Do we really need a reminder to be nice to our own planet? Earth Day (April 22nd) is the day of the year in which all of us earthlings need to get serious and assess our eco-behaviors, both big and small. And then commit to correcting these behaviors everyday.
Check out some of our tips for earth-friendly office etiquette below. Some will seem obvious, but it’s the importance of doing them – every day – that might not be. (We’ve added some of our own royalty-free images to help illustrate our tips.)
1. POWER DOWN
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Your computer doesn’t need to stay on while you’re home eating, sleeping, and watching Game of Thrones. Shut it down.
2. DON’T OUTPUT YOUR INBOX
There’s no reason anyone should have to print out an email. So don’t. (If you must, always print double-sided and save some paper.)
3. STEAL HOME PLATE (AND MUG, AND FORK …)
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Bring a kit of eating essentials from your kitchen to the office. It will save on paper plates, cups, and plastic utensils. Bring a coffee mug while you’re at it.
4. CHARGE IT
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Use nickel metal hydride rechargeable batteries. They contain the least toxic heavy metals, and you should have no trouble disposing of them when they’re all used up.
5. STAY HOME
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This tip might be controversial … but if you have the option to work from home, do it. It cuts back on your office’s resources, your transportation energy and gas, and gives you total flexibility to control the energy resources of your own environment. All of which helps save the planet.
6. FOLLOW THE SUN
Did you know that you can charge your phone wirelessly with a mini solar panel? How neat is that! It looks like this if you’ve never used one.
7. GET THE LIGHTS
You might think you’re being nice by leaving the lights on for the next person as you leave that conference room, but what if no one else does? Just shut ’em off. This goes for restroom lights, too.
And this only scratches the surface of super simple things you can do around the office on Earth Day and every day. There are oodles of other easy Earth Day tips you can do as well. Do what you can. Happy Earth Day.
