A Greener Office

Nearly a third (31%) of UK business owners say that their office doesn’t take extra measures to make the space eco-friendly. With a further 1 in 5 (18%) saying they don’t consider how energy efficient equipment is when purchasing it for their office.

With the growing acceptance that global warming IS in fact happening, the goal should be to become more energy efficient. So, I did my research, so that you don’t have to do it yourself, on easy things that you can do to make your office greener:

• Use Eeectricity wisely: Set computers to energy-saving settings and make sure to shut them down when you leave for the day ("standby" settings will continue to draw power even when not in use). Printers, scanners, and other peripherals that are only used occasionally can be unplugged until they're needed. And of course, turn off lights in spaces that are unoccupied.

• Use Energy saving light bulbs: They are inexpensive and they conserve energy and they last longer than incandescent lightbulbs. It’s a win-win-win.

• Stick to fair trade and organic products: Buy fair trade, organic coffee and teas for the office and  try to use recyclable cups.

• Reduce, reuse, recycle: Firstly, encourage a recycling culture in the office. Keep a recycling bin at bay and encourage your employees to use recycled materials. Also, try to really think about everything you use. Do you really need those disposable cups and plates on the office desk? Do you need to buy that many office supplies?  Australia has even added a fourth R – Refuse. Simply put, it is refusing to purchase things that you don’t really need.

• Use non-toxic cleaning products: There are many brands available nowadays that produce eco-friendly cleaning products, at affordable prices.

• Aim to go paperless: Going paperless is one of the major ways in which you can significantly reduce the carbon footprint in your office, whilst still maintaining an efficient running of the office. Paper is a HUGE contributor to global warming, because of the way it is produced (through the cutting down of A LOT of trees).  Whether is turning your business forms into legal softcopies or just simply finding a better alternative to a PDF form creatorit saves much more money to eliminate the use of paper than to recycle. So yes, it will be ‘eco-wise’ to use companies like SignTech which can help you transform your whole office- paperless just like that.

• Reward environmentally friendly employees in order to encourage a green culture in the office! A rewards is an incentive for employees to be more active and involved in the process of creating a greener office. It could be a bonus, a present or a giftcard for a great restaurant or shop. Your employees will not only appreciate the gesture but also will feel like they are responsible for something good happening.

SignTech Forms is an innovative paperless platform that converts existing forms and documents into paperless forms that can be completed on mobile devices and electronically signed seamlessly (with full data integration).  For more information visit www.signtechforms.com or email expert@signtechforms.com.