Being responsible, being green, being more attentive to others, this must also be done in the company. Indeed, we spend a good part of our life in our companies, and a large part of our impact on the environment takes place in the company. As a result, the choices we make in our daily life at work and in the company can also contribute to the transition towards a fairer and more responsible world.
The problem is, it is not necessarily clear how to be a more responsible employee in a more responsible company. We don’t always have the time to think about it, nor the energy to reflect on our actions every day. However, with a few simple actions, we can already do a lot to improve both our ecological impact and our well-being at work. Here are 10 actions (divided into 2 categories) that can be easily implemented, and which allow it to be achieved.
Actions to reduce waste
1 – Training in the rules of recycling
In business, recycling is not really that. All the good habits that we take at home, we tend to forget them at the office. So take action! Install recycling bins, review the recycling rules (because many employees don’t know them well), and start recycling.
2 – Avoid plastic cups and other disposable cutlery
Buying a gadget is a small gesture, but in the end it can mean a lot to the environment. There are about 220 working days in the year, if you take 2 coffees per day, that represents almost 500 cups and 500 stirrers discarded unnecessarily each year.
If every employee switched from disposable cups to a reusable cup, that would be so much waste avoided. And in addition, the investment quickly pays for itself. The same goes for cutlery and disposable crockery.
3 – Be rational at lunch!
The lunch break in business is the time of a lot of waste. If you have a canteen, don’t take 3 pieces of bread if you only eat one. Don’t hesitate to serve yourself less if you are not hungry. If you have your meals delivered, consider ordering in bulk. Indeed, if you are in an open space of 20 people and you order at 10 different places, this multiplies the packaging bags, but also the journeys of the delivery people.
Also, do you really need that plastic water bottle when you already have fountains or taps in your business? Finally, if you prepare your own lunches, do not throw away your leftovers, save them for the evening! Now there are plenty of ways to cook leftovers in a delicious way!
4 – Measure your waste impact
In a company, we do not necessarily realize the waste that we produce. But between the printed papers (sometimes for nothing), the coffee pods, the water bottles, the cups, the supplies, the paper towels used excessively to wipe the hands, the mass of waste ends up being important.
To realize this (and motivate yourself to act) try to measure your waste impact. For example, you can weigh the waste that your open space or your offices produce in 1 week, or ask a service provider to do it for you. And then that should motivate you to change your habits a bit.
5 – Organize “waste reduction” challenges
You can also reduce your waste in a fun form thanks to challenges. Who will print the least in the current month? Who will produce the least waste? This is an interesting way to motivate yourself to be responsible.
Reduce its environmental impact and save energy and resources
6 – think about the insulation of your premises
The heating of business premises is the first item of energy expenditure in the private sector. Every year, companies consume 55,000 gWh of electricity (Switzerland’s annual consumption), or around 28 million tonnes of CO2. So insulating your premises and thinking about their insulation is undoubtedly the most effective way to reduce the energy bill in the office.
If your business can afford it, try to get your managers to do insulation work to comply with thermal regulations. But in your daily life, think about it! Do not open doors or windows when the air conditioning / heating is on, close the shutters at night to avoid heat loss.
7 – Think about energy efficient and anti-waste eco-gestures
In the same vein, think about eco-friendly actions! For example, turn off the light when you get out of the toilet. Adapt your heating to the outside temperature (if the weather is good, there is no need to heat). Turn off your computer when you go on a lunch break, and especially in the evening. Consider not printing for nothing, or wasting supplies. It’s simple, but if everyone does it.
8 – Use Big Data, home automation, and the configuration of your equipment
And if these eco-friendly actions really seem complicated to you, know that today big data can do them for you. There are now automatic switch systems for lights, heaters with thermostats that adapt automatically, home automation systems that reduce unnecessary consumption. And you can also set up your equipment correctly: install a standby mode on your screen, decrease the brightness if it is useful, put your computer in energy saving mode if you are not using all its power.
9 – Adapt your dress code
To avoid wasting energy, adapt your outfit and ask your boss to be more flexible on the dress code. The suit with shirt, jacket, tie in a heatwave, it is not the simplest. And above all, it pushes to turn up the air conditioning. So if it is possible (when there is no constraint of representation) adopt a dress code adapted to the climate: big sweater in winter, light clothes in summer. And turn down the air conditioning and heating!
10 – Invest in eco-designed equipment
If you have the choice, also opt for eco-designed equipment. This goes from your computer (and its screen), which can be labeled to consume less, to light bulbs in your premises, to the sheets of your printers that you can choose certified and / or made from recycled paper, including supplies … In short, think green material!