It’s not easy being green, or so we’re told, but take a look around your office and consider: How “green” are you?
It’s no surprise that an increasing number of companies are working toward becoming more environmentally conscious: constantly introducing programs to reduce both costs and their carbon footprint. Typical areas of opportunity are employee telecommuting, lighting, recycling and paper usage.
Here are some suggestions that you might use in your green movement at work:
1. Telecommute to reduce and produce
It could be argued that people working from home face more distractions and are often less productive. In reality, reports indicate that the opposite is true — not only does productivity increase, but there is often reduced stress on the employees. Gone are endless hours sitting in traffic, and the stop-go of a slow car creates a lot more pollution than a car that never leaves the house. And what does it mean to ROI? Well, for the company, approximately $11,000 per year per employee, in addition to the savings made by the employee, and the not-to-be-forgotten oil and greenhouse gas savings. And in case you need to ask, yes — I am sitting at home writing this, and it’s past 5 o’clock. How’s that for productivity? (more…)