If you own or manage a small business, you should consider implementing a green office policy. There are numerous reasons why you might do this and numerous ways to do it. For example, if you run a small SEO company that doesn’t absolutely require people to come to the office every day, you could add a work from home section that allows employees to telecommute when appropriate.
Similarly, things like recycling, sustainable resource use and end-of-day procedures should be outlined to reduce your office’s environmental footprint. In the rest of this article, I’ve explored exactly why you should implement a green home or green office policy and how to do it.
Why Are Green Office Policies Useful?
There are numerous benefits associated with green office policies. The obvious one is that implementing them will help you and your employees understand exactly what they need to be doing in the workplace.
For example, a well-written green office policy will deal with a range of things, such as:
- Waste disposal, including what is disposed of, where to put it and how things like paper and plastics are recycled.
- Electricity and other resource use, including what things are done at the end of the day.
- Printing, especially with respect to when it’s appropriate to print documents and when they should be kept in digital format.
As you can imagine, the exact details of your policy will depend on the type of business you run.
Why Should We Implement a Green Office Policy?
There are numerous benefits associated with green office policies, and they should immediately help you reduce your office/business’s environmental impact and carbon footprint. Implementing a clear, well-written policy will:
- Help you reduce unnecessary paper use by reducing printing.
- Ensure you recycle as much as possible and reduce waste going to landfill.
- Reduce your gas, water, electricity and other resource use.
On top of this, you could also include sections about green commuting (carpooling, cycling, public transport), telecommuting and anything else you think could help transform your office into a greener place.
What’s the Best Way to Create a Green Office Policy?
Before you draft your first green office policy, you should sit down and spend a bit of time noting exactly what you hope to achieve with it and how you’re going to do this. I’d recommend taking a pen and paper and brainstorming for some time to ensure your ideas are clearly listed and ready to be acted on.
Once you’ve done this, you need to start writing your policy. If you’re not comfortable writing things like this on your own, you may need to enlist the help of a writing professional.
Final Word
Creating a high-quality green office policy for your business will help you reduce your environmental impact and carbon footprint, thereby transforming your office into a much more eco-friendly place.
Green office policies don’t have to be too complicated, so don’t feel overwhelmed about them. Rather, sit down, think about what you hope to achieve and just start writing. Remember, every little bit helps.
