Increase sustainability in the office in six green-friendly steps.
Sustainability in the workplace can help boost your bottom line, improve the community, and enhance employee satisfaction and retention. By adopting a business sustainability program at your company, you can reap all these benefits while also doing good for the planet. To help you get started, follow these six simple steps to a more sustainable workplace:
- Get educated
- Set goals
- Determine areas for improvement
- Comply with environmental laws
- Focus on small steps every day
- Measure success
Learn more about each of these tips for adopting a business sustainability program below.
1. Get educated
The idiom, “knowledge is power” holds true when it comes to developing any sustainability program. Understanding how business and individual actions impact the environment can help transform your worldview from a “take-make-waste” one to a “borrow-use-return” philosophy. Education can also help you understand the possibilities for sustainability practices in the workplace and how other companies have implemented green programs.
2. Set goals
Integrating a business sustainability program into your company’s strategic goals is a sure-fire way to promote measurable change within an organization. Begin by collaborating with key stakeholders and decision-makers to determine the desired financial, societal, and environmental outcomes you’d like to achieve. Then, develop a vision for sustainability that aligns with your overall strategy and company culture, and contains specific areas where your company can improve, as outlined in our next tip.
3. Determine areas for improvement
The next step you’ll want to take is assessing your current policies and practices to determine where “take-make-waste” is most prevalent – these are the areas where you can most improve. For instance, are you printing paper one-sided? Are you throwing away recyclable office supplies? Are you purchasing products from national instead of local vendors? Taking a close look at your company’s daily operations and enlisting ideas from colleagues can help create an earth-friendly improvement list that aligns with your sustainability goals.
Need some ideas for improvement? Discover five environmentally sustainable practices for businesses here.
4. Comply with environmental laws
In addition to voluntarily examining your business practices to find areas to improve, also ensure that your business sustainability program complies with state and federal environmental laws. Use this EPA information sheet to locate resources that can help clarify your company’s environmental obligations and provide cost-effective strategies for compliance. You can also find help locally from the sustainability arm of the City of Madison, as well as organizations like Sustain Dane and the Wisconsin Sustainability Business Council.
5. Focus on small steps every day
Small changes every day can help save money while making steady progress toward a successful business sustainability program that delivers long-term environmental benefits. Try going paperless, using electricity more efficiently, opting for eco-friendly cleaning supplies, or another one of these 26 easy ways to reduce office waste. With time and a bit of effort, you’ll be on your way to a greener, cleaner, and more profitable business.
6. Measure success
Our final tip for adopting a business sustainability program is to continually measure your success. To do this, look back at the goals you established in tip #2 and define the measurement tools you’ll need to track your progress toward them. Having a plan for how you will measure the impact of your program – and what defines its success – is critical to long-term implementation and satisfaction.
These six steps can help your company implement an effective business sustainability program. For more articles on environmental sustainability, recycling office supplies, and other tips for making your office more eco-conscious, check out our blog today.
EZ Office Products is a strong advocate of sustainability. You can count on us to do our part to protect the planet, from powering our business on 100% wind to delivering your office supply orders in reusable and recyclable tote bags. Learn more about our differences here.
If you’re not yet an EZ Office Products customer, call our local customer concierge to discuss how we can help your Wisconsin-based business thrive at (608) 310-4300 today.