Everyone remembers Charles Dickens’ classic character, Ebenezer Scrooge, and what a miser he was about his company’s money. Though Scrooge certainly had some characteristics that weren’t admirable, we can learn a few things from his frugality, including the idea that businesses should learn to save energy around the workplace.
According to EnergyStar.gov, “The energy used by a building to support just one office worker for a day causes more than twice as many greenhouse gas emissions as that worker’s drive to and from work.” Amazing to hear, right? Fortunately, there are things you can do around the office environment to cut back.
Saving energy is not only good for the earth, it’s also good for building team camaraderie and increasing production.
Work Commutes
Most of your employees probably commute to the office. Present ideas on how to conserve energy during the commute. They will appreciate tactics on saving gas money and the environment will benefit as well.
Carpool
Find out if your employees live near one another and if they would benefit from a carpooling plan. Oftentimes, a company taking the initiative to connect works who live nearby can lead to both savings and employee bonding through a carpool plan.
Work from Home
If it’s possible for your team members to work from their homes or coffee shops every now and then, present the idea to them. They will enjoy the flexibility offered by telecommuting and feel productive and refreshed when they come back to the office.
Use public transportation
If your business is located in a city that offers reliable and safe public transportation, offer this idea to your employees as a method to save gas money as well as energy.
Electronics and office equipment
It’s no secret that many people never turn off their electronic devices, particularly at work. But in order to conserve energy around the workplace, disconnection is important.
Look for the Energy Star label
When new office equipment must be purchased, make sure it is energy efficient beforehand by checking the box for the Energy Star label.
Let the computers sleep
You can change the settings on your computers to make sure they “go to sleep” after ten or so minutes. And, of course, turning them all off at the end of each workday is a great idea. Invest in power strips that can turn off hard drives, printers, monitors and computers with one switch.
Take cords out of the wall
If you’re the type to leave your phone and laptop cords plugged into the wall all the time, start unplugging them when they aren’t in use. The little lights on chargers cause ‘vampire suck’ of energy even when they’re not doing their job.
Paper Products
We live in an age where paper should be used less and less – yet, the amount of paper that one office uses per day is still outrageous. Cut back on paper with these tricks:
Put employee handbooks and company-related documents online
No need to have paper handouts for these. Instead, let your team members keep up with an electronic version.
Send emails, not paper notices
Need to notify your staff about the morning meeting? Skip the paper note and just send them an email.
Use both sides
Set the printer to copy both sides – front and back – of a page. If your printer doesn’t have this ability, an attachment is often available for under $200 that will make this possible (and should quickly pay for itself in paper savings).
Lighting
Use energy-efficient bulbs
The new bulbs save about 75% more energy, generate less heat and last about ten times longer than traditional bulbs. Although CFLs are still the best investment on your dollar, LED bulbs are quickly dropping in price and last even longer (and some people prefer their glow to CFLs).
Just turn everything off
Install sensors that determine when no one is a room so that the lights go out. Motion sensors are the easiest way to eliminate the ‘dummy factor’ and ensure that you’re never burning the midnight oil when nobody’s even at the office.
Engage your team
Present the ideas
Keep in mind that if you call a meeting to address saving energy around the office, your employees will not pipe up and admit that they are guilty of leaving lights on, computers running overnight or the like. Therefore, approaching from the angle that your team is doing something wrong may not be the best strategy. Instead, present these new, energy-saving tips as a project to begin together and enjoy.
Give incentives
It’s easier to get into a new habit if there is an incentive to do so. Give your employees a reason to look forward to the new program. Here are a few ideas, some of which accomplish both saving energy and enticing your team members.
- Lunch outings or office gatherings
- Work-from-home opportunities
- Gas cards or reimbursement for public transportation use
Remember, saving energy around the office is something that will take the effort of everyone in the company, but will ultimately benefit your bottom line. And once you put new practices into place, the benefit will belong to a greater recipient – our planet.
Brent Hardy is Vice President of www.extraspace.com, responsible for all corporate construction & facilities management.