Being an eco-friendly business or individual doesn’t mean you belong to one political party or another. Rather, it means you’re concerned for the current generation and those that follow on this Earth. Especially when it comes to the children who inherit the environmental issues of the past.
Being eco-friendly is increasingly on everyone’s mind. In recent surveys, it was revealed that two-thirds of North American residents prefer to purchase environmentally safe items. The businesses that produce these products also encourage their employees to consider the environmental impacts of their actions.
You can do this at your business without making dramatic shifts. Here are some ways to encourage your employees to be eco-friendly.
Bike To Work Days
This suggestion only works if your company is based in a bike-friendly area. It’s not feasible if the only way to your office is off the interstate. If you can manage it, you might want to coordinate the event with a city-wide bike to work plan.
One way to encourage this is to give away some electric bikes. Companies like Rize specialize in these electric-motor pedal bikes. They provide an extra burst of speed that can edge their users to frequently bike to work instead of drive.
Go Paperless
The way to consider this is as follows: if an employee goes paperless with their personal bills, then why can’t they do the same at work? Save for some legal and financial records, most of the information sent and received at the workplace can be digitized. Furthermore, it can be stored in secure environments.
Utilizing cloud-based servers to store paperless material allows your employees to maintain emails, white papers, and presentations. By doing so, the company reduces paper waste and maintenance costs for its printers. On top of this, there isn’t as much material that needs to be recycled or shredded.
eCycle
While your company has a vigorous recycling program for paper, plastic, and glass, it might not have one for electronics. Repurposing computers, monitors, and smart devices is more important. There’s a risk of contamination when these are added to a landfill. The corrosive fluids of the electronics can seep into the water table.
The eco-friendly solution is to eCycle. The way to do this is to first collect all of the old electronic equipment at your company. Then, bring in an eCycle agency to take it to their center. They’ll provide you with a list that details the step-by-step process they used to safely dispose of them or fix them for reuse.
Office Plants
Plants have two purposes to encourage eco-friendly employees. First, they brighten up the office spaces. Second, they help purify the air.
Spider plants, ferns, and bamboo are some of the many plants that absorb formaldehyde and carbon dioxide. In turn, the inside air seems much fresher. Some plants, like bamboo, also conserve water as they take little to grow.
Increase Human Energy
A happy workplace tends to be a productive one. If employees are taken care of and remain healthy, the amount of absences is reduced. In turn, operations remain steady. The opposite happens when they operate in an unhealthy workplace.
Counteract this by increasing the energy of your workers. This isn’t only done with proper healthcare programs. It’s also done by holding exercise sessions on campus. Yoga and pilates help center employees so they return to work refreshed. Another item to consider is on-site massages. Even 20 minutes of muscle kneading can relax workers.
Utilize Green Vendors
This one might be the hardest to achieve, particularly if you have a long history with a vendor. Nevertheless, if they aren’t adding eco-friendly practices to their companies then it’s a good time to move on.
Research is required for this operation. A review of a green company’s website is only the first step. You need to speak with their representatives to determine if they truly are eco-friendly. Though they may charge more than your previous vendor, the return on investment will be peace of mind.
Take things slow as you shift your employees toward an eco-friendly stance. Hold meetings ahead of time to let them know what’s happening. Soon enough, your company and its workers will reduce their carbon footprints to almost nothing.