Our world is struggling with significant global issues such as environmental pollution, climate change, and the depletion of water resources. At this point, reducing our ecological footprint has become our primary responsibility to leave a more livable world for future generations.
Making sustainable choices in our daily lives is of great importance in solving global environmental issues. By taking eco-friendly steps in the offices and workplaces where we spend most of our time, we can reduce consumption, which not only minimizes our ecological footprint but also helps to lower office costs.
So, what can be done for more environmentally friendly offices and workplaces?
1- Reduce Paper Usage
Offices and workplaces are the most common places for paper consumption and waste. You can prevent paper waste by implementing the following suggestions to become a more eco-friendly office and workplace.
Think twice before printing documents; Before printing a document, ask yourself the question, "Do I really need a printed version of this document? Will I need to make changes to the text after printing this document?" If there is a situation where you will need to edit the document after printing, obtaining a printed copy of the finalized and approved version will reduce unnecessary paper consumption. Preventing unnecessary printing of documents will also result in less toner usage and cost reduction.
Review printing features before printing documents; You may have used a different paper size/orientation in your previous print job, and these settings may still be active in the printing feature. By checking these features before printing documents, you can prevent printing with unwanted settings.
Use double-sided printing; Except for documents that must be printed single-sided, you can save 50% of paper by printing your outputs double-sided.
Do not use paper in meetings; Using a computer instead of paper for notes in meetings is an important step towards becoming an eco-friendly office and reducing your paper consumption.
Switch to digital processes; To reduce your paper consumption, prefer electronic signatures and digital methods for contracts and approval processes.
You can significantly reduce your production.
Use the backs of printed papers as drafts; Using non-confidential, single-sided printed papers as drafts, or even turning these papers into a single-sided notebook will play a big role in reducing paper waste.
Remember! There are approximately 10,000 trees in an area of 1 hectare. 10,000 trees can produce the oxygen consumed daily by 30,000 people. If everyone in the world halves their paper consumption, we can protect 8 million hectares of our forests each year.
2- Prevent Water Waste
Contrary to popular belief, Turkey is not a water-rich country; on the contrary, it is a country experiencing "water stress." To ensure that our country does not become a "water-poor" country in the coming years, we must not waste our water and we should raise awareness among our employees and our environment about water waste. You can draw attention to this issue by watching and sharing the 25 Litre documentary published by National Geographic, in which we, as Artemis Arıtım, also participate.
So what else can be done to prevent water waste?
Repair leaking taps and tanks; If a tap or tank is leaking one drop of water per second, it means that at least 12,500 liters of water are wasted annually. You can reduce your water waste by having your taps and tanks repaired.
Prefer sensor or aerated taps; By switching to sensor taps to prevent taps from being left open and water from running wastefully for minutes, you can take an important step against water waste. Using aerated, low-flow taps instead of traditional taps can reduce water consumption by 25%.
Water your plants in the evening; If you water the green areas in your office and workplace during the morning and evening hours when evaporation is low, you will save 112 liters of water each time.
Reduce the volume of tanks; The water storage capacity of a traditional toilet tank is 16 liters. These toilet tanks that waste water must be replaced. Instead, it is possible to reduce water consumption in toilets by 75% with an ultra-low toilet tank that uses 4 liters per flush.
HandsDon't waste water while washing your hands; especially during the pandemic, we have paid more attention to hand hygiene and have been washing our hands more frequently. So, do you take care not to waste water as much as you pay attention to your hand hygiene? You can prevent water waste by turning off the tap while soaping your hands for 20 seconds.**3- Reduce Your Energy Consumption**One of the most important issues facing our world is global warming, which we can help prevent by saving energy. By conserving energy, we can reduce our carbon footprint and protect nature while also achieving economic gains.So, how can energy savings be achieved in offices and workplaces?Switch to energy-efficient lighting; By using long-lasting and environmentally friendly LED and energy-saving bulbs instead of fluorescent lamps, you can significantly reduce your office and workplace lighting costs and lower your carbon footprint.
Use motion-sensor lighting; By using motion-sensor lighting fixtures in areas with little use, you can prevent unnecessary energy consumption.
Keep electrical appliances turned off when not in use; By keeping electrical appliances turned off, shutting down your computer if you won't be at your desk for a long time, and turning off lights when leaving the office, you can save a significant amount of electricity.
Produce your own electricity with a solar panel system; By installing solar panels on the roof of your office or workplace, you can generate your own environmentally friendly electricity and meet all or part of your energy needs from the sun.
Conduct awareness-raising activities; Organize training and events for your employees on energy conservation and climate change. National Sweater Day, initiated by WWF to raise awareness about the fight against climate change, has been celebrated every February since 2010. You can also organize a Sweater Day in your office or workplace, reducing the room temperature by a few degrees to raise awareness and save energy.Remember! A one-degree increase or decrease in room temperature can make a difference of 10% to 20% in your bills.4- Recycle Your WasteIn good waste management, the fundamental principle is to avoid waste generation. In cases where waste generation is unavoidable, we should try methods to reduce the amount of waste. So how should we manage the waste we generate? Of course, by recycling;Identify the types of waste generated in your office and workplaces. (Paper, glass, plastic, organic, etc.)
Obtain waste bins to separate and store waste at the source.
Provide training to your employees on the importance of waste separation and recycling.
Ensure that your waste is sent to licensed facilities for recycling when the waste bins are full.Remember!By recycling 70 kg of paper, we can save 1 tree. The saved tree can produce enough oxygen for 3 people per day.
Recycling 1 ton of glass waste saves 100 liters of oil.
Recycling 1 ton of plastic;41 kg of greenhouse gas emissions are prevented.
5774 kWh of electricity is saved.
80% energy savings are achieved.
2.3 m3 of storage space is saved.5- Avoid Using Non-Recyclable ProductsOne of the significant problems in our world is the pollution caused by waste. Some of the waste we generate cannot decompose in nature and continues to circulate among us even after many years. At this point, it is crucial to use products that can be recycled.So, which non-recyclable wastes can you avoid in offices and workplaces?Avoid using cardboard cups; the inner part of the cardboard cups you use for drinks like coffee, tea, and water is coated with plastic, making them non-recyclable.Did you know that? To be environmentally friendly, we must stop using non-recyclable products. Avoid creating waste such as paper napkins and wet wipes; the paper sent for recycling must be clean. Since contaminated paper waste like paper napkins, wet wipes, and makeup removal wipes are not suitable for recycling, try to avoid creating such waste as much as possible. Are you ready to take the first step towards becoming an eco-friendly office to prevent global environmental issues and leave a more livable world for future generations? Sourcehttps://www.entes.com.tr/isletmelerde-ve-sanayide-enerji-tasarrufu-nasil-saglanir/
https://www.avansas.com/blog/rakamlarla-kagit-ve-agac-tuketimi-tasarruf
