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Green Living Outside the Home  |
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When we talk about green living it is usually in reference to what we can do in our homes to make a difference for the environment while saving money, but there is another place where we spend a lot of time which also requires us to think and act green. That place is work, and it doesn’t matter if you work in an office or at the local grocery store, there are definitely things you can do to make your work place more environmentally friendly. Consider the following suggestions:
Reduce your waste: You do it in your home and now it’s time to do it at work. Just because you don’t pay for the things you waste at work, that doesn’t mean it’s not having an environmental impact. For example, instead of using Styrofoam cups for coffee, bring in your own coffee cup. Paper plates and plastic silverware may be convenient but paper plate kill trees and plastic lives forever in landfills. Why not bring a plate and silverware to work so you don’t have to use the disposable stuff anymore.
No company charges the employees for the use of supplies like paperclips and pencils, but perhaps if they did, we would all be a little more careful with how we use those supplies. It’s time to act as if we did have to pay for those supplies personally and to be more conservative with how we use and consume the supplies provided by the company. And if your employer isn’t getting the right supplies, it’s your job to say something. Mechanical pencils that can’t be refilled are a great example of the wrong type of supplies. It’s your job to point out this kind of waste.
The problem with paper: if you work in an office, your life is all about paper. The thought of reducing the amount of paper your company uses may seem like climbing Mt. Everest, but you can reduce you use of paper, with little to no impact on you or your company. Start by getting your company to use email more. All company memos could be sent to employees via email rather than printing out and distributing memo. Also if your company still sends out faxes, you’re not only wasting your own paper, you’re wasting the paper of the person you’re sending the fax to. Change all faxes to email, except when absolutely necessary. In addition, consider printing on the back side of paper that has already been used once for any printing required for in-house use. After that, keep old paper to use as scrap paper so you don’t need post it notes or small pads to jot quick notes on. It may not sound like a lot, but these little things add up.
Going green at work isn’t any harder, nor does it take anymore effort than going green in the home. And you will lead by example. When coworkers see you making green choices, they will begin to make green choices. You can turn your work environment green, it just takes you making small changes. The rest will follow.
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