Explore Kent’s Green Office Week

Green office

9th September 2019

With back to school in full swing, we think that the adults and going back to the office is just as important and need to be spoken about! Us, the Explore Kent team have decided to turn the attention to the adult and how as a community and team can make a difference in the workplace, which is why we have decided to promote having and making your office and workplace more green.

Having a Green Office is very important not only for your own and your colleagues well being but for our beautiful environment as well! Us, the Explore Kent team think that you should introduce the 5 R’s, Reduce, Refuse, Reuse, Repurpose and Recycle, into your workplace to help support Green office Week and to also just make your workplace more eco-friendly!

During this amazing week, we want to focus on different ways we can change the way in how we work and what we do to make more of a sustainable place to work in. Throughout the week, the Explore Kent team have thought of 5 different focuses, 1 for each day of work, for you and your colleagues to make a change on around the workplace;

  • Energy– Looking at practical ways to reduce energy consumption.
  • Transport– How we can reduce the environmental impacts through better transportation.
  • Waste– Think about the 5 R’s, reduce, refuse, reuse, repurpose and recycle.
  • Purchasing– Research and look encourage the importance of purchasing chains that use and sell environmentally friendly products.
  • Innovation– Working as a team to come up with more ways to make the workplace a sustainable place to work and work together to carry on making awareness for Green Office’s and helping the environment by having a Green Office!

 

Around the Explore Kent office, we have many way to support Green Office Week continuously and overall just make our workplace more of a eco-friendly. During this eco-friendly week, we have many fun and easy way to make your office a Green Office and all while incorporating the famous 5 R’s!

  • Go paperless– Make the need for paper and printing decrease by introducing online sharing portals and group emailing. The Explore Kent team try to stay as paperless as we can and only print documents if it vital!
  • Log off, unplug– Before leaving your desk, make sure to unplug your work station before leaving.
  • Install motion-activated light switches– Rather than relying on your colleagues to turn on or off the lights, invest in motion-activated lights which instantly save energy and turn off when no movement and humans are in reach. The Explore Kent team have these!
  • Buy ink in bulk– Buy ink in bulk saves money and eliminates unnecessary waste, also be sure to buy biodegradable printer ink to contribute to Green Office week and be more eco-friendly!
  • Keep blinds open during daylight– This may sound like a no brainer… However, keping blind open during daylight and keeping the lights off will help reduce the energy consumption and help the environment a considerable amount!
  • Have recycling and rubbish bin clearly labeled– Again this may sound silly and you probably know what is rubbish and what is recycling, however, it’s always good to make sure it is clearly labeled to make sure we get all waste in the right bins.The Explore Kent Office definitely have designated bins!
  • Enable power-saving or sleep mode– This will help preserve battery life and reduce energy consumption when devices are in sleep mode.
  • Bring your own reusable bottle– Bringing your own bottle, tumbler, or coffee mug to work is one of the easiest and healthiest eco-friendly ways to make work sustainable.
  • Set-up a bike rack– To also promote alternative more eco-friendly transport to work, install a bike rack for all those cycling fanatics that enjoy cycling to work!
  • Introduce plants to the office– In addition to the aesthetic value, plants also help reduce your office’s carbon emissions as well as naturally purify the air in the office.

There are many other ways to make your office green this week and for the foreseeable future! With all these amazing ways to help make your office more green you are helping out the environment and are one less step away from making our environment greener!

The Explore Kent team think that this week is a great way to raise awareness for making offices around the UK greener and more eco-friendly which will, in turn make our environment a greener and cleaner place! For those office’s that are only just introducing these tips, why not create a meeting or some posters to create more of an awareness for Green Office week!

If you and your office have some tips and tricks for making your office more green which we have missed, why not contact us your tips and tricks on explorekent@kent.gov.uk

 

Back to all blog articles

Popular articles