7 Ideas for Going Green in Your Workplace

Earth Day has now reached its 50th year and is an occasion where people and businesses from around the world take part in a day of global environmental action. In the UK, businesses should always be looking for ways to reduce their carbon footprint, while bringing in schemes to encourage employees to live greener lives.

To help you we’ve put together a few ideas, which you can introduce into your organisation.

7 Green Ideas for Employers

1. Cycling is great exercise and there is Government funding for businesses looking to encourage it. Join Cyclescheme and give your employees the chance to buy a bike tax-free. Also, make sure you have a cycle rack in place and if you have space create changing facilities and a shower room.
2. An environmental policy can go a long way, as it presents to your stakeholders all of the initiatives and the targets which your organisation has committed to. It’s also great to be transparent, which will resonate well with customers and contribute to your Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy.
3. Green computers really do exist and can make a big dent to your organisation’s carbon footprint. When your old machines need replacing make sure to check out the ethical and environmental records of the different manufacturers. You should also look at buying hardware that uses less toxic chemicals in the manufacturing process.
4. Car share schemes are a great way to reduce the number of single-use vehicles clogging up your carpark. The scheme will also help reduce the number of vehicles on local roads and lower your employees’ carbon footprint. Ideas include incentivising colleagues that car share with free lunch tokens and only allowing access to the carpark to employees who car share.
5. Green accreditations provide businesses with a great opportunity to focus on a goal and then work together to achieve it. Having a green accreditation is great for publicity too and can be featured on your website and letterheads. Some of the schemes out there include: Green Mark Award, Institute of Environmental Management Assessments, such as the Acorn scheme and Eco-Management and Audit Scheme. Businesses should also consider the International Organisation of Standardisation’s ISO14000.
6. Green power really can make a big difference to your carbon footprint, as well as reduce costs. If your organisation has a large roof space which is sitting idle, why not install solar panels and generate some income when the sun shines. Or just call a green energy provider, which can guarantee that all the energy they source is from renewable sources.
7. Host a regular Earth Day or Environmental Day event for your employees. This could coincide with internal training, as well as seminars and activities provided by external providers. Put some money aside to fund the activities and try and make the event fun but informative. Make sure you have clear goals and make the day about raising awareness among your employees so they help you achieve them.

Expert Support

Croner’s health & safety experts can advise on different initiatives your organisation can commit to, to reduce your environmental footprint.

Contact us on 01455 858 132 for more information.