Making and Keeping Your Office Clean and Green

Any plan to reduce clutter and inefficiency in an office makes good business sense. Less clutter allows for a more productive workspace and reduced inefficiency helps the business. In particular, “green” initiatives are good for the planet and emotional well-being of the employees while having a demonstratively beneficial impact on a companies earnings.

There are two ways to approach this process. First, you and your company can make a decided effort to reduce wasteful practices and the production of garbage. Secondly, the management of the company can make intelligent decisions about major purchases that can have an effect on both the environment and on the operating costs of the company.

Efficient Use of Physical Resources

When people think of going “clean and green,” they almost immediately identify recycling as a simple and effective first step and they are exactly right. The figures on waste in the United States are staggering and the solution begins by not creating garbage.

From the simple expedient of reusing paperclips to making double-sided copies, there are enormous opportunities for reducing waste and operating costs in a business. The advent of the computer age has also provided significant opportunities for the efficient use of resources.

The electronic collection, distribution and archiving of information can cut paper, toner and mailing costs by 90 per cent. It also saves an enormous amount on payroll and on the need for that most costly of items, real estate. Electronic documents take up zero space and the space normally reserved for file cabinets can be put to more profitable use.

Similarly, brochures and marketing materials do not have to be created as throw away items. Instead, consider i...

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...ffice worker to embrace the concept. Nevertheless, more mundane tasks such as feeding the creatures in the office fish tank or watering the plants can be delegated and these duties can help ameliorate the costs, both economic and environmental associated with outsourced services.

In the simplest terms, the business has one less bill to pay if some routine maintenance is done on a monthly or quarterly basis rather than once a week. In addition, there is no need for the service people to transport themselves and their equipment in fuel intensive and polluting vehicles.

Each of the above choices requires a cost benefit analysis by the office decision maker. In the long run the business will definitely benefit and, more importantly, perhaps, the environment will see immediate benefits. In short, they provide an easy way to provide a “greener” and cleaner office.