy, the following habits in energy efficiency can be developed: 1. Adjust the air conditioning temperature. A temperature differential of 2 degrees could result in energy savings of up to 10%. 2. When not in use, turn off electrical gadgets. Devices need energy even when they are turned off. 3. Put motion detectors in the lights. When no one is in the offices, they will switch off automatically.

Education is one of the most essential instruments for making a successful business. Being a teacher in a school I believe that kids can make a big step toward a better future because they will do what we request from them. It is mostly the same for the mature people. They should be properly informed, educated, motivated, inspired and convinced to do something. The most important thing is the results. Not only to speak, write, read etc., but to reach the visible results. Without convincing of the value, random education is a waste of time.

As a manager, a qualification like an IEMA is relatively inexpensive especially when compared to other types of training and will give you the authority to act in the workplace for the good of the environment and the good of the organisation.

I continue to learn and try to constantly improve my expertise. In this fast-paced world, this is a must. Since it is not "current", the expert will be kicked off the board by the system. I participate in some working groups where the latest regulations, laws and new ideas are discussed. Participating in seminars, workshops and conferences is a tool for reading news as well as improving my knowledge and expertise.

To promote eco-friendliness among colleagues, we can leverage technology for training sessions and fun apps. Making sustainability engaging and easy to understand encourages everyone to participate in being environmentally conscious. Lastly, keeping track of our eco-friendly efforts is crucial. Using data, like numbers and charts, helps identify areas of success and areas for improvement. It's like keeping score to see how well we're doing in our eco-friendly initiatives! Using technology wisely and monitoring our progress enhances our eco-friendly practices at work.

I want to share some additional ideas, particularly about using technology to be more eco-friendly at work. Firstly, we can reduce paper usage by relying more on computers and printing less. Opting for video calls instead of in-person meetings saves time and is also better for the environment. Technology can play a crucial role in saving energy. Smart gadgets and systems can automatically control lights and temperature, preventing unnecessary electricity waste. Incorporating solar power is another excellent energy-saving idea. ...