Life in Bitesize

Whilst doing my research on office design and feng shui, I found some interesting articles on eco-friendly office design, and the results really shocked me. Apparently we waste around 32 million litres of water and a billion sheets of paper DAILY because we don’t recycle at work. This is outrageous, we’re living in 2009 yet we’re not recycling at work. Why the hell not?

We all know about the need to be green at home – most of us now have recycling collected by our local authorities, and we try to avoid wasting water and paper unecssarily, but how many of us can honestly say we carry out the same actions at work? There are a lot of things which are down to our employers – like providing recycling bins, installing motion sensor lighting and sustainable washrooms – but there are many things we can do ourselves, here are just a few:

– switch off your computer screen at the end of the day
– don’t waste water when in the bathroom
– turn off lights when you can
– don’t overfill the kettle when making teas and coffees
– try not to print emails or documents unless you really need a hard copy

These are just simple things really, but if we all do our bit we can make a big difference. Sorry to rant, but this is a subject I feel really strongly about and I think it’s important we all play a part. I know there’s a lot we can’t do sometimes – lots of companies don’t like to recycle paper because of the data protection act (ever heard of a shredder?!). But, it’s in our employers interests to have a green office and they really should be encouraging staff to be greener.  With a sustainable office design, companies can save money by using up to 25% less energy than a traditional office. If you can suggest any other eco-friendly tips for the workplace please add a comment, thanks.