How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint at the Office

How can you be efficient if your workspace isn’t? We believe that an energy efficient office makes for an efficient workforce! So, put your procrastination to good use, make your office more efficient, and reduce your carbon waste all at the same time. With these simple steps, you can minimize your carbon output and inspire your coworkers to do the same. 

Use public transportation or carpool

How you get to work has a huge impact on your carbon output. If possible, walk or bike to cut out carbon emissions entirely. Use public transportation or carpool. This greatly lessens the vehicle’s CO2 emissions by spreading it out among every rider. Who knows? You might even make some friends.
 

Choose a laptop over a desktop

Laptops are 80% more energy efficient, making this a no brainer. Also, set your computer to enter a power-saving mode after a short amount of idle time, that way you won’t worry about how much energy your computer is wasting during a meeting. Before you leave for the day, remember to unplug your gadgets and turn your computer to sleep.
 

Avoid printing

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Paper is wasteful, plain and simple. If you must print, make sure it’s double-sided. This will reduce the amount of paper you use annually, along with the amount of CO2 that goes into that paper production. Use ENERGY STAR certified products. ENERGY STAR is a government-backed program the helps businesses and individuals choose the products that protect the environment through superior energy efficiency. Use an all-in-one printer/scanner/copier instead of three separate power sucking devices. Don’t forget to turn off equipment when not in use.

Eat mindfully

Bring your lunch to work, or walk to a local place. Whatever you do, don’t drive to get your grub on. Enact Meatless Monday! Vegetarians save 3,000 pounds of CO2 per year compared to meat-eaters. Buy a water filter for the office. Say no to unnecessary packaged water bottles. The production and transportation of plastic water bottles contribute massive amounts of greenhouse gas emissions, not to mention plastic marine pollution.  So, use the tap at work or invest in a filter. Get a compost bin!

Rethink the office itself

You don’t need to fly or drive to every meeting.  Nowadays, it is acceptable and easy to telecommute. Use office chat and video-conferencing tools like Skype, Slack, and FaceTime. Incorporate work-from-home days in your work plan to reduce your travel and overall office heating and air conditioning footprints!

Some More Interesting Stats

• Carpooling with just one person can reduce the carbon emissions of your morning commute up to 50%
• Using rechargeable batteries can reduce your carbon footprint by 1000 pounds
• If all imaging products sold in the US were Energy Star certified, GHG savings would grow to 37 billion pounds every year
• More than 330 million cups of coffee are consumed daily by Americans alone. Compost those grounds
• Replacing 80% of conditioned roof area on commercial buildings in the U.S. with solar reflective material would offset 125 CO2 over the structures’ lifetime, equivalent to turning off 36 coal power plants for one year.

Header Photo: Bethany Legg / Unsplash