How Green is Your Office

Greening in the office starts at the top, although everyone has a role to play. Whether it is collecting plastic and recycling all those plastic bottles into Eco-Bricks, or whether it is a simple thing such as banning plastic cutlery, plastic plates and cups – everyone has a role to play. Why not encourage your entire complement of staff to view every day as Earth Day? 

Seventeen Tips and Hints to Make Your Office Environment More Eco-Friendly 

• Encourage your team to partake in a local park, beach or river cleanup exercise. Tons of plastic and debris are collected in this manner 
• At CCM we are aware that more and more office environments are leaning towards being eco-friendly. We use green products when cleaning your office, shop, factory, school, hospital or home office 
• Deep cleaning your work environment regularly will keep allergies to a minimum while ensuring germs and viruses are kept in check. We use green products for cleaning all types of workspaces 
• Incandescent lights are a thing of the past. LED lights are eco-friendly and will keep electricity bills in check 
• Working remotely at least part of the time will reduce office costs, and when you do go into the office ride your bicycle wherever possible. This will keep you fit and reduce carbon emissions in the air 

• As lockdown eases off and flying is once more permitted, it is advisable to keep things the way they are by communicating through the various online platforms easily available. Working online, meeting online and holding teleconferences remotely is the way we are doing things right now 
•  Keep working remotely wherever possible and avoid flying everywhere, as it will reduce carbon emissions into the air and keep you safe while the COVID19 virus is still something to contend with 
• Never use plastic straws again. Everything ends up in the sea and plastic straws and bags are no exception. Everything from plastic bags to plastic straws and cutlery should never be permitted to pass the office doors. Educate your staff members to swap plastic for other materials. Reusable cloth and paper shopping bags, metal cutlery and paper straws should be encouraged 
• If everyone does just ONE thing the world would soon become a better place in which to live. Recycling everything from plastic to glass, paper to tins should be a no-brainer. Get everyone to place these items in the appropriate bins you should supply for recycling 
• Donate all those unused items in the office to a charity. Many organisations could benefit from used PCs, photocopy machines, scanners, printers and more 

• If your business is not almost 100% paperless, it is time to ensure all your work is on the cloud. This is a great way to share files, save on paper, and to ensure valuable documents don’t get lost in translation 
• Numerous charities including animal charities make money from recycling. Consider donating your used paper and glass to one of these worthy causes 
• Shield your windows from harsh sunlight by installing sun filter blinds. This will cut back on the harsh rays of the sun, keep the work environment cooler and put money back into your pocket with lower utility bills (no air-conditioned air) 
• Going off the grid is the answer to many of our power issues and woes. Perhaps a partial solar energy system could be a viable option if you are considering powering your office or facility in this manner. South Africa enjoys many sunshine days. Take advantage of this renewable resource and install solar 
• Did you know you can claim your solar installation back from your taxes? Investigate this option and save money 

• Expect to fall victim of load shedding. Now more than ever it is time to consider making alternative arrangements to ensure your power stays on in your business 
• Place a water fountain in the office to discourage the use of plastic throw-away water bottles. Get your staff to pack lunches – in reusable containers 

How green is your office and how keen are you to make changes? Start by swapping harmful chemicals in the workplace. 

At CCM we are fully aware of the harmful effects of chemicals – our green products will ensure you work in a clean and safe environment without causing harm to the world in which we live. At CCM we offer green cleaning services as part of our office cleaning. Contact us today