Monday - Get going
- Drop a quick e-mail to your colleagues (or simply download the email we have devised to save you some time), to let your work mates know that it is Green Office Week - the more people who engage
with GOW the better the results. - If your work place is over several floors it may be a good idea to enlist the help of some colleagues and form a Green Team who can keep an eye on their work area and ensure that machines and lights are switched off and paper recycled.
- Machines: Ensure that the standby mode is enabled on all machines and that at the end of the day all machines are switched off - it would be a good idea to invest in some 7-day timer switches to make it automatic.
- Lights: Download our handy reminder stickers and pop them on light switches around the office.
- Mobile: Unplug mobile chargers when the phone is fully charged, this will also prolong the life of the battery!
- To make sure the office is ready to recycle, make recycling bins readily available and in clear site. Did you know that all bins in the Avery DTR Eco Range are made from 100% recycled materials, so you can double up on your recycling achievements just by using them!
Tuesday - Recycle
Paper is probably one of the largest consumables that an office needs, you can be more economical in its use by;
- Avoid printing emails, or why not go retro and pick up the phone and talk it through!
- When you print use both sides of the paper
- Keep one of your printer trays stocked with single-sided waste paper
- Tone it down! And use less ink, use smaller fonts where possible and switch to draft quality whenever possible; less toner = less cost = fewer toxins on the paper when it is recycled printing
Challenge: you could also look to reduce your impact on the environment by the way you choose to travel.
Try to:
- Travel smart and reduce the time and emissions you spend in cars and transport
- Encourage your colleagues to take public transport
- Set up a car sharing scheme within your company – display a Share a Ride to Work board
- Reuse internal envelopes and for external post look at using Blockout™ labels
- Lose the plastic cups, bottles and stirrers and encourage the use of reusable drinking bottles, mugs and teaspoons.
- Ban the staple and champion the use of the paperclip
- Provide bins for aluminium cans in the kitchen, restaurant and vending machines areas
- Recycle toner cartridges for copiers and fax machines
- When buying new electronics consider a leasing program that includes proper reuse and recycling terms as part of the deal
- Donate old office furniture to schools, colleges and start-up businesses
- When purchasing products check they are manufactured from recycled or sustainable materials - such as Avery recycled labels!
- Encourage your company to recycle mobile phones, this can be easily done online
- Recycle packaging and use BlockOut™ labels where ever possible to cover old address labels
- Shred confidential waste and recycle
Wednesday - Energy
- Don't over fill! If you are just making one cup don't fill the kettle up too much, save on water and electricity
- Alternatively, get a round in! If you work in a large office fill the kettle up and make a brew for your colleagues!
- If you need a new kettle source an eco friendly kettle which are more energy-efficient than the microwave and often boil your water in half the time
- Bin the paper cups – bring your favourite mug into work, not only will it cut down on paper but it will taste so much better.
Thursday - Environment
- Green your work area! Not only do plants make an office look greener they also contribute to its overall wellbeing. By absorbing indoor air pollution and increasing the flow of oxygen, they make the office a better and healthier place to be in.
- The calming influence of natural environments is conducive to positive work by increasing a person's ability to concentrate on the task at hand.
- Studies conducted by Dr Andrew Smith, Lecturer in Facilities Management at the University of Central Lancashire, have shown that plants not only raised the humidity levels to make space more comfortable but also reduced other toxins within the environment and appeared to help increase productivity.
- An added bonus was that short term sick leave was reduced by 50% in a planted room whilst an unplanted room increased slightly
In addition to greening your office to promote a healthier work place other simple steps include:
- Open your windows to increase air flow. If you can't open windows, take some short fresh air breaks outside
- Use non-toxic cleaning products, damp cloths are sufficient to clean most dusty workspaces
- Don't use aerosols they can contain damaging propellants – opt for liquids and spray products instead
- Lift Free Day – persuade management to stop the lifts for one day to promote taking the stairs
Friday - Keep going
- Get Networking – why not spread your success a little further: issue a press release and image on behalf of your company and let the wider business environment know of your success
- Set a target of incorporating three environmentally friendly social media posts and tweets on your company pages each week. Why not use #greenoffice14
- Thank your colleagues for their support and aim to set up a green ideas scheme which encourages and rewards lean, green thinking in your company
- Check out your office and find five things that need changing - aim to get them done by the end of May