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sustainabletimes
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Time to make a
difference
This year’s event is being held against
a back-drop of apathy and missed
opportunities, as a national survey
commissioned by Avery reveals that
office workers’ green habits are
forgotten the moment they leave
for work.
The study found that while we are
generally green at home, recycling as
much as we can and conserving energy,
our habits in the workplace are very
different: nearly a quarter of respondents
said they print things when they don’t
need to; and four out of ten forget to use
company recycling bins.
Yet when at home, eight out of ten
manage to separate recyclable goods
from non-recyclables.
This wasteful attitude appears to
come from the top, with four out of
five office workers polled expressing
disappointment that their company is
not leading the way with green initiatives
and nearly half worrying that their
employer doesn’t take its environmental
responsibilities seriously enough.
Despite evidence that being green can
bring cost savings, 41% said that their
attempts to implement green practices at
work had caused conflict with a manager.
Over 50% of respondents said they
would feel happier and more positive at
work if the company they worked for was
more supportive of their efforts to be
green. One in ten went so far as to say
that they would look for another job if
they felt their company was not serious
about its environmental responsibilities.
Sixty per cent stated that a company’s
eco credentials would influence their
decision on whether to apply for a job
there, suggesting firms that don’t take
the environment seriously could be
missing out on the best talent.
With a third of our lives spent at
work, Green OfficeWeek aims to alter
attitudes and champion change across
the UK. According to Avery, Green Office
Week 2012 will be bigger and better than
ever. Highlights include a unique Green
League with points and prizes for the
greenest office workers and a special Junk
Modelling Challenge to prove that being
green can be great fun too.
In addition, there will be loads of
hints and tips on how to green one’s
workplace, with a different theme
addressed each day.
www.greenofficeweek.eu
Taking place on May
14-18, Green Office
Week is your chance
to implement eco-
friendly practices in your
workplace. Inspired by
Avery, the week unites
office workers around the
country in an effort to
raise awareness of energy
and resource efficiency
and demonstrate practical
steps that can be taken to
work in a greener and more
sustainable way.
THE ECO SIN-BIN
TOP 10 NON-GREEN THINGS
WE DO ATWORK
1. Chucking away paper rather than
recycling it
2. Not having a recycling bin
3. Throwing away food packaging
4. Throwing away cans and cartons
5. Not printing double-sided
6. Leaving things on standby
7. Using non-environmentally-
friendly products
8. Forgetting to turn off the lights
when leaving the office
9. Leaving the heating on with the
windows open
10. Not reusing envelopes or
jiffy bags
Power to the people
Carbon Trust has launched a new online tool for
office workers that it claims could save employers
£500m and two million tonnes of CO
2
each
year – equivalent to the combined annual carbon
emissions of all the households in Birmingham.
‘Carbon Trust Empower’ aims to inspire employees to
implement measures to reduce energy use, paper waste
and travel, potentially cutting 15% or £6,000 from the
energy bill of a typical small business. Larger businesses,
says Carbon Trust, could save £150,000 and over 500
tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.
It does this by means of an animated tour around
a typical workplace with tutorials, quizzes and other
interactive elements. As well as helping individuals
create personal action plans, Empower enables office
managers to view the sum of individual employees’
energy savings.
Carbon Trust says that by following five top tips for
office energy efficiency, companies could make annual
savings of over £200 per employee:
1. Turn off your PC and monitor in the evening
(saving £39/yr per person);
2. Keep blinds open and turn off lights when there
is enough daylight or when areas are unoccupied
(saving more than £10/yr per person);
3. Accept a 1°C reduction in workplace temperature
(saving over £4/yr per person);
4. Use the phone or video conferencing to avoid four
car journeys (saving £150/yr); and
5. Reduce paper use by printing only when needed
and on both sides of the page (saving £20/yr per
person).
www.empower.carbontrust.com 0800 085 2005