Sustainability in the office - 26 tips from simple to comprehensive

Sustainability in the office is becoming an increasingly important topic. After all, more and more people in service professions are working in offices. For service companies that want to become more sustainable, their own office is often the most obvious place to start. And there is already a lot to do here.

We want to give simple tips on how sustainability can be implemented in the office. From snacks to furniture and technology.

Such simple measures can be the right impetus to engage more with sustainability. Building on this, the company's own products and services, business model and strategy can then be scrutinised with regard to sustainability. In the best case scenario, this will provide enough motivation and energy to develop your own sustainability strategy in order to systematically stay on the ball for sustainability.

But now have fun with the tips on sustainability in the office and be inspired by sustainability!

1. share rooms

Office space is now an enormous resource factor. The coronavirus pandemic has taught many companies that increased working from home means that office space is no longer used continuously and workstations can be combined. Shared use is worthwhile both for the environment and for personal dialogue and networking. In addition to reducing office space, companies can also consider whether a shared office or coworking space (such as the Impact Hubs) come into question. Alternatively, how about your own free space permanently or temporarily (e.g. via spacebase) for rent? If you want to get a taste of what it's like, you can visit the "International Coworking Day" to try out the principle of working in a shared office free of charge.

2. healthy snacks in the office

Why not provide fruit, vegetables or fresh herbs for tea for all employees? It really doesn't take much extra effort, but the level of well-being increases enormously and the little vitamin dispensers also help your health. Quite simply as a subscription, e.g. from fruiton or  fruitfuloffice.

3. water carafes or individualised bottles for employees

Lugging plastic water bottles to the office? The packaging and the kilometres driven across Germany can easily be saved. More and more people also like to drink tap water. It's always fresh, healthy and inexpensive. If you like, you can have a water filter and even an aerator installed. And as an incentive, carafes or even individual water bottles are provided, such as those from soulbottle with your own company logo. The reminder to drink enough at work is included free of charge.

4. plants in the office

Plants in the workplace not only improve the indoor climate and dampen noise, they also improve employees' concentration and productivity. This is shown by the Study by Norwegian researchers. A green paradise in the office can even attract employees from their home workplace to the office on a regular basis if, like the Düsseldorf software company Invision creates its own mini-jungle.

5. continue to use coffee grounds

Coffee is almost a staple in many offices. This produces enormous quantities of coffee grounds, which can be utilised more effectively than ending up in organic waste. Coffee grounds are a great fertiliser for plants, have an odour-neutralising effect and can be used to Edible mushrooms for the next office cookery evening breed.

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6. make green spaces edible and bee-friendly

If you have green spaces on your own premises, it makes sense to utilise them for the benefit of employees and the environment. For example, low-maintenance vegetables can be planted freely, small fruit trees and bushes such as currants can be planted or bee-friendly flower meadows can be sown. Holding the next meeting on a bench in the countryside helps to generate creative ideas. But a bit of greenery is particularly relaxing and energising during breaks between work!

7. environmentally friendly cleaning agents

Nowadays, there are much more environmentally friendly variants for every cleaning agent, most of which are not much more expensive. On the one hand, citric acid and baking soda are ideal for removing stubborn stains and dirt. If you prefer to use the product after all, the Frosch brand has been a pioneer for decades and offers a Broad portfolio to.

8th classic on sustainability in the office: waste separation

The topic is as old as modern environmental protection itself. Provide waste bins in the company that match your municipal waste bins, display clear explanations of what belongs in which bin and talk about it as a team. One practical guidance such as that provided by NABU next to the rubbish bins makes it easier for everyone to find their way around.

9. save paper - in the bathroom and office

Think about it - does every e-mail have to be printed? Is it even better to print important documents in digitaland archived in folders? Does the offer have to go out to the customer in letter format or is an email sufficient? Do you really need print advertising? If documents really need to be printed, it is best to print them on Recycled paper (The labels are particularly good here Blue Angel or FSC.) and natural colours instead of using petroleum-based printing inks. And ever heard of Grass or seed paper heard? As a regional alternative to paper made from wood fibres (e.g. from Matabooks) it not only smells good - it also feels good and creates a marketing WOW effect!

The same applies to the bathroom and toilet rooms: a Study by the Federal Environment Agency proves that Cold air hand dryer (such as the increasingly popular Dyson appliances) are significantly more environmentally friendly than paper towels. The older hot air dryers even perform significantly worse. Alternatively, there are Cloth towel dispenser on. Cloth towels are easy to wash. They are not only environmentally friendly, but also cost-effective, comfortable and hygienic. (e.g. from MEWA) If you still want to use paper towels for various reasons, you should opt for recycled paper towels. This also applies to kitchen paper, by the way.

10. cooking organic-regional food together

Cooking together in the company strengthens the team spirit. If you also cook with regional and organic food, you have already done a lot in terms of sustainability. This also triggers a dialogue about the topic and makes everyone think about it at home too. Cooking your colleagues' favourite recipes together also brings fun and togetherness to the team and is therefore a real feel-good tool. Tip: As a corporate customer, it is worth becoming a member of a consumer co-operative or even solidarity farming. An example is the Dresden Consumer Association.

11. adjust default settings for devices in an environmentally friendly way

One of the most common tricks is to set the default setting on printers to double-sided printing, which automatically saves paper. Coffee machines in the kitchen should be set to standby mode for a maximum of 30 minutes and then switch off to save electricity. Utopia showsthat ¾ of the power consumption of a machine can be reduced in this way.

12. sustainability of office furniture: choosing and donating correctly

When the furnishings need to be replaced or the whole office moves, there are often dozens of pieces of furniture. However, these are usually too good for the rubbish compactor. It is better to donate them, as this saves resources. At the same time, other people can get good and affordable furniture. Furniture donations are easy to find online, in Berlin, for example, the BSR takes care of this. Social welfare organisations such as Caritas also accept donations nationwide.

In general, you can also use less elaborately manufactured, natural variants such as pallet furniture or cardboard furniture. These are generally durable and recyclable.

13. second hand shopping

You can also save money and resources by buying new furniture. In many cities, there are suppliers of second-hand office furniture, kitchen utensils and bathroom and toilet interiors. In Berlin, for example, this has been going on for 30 years. "The second office"one provider in Hamburg is called "Meyer's Furniture".

14. choose light-coloured furnishings to save light

Choosing furniture and other furnishings in light colours maximises the effect of natural light. This can significantly reduce the use of lamps in some cases.

15. use natural colours and paints

When selecting furnishings, care can be taken to choose natural materials such as varnishes, colours and ecological upholstery, especially when buying new furniture. This protects the environment and also tends to improve the vitality of employees, who do not have to breathe in any chemical substances. Memo has many years of experience with sustainable offices and offers repair services.

16. rent light instead of buying

It has been available for several years but is still relatively unknown: More and more companies are offering to rent light instead of buying it ("light as a service"). This involves creating a lighting concept for the company space to be illuminated and optimising the use of the luminaires. As a customer, you only pay for the light, not for the lamps. In fact, this is usually a win-win-win situation for companies, suppliers and the environment.

17th Green Design Inspiration at inhabitat

If you are looking for further inspiration for green design, furnishings or other areas, you are sure to find what you are looking for at inhabitat found.

Sustainability in the office through the right technology

18 Intelligent energy management on laptop and PC

If you shut down the PC or laptop, the power supply to connected USB devices is not automatically switched off. If you leave your monitor or other devices connected, you have a permanent energy guzzler. This function can simply be switched off on the PC or laptop to save energy. How to do this is here→ explained.

19. green Ethernet switches

Modern energy-saving switches put the transceiver into an energy-saving sleep mode when there is no network activity. This is worthwhile for networks in small and medium-sized companies. More detailed technical explanations are available here→.

20. set PC sleep mode instead of standby mode

Unfortunately, this is often not preset, but it is a good lever for saving energy in office use. Windows sleep mode consumes less energy than standby mode and for most people the performance of the two makes no difference. How to do it here→ explained in simple terms.

21. stop buying fax machines

Almost a given, but still worth mentioning: there are now convenient digital alternatives to faxing that mean no electricity is needed for the fax machine or the resources to produce it. With a scanner (or scanner app) and eFax access, the process is even faster once you get used to it. Chip introduces providers.

22. emails? No printing, No address lists, no attachments!

Everyone realises this, but we want to emphasise it once again. Every printed mail consumes resources that clearly exceed the benefits. Printing and analogue document storage is becoming increasingly avoidable, especially with the rise in working from home. With a little familiarisation, you can read, comment on and often even collaborate on all the necessary documents on screen.

If you send emails, select exactly who you want to send them to! Simply CCing everyone takes up unnecessary energy and floods other people's inboxes.

Save attachments in a small format before sending, i.e. compress videos, images and PDFs. Alternatively, do not attach files but save them in the cloud and make them accessible via a link. This way, only the person who really wants the file will receive it in their mailbox.

23. avoid streaming

In many offices, music is played throughout the day to set the right mood for work. If an online provider is used, the songs are often played via streaming. This means that data is constantly being retrieved and the servers have to calculate. The energy consumption is enormous. It is better to download your favourite playlists locally. This eliminates the need for constant streaming.

If it is streamed, then not via youtube but via a platform without a video function.

Those who use music streaming on "stream by stream" lists or artists can use it to generate money for reforestation.

24. buy energy-saving appliances

Establish a mandate in the purchasing department to look out for energy-saving models when buying new appliances. This can save enormous amounts of resources. Practical examples of environmentally friendly procurement of technical equipment and other items lists the Federal Environment Agency on.

25. buy office equipment from environmentally friendly suppliers

Offices not only contain appliances, but also other household items: thermos cups, bottles, cutlery, towels and many more. There is a wide selection of environmentally friendly suppliers with convincing new products to choose from when purchasing such items. Our recommendation: The Laguna plastic-free online shop.

26. repair electrical appliances instead of buying new ones

Discussions about the resource consumption of electrical appliances are increasing: the social and environmental impact of rare earths and the production itself must be viewed critically. Instead of buying new appliances when they slow down or have minor faults, they can be repaired more cheaply and to a high standard. With www.kaputt.de has become the first platform to offer services specifically tailored to corporate customers.

These were our tips for sustainability in the office. Continue with our other categories.

Don't stop at technical equipment and the green office: Think sustainability as a whole and consider CSR strategically

We offer support for major changes in companies and organisations. We work with companies to develop sustainability strategies and targeted sustainability measures. We also carry out analyses to provide a sound basis. For example, a sustainability SWOT or a materiality analysis. Does this appeal to you? Then contact us, e.g. simply by e-mail! 

If you are looking for even more knowledge, we have a Comprehensive guide to sustainability strategy in companies compiled.

Even more collected sustainability tips...

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