Thinking about making your office more environmentally friendly? Read our mini-guide on creating an eco-friendly office and go green with ease!

Here in California, we drive our fully electric Teslas into the smoggy sunset, actively consider installing solar panels on our homes and teach our kids an eco-literacy curriculum in public schools. Aren’t we just so impossibly hipster?

Perhaps, but that doesn’t mean we’re not doing the right thing. In fact, the health of Mother Nature should concern everybody due to its immediate relevance to our own health and quality of life.

If you agree, you have probably gone green and are thinking about how to go even greener. We have an idea for you: why don’t you go green at your workplace? Keep reading to learn how to create an eco-friendly office in a few simple steps.

1. Save Electricity and Water
2. Go Paperless
3. Recycle
4. Make Your Office Kitchen Eco-Friendly
5. Use Environmentally Friendly Cleaning Solutions for Your Office
6. Add Some Green Plants to Your Office
7. Make Your Corporate Culture Green

1) Save Electricity and Water

This will help you not just take care of the planet, but of your budget as well. Loving the Earth pays off! There are multiple ways to cut down on electricity and water in your office, from the obvious ones like remembering to switch the lights off when you leave the room to others that require a bit of extra effort. Let’s take a closer look.

Electricity

You have many options here. Firstly, you can start using CFL bulbs, which last longer than regular bulbs due to their energy efficiency. Secondly, you can make sure computers and other electronic equipment and devices don’t consume energy when they’re not used. Try standby mode for your electronic outputs and install software that allows the computers to go into a conservation mode when nobody’s working on them.

Finally, don’t overwork your AC. That doesn’t mean that you should let your employees boil in a hot room because you don’t want to turn on the AC. Check out solar control window film: it reflects solar energy and keeps your office cool while reducing your company’s carbon footprint. Good for the planet and good for your wallet, as window tinting can save you up to 30% in cooling costs.

Water

Start with simple things – make sure your faucets are not dripping. You won’t believe how much water (and money) is leaking from a dripping faucet!

The next step is installing low-flow toilets and faucet aerators. Sure, it will require some investments but they will quickly pay off, as you will be saving on water bills. Additionally, if possible, you can get a rainwater tank to maximize your water conservation efforts. Green all the way!

2) Go Paperless

Some will argue that it is impossible to go paperless in the office. It’s not. It is 2019 and you can make anything digital. All your documents can be stored online or on computers, and you can create a digital signature for them.

Implement paperless billing and use email instead of the fax machine – faxing is so outdated anyway. There is a paperless solution for every office need!

But if it’s too much for you to stop using paper in your office altogether, you can still bring its usage down to the minimum. For instance, buy unbleached paper, use minimal packaging, and provide recycling containers.

Finally, get each of your employees their own mug and stop using disposable coffee cups. It will brighten up your employee’s day and save about 500 paper coffee cups that an average office worker goes through every year. Did you know that those cups cannot even be recycled?

3) Recycle

Speaking of recycling.

Besides paper, you can recycle cans, bottles, and office supplies. Consult with your local waste hauler to see what they collect and how your recyclables should be separated.

You might also want to consider launching a recycling program in your office to make sure everyone is on board and dedicated to the same green purpose. You can’t create an eco-friendly office on your own!

4) Make Your Office Kitchen Eco-Friendly

Encourage your employees to eat organic and local food in the office. While it is up to them to listen to you or ignore your green lectures, there are matters you can take in your own hands.

For example, if you’re ordering lunch for everybody or buying food for an office meeting, make sure to order it from places that are also eco-friendly. These days you can even get organic coffee that comes with compostable packaging for your office. It’s easy to go green – and also quite delicious.

5) Use Environmentally Friendly Cleaning Solutions For Your Office

Tell your cleaning company to use eco-friendly cleaning products – there are plenty of environmentally friendly cleaning brands on the market. This way, you will reduce chemical waste caused by conventional cleaning products.

6) Add some green plants to your office

Plants will make your office look better while absorbing the pollutants and providing fresh oxygen. You will go green quite literally! Moreover, your employees will probably love this idea too. It’s always nice to bring some color to the office daily grind.

7) Make Your Corporate Culture Green

We have already mentioned that you should get your employees on board by encouraging them to recycle and get food from eco-friendly stores or restaurants.

You can go even further with that: make caring for Mother Nature a part of your office culture. Encourage carpooling, biking and walking to work, allow casual dress code that will reduce the need for dry cleaning, and organize green team building activities. People are more likely to go green with you if you show them it’s fun!

We hope we have given you plenty of eco-friendly ideas for your office. Remember, you don’t have to do it all at once: you can start with taking care of your dripping faucets today, introduce a new office culture in a year and go fully paperless in two.

Creating an eco-friendly office is a process and now that you are equipped with our 7 steps, you can begin your own little green revolution in your workspace. And remember: we are always here to help you with that!

At Metropolitan West, we offer office design products such as solar control window film that can make it easier for you to go green. This carbon neutral solution will help you save on energy bills and protect your office from heat and harmful UV-rays.

Contact Metropolitan West today and let’s go green together!