5 Goals to Reduce Your Environmental Impact At Work

As part of onboarding, we’ve all read through policies on environmental protection, but when was the last time you took a step back and asked how you could reduce your day-to-day impact on the environment?

We all have an important part to play when it comes to protecting the environment and minimising our waste.

Here are some examples of goals you can set to reduce your environmental impact at work:

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1. Reduce the amount of paper you use?

For many people, this is the easiest place to start. Especially within an office environment, many of us use an unbelievable amount of unnecessary paper. Here are a couple of easy ways you can cut down your consumption and be smarter about your usage:

• Start printing on both sides of the paper
• If a printed copy of a document is no longer needed, use it for scrap paper (for writing notes, jotting down reminders, etc.)
• Suggest sending drafts digitally instead of printing
• If it’s not already in place at your office, try looking into ways to recycle paper (hint: shredded paper can be used for composting)

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2. Brush up on your organisation’s environmental goals and policies

How can you achieve a goal if you don’t know what you’re aiming for?

Familiarise yourself with your organisation’s environment and sustainability policies. Is the way you act at work in line with these policies? If you’re working in a mining and resources environment, do you know the way you should be approaching environmental protection?

If you work for a large company, chances are you can find these policies published on the company website or in annual reports. If you work for a smaller company, ask HR ? do we have a policy, what are we doing as a company?

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3. Take responsibility for litter

This one’s a little out of the box, but if you notice rubbish on site or on the way to the office ? what’s stopping you from picking it up one day after work?

There’s a global movement still taking the world by storm ? the ?Trash Tag? challenge. The idea is simple:

1. Take a photo of an area littered with rubbish
2. Clean it up
3. Take the ?after? shot ? with the area cleaned
4. Dispose of the rubbish bags properly
5. Post it to social media with the hashtag #trashtag

Even if you’re not a social media fan, there’s something incredibly powerful about people banding together and taking responsibility to fix an issue they see every day.

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4. Clean and maintain equipment once a week

Whether it’s an office chair, a company vehicle or specialised industrial equipment; regular cleaning and maintenance is the key to ensuring equipment and facilities at work last as long as possible.

By doing your part and keeping an eye on the condition of day-to-day items, you can ensure they last longer and need to be replaced less and less. Believe it or not, this has a huge impact on waste!

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5. Make the switch ? switch up one thing you use every day

Is there something you use every day that you could switch for something more environmentally friendly?

For example ? could you invest in a re-usable water bottle or a glass bottle instead of just plastic ones? If you commute to work by yourself, could you carpool with someone else?

Chances are, there is at least one item you could switch over or one habit you could break to reduce your travel, reduce your waste or use more environmentally-friendly products.

So now, the challenge is over to you ? what are you going to do this week?

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