How to take care of the environment at work

As we mentioned at the beginning of this article, it is vital to know how pollution affects the environment , and if you are curious to know more details we will explain them in this other post, because it is something that affects the entire planet and that includes us. What is the use of worrying about a business or day to day in general if we accelerate the destruction of the planet? Thus, it is better to choose to collaborate in the care of the environment , from small and simple gestures to other more complex ways.

Although at first it may not seem like it, it is not necessary to take great actions to take care of the environment in our work , but each one can contribute a small part. These actions are applicable whether you work for someone else, as if it is self-employed. Some of these simple actions are as follows.

Normally, in an office (especially with many workers) there are a lot of electrical appliances that are plugged in and remain idle when not in use: screens, computers, printers, routers, microwaves, etc.

The ideal is to turn them off when they are not used or will be unused for a long time, both as a measure to take care of the environment and to save energy and money. Although there are some devices such as servers that must always be plugged in, most devices can be unplugged . To facilitate this task, power strips can be used to connect multiple appliances.

Printers consume large amounts of ink and paper, but there are some actions that can be taken to control and optimize the use of printers .

One of these is to print in black and white whenever possible, print on both sides, recycle ink and cartridges, or use multifunction printers (they save energy). With these actions, in addition to taking care of the environment, you will save important resources.

In a workplace there are rooms that are not used all the time, such as meeting rooms, kitchen or bathrooms, so the lights should be turned off when the rooms are empty .

Another action related to this is to make use of natural light whenever possible, opening blinds and windows, in order to reduce the use of artificial light.

If you have to use artificial light in your office or workplace, of all the bulbs, we recommend LED bulbs . Get to know here the ecological LED lighting to take care of the environment .

Turn off the taps while brushing your teeth or lathering your hands, as these are often left running and a lot of water is wasted. At work you can take this into account, as well as installing water fountains with a filter and water jet regulator , among more possibilities.

One of the most consumed materials in a job is paper. In order to use less paper a good idea is to reuse as much paper as possible , check the documents before printing or recycle the paper by depositing it in its specific container.

Another option is to use “digital paper” as e-mails or documents in digital form, whenever possible.

A good insulation in the workplace allow us to use better air conditioning and heating. In addition, with this you will be able to increase the temperature in winter and reduce it in summer. You can even choose to condition the place or office taking into account the bioclimatic architecture .

In this other Green Ecology post we will discover the best ecological alternatives to air conditioning .

Plants add a more natural touch to the workplace and also help reduce pollutants in the work environment. The plants that purify the air and enduring well and need little direct natural light are ideal for these environments.

There are thousands of options, but in AgroCorrn we have made a selection of the best in this article about +25 indoor plants that need little light , such as cacti, succulents, some palm trees, etc.

Work is like a second home where many hours are spent and a lot of waste is generated. This is precisely why it is ideal to place recycling containers to dispose of recyclable items, such as organic waste, paper, cans, glass, cardboard or plastic containers.

Thus, in the kitchen, dining room or common room area, several containers can be placed: yellow, blue, green, gray, brown, etc., according to each type of waste.

When possible, bike to work or use public transportation . In addition to benefiting the environment, it is also beneficial for your health.

When there are group trips for work issues, it is always better to organize transport between several taking full advantage of the capacity of private transport and also opting for the public. Thus, it is also possible to reduce fuel consumption and, therefore, pollution.

Not all sectors emit the same levels of pollution. For example, heavy industry (such as chemical or metallurgical) is one of the most aggressive industries with the environment , although it can also be contaminated from working in an office. In fact, it is estimated that up to half of the energy consumed in the service sector is made from office buildings.

Although it depends on many factors, individual actions can help reduce environmental degradation, such as the greenhouse effect. Therefore, it is important to reduce energy consumption and raw materials in the workplace , adopt sustainable habits or minimize pollution and, thus, you will be able to take care of the ecosystem.

If you want to read more articles similar to How to take care of the environment at work , we recommend that you enter our category of Other ecology .