12+Greening Offices Tips, ideas, activities : Re-think the philosophy to a Sustainable & productive workplace!!

Here you can find some elaborate, simple tips on Greening Offices ideas, activities, and initiatives to boost your working productivity without damaging the environment. These actionable greening offices tips can reduce your office carbon footprint dramatically and make your workplace more eco-friendly. Even lot of big companies already start their corporate social responsibility (CSR) for urging their sustainable environmentally friendly goal.

So stay tuned to this article…..

1. Feel free to create a sustainability team for your office. Information dissemination and discussion are essential.
2. Digitalize to go paperless.
3. Treat the office with indoor plants. You can bring some of the indoor plants of NASA recommendation. Those proven to be beneficial in multidisciplinary ways.
4. Go for Biophilic office design. Go for the innate urge to connect with nature. Treat your office with vertical hydroponics and green living walls.
5. Feel free to reduce, reuse & always recycle to achieve realistic Zero waste goals.
6. Workout on embracing Renewable energy (i.e. solar & wind) to reduce carbon footprint.
7. Save energy for a sustainable office. It would also save money.
8. Lay off the thermostat for the greening office. Follow the standard temperature AC settings for less consumption of power.
9. Embracing Green décor & equipment.
10. Embrace green office products like LED lights
11. Emphasize natural lighting.
12. Inspire to use green commute, carpool, car-sharing, and hybrid/electric cars to save the planet from a large carbon footprint.

Such a sustainable office would bring you an enigmatic Biophilic experience for sure!

Imagine a friendly workplace with a soothing environment – ample sunshine with fresh air. A workstation with breathing space and many shades of greenery plants on the wall. Those calm your eyes just like magic! When you see the outside, you see the morning glory with singing birds, butterflies around the flowering plants, and a green garden with all sizes of trees standing with pride! You sit at your desk and see around a clean, hygiene, and organized interior. The interior portrays a minimalist approach in the choice of furniture, color, and stationaries that only needed. You see the garbage bins where the proper waste management is followed with a mini 3Rs approach.

You sip an excellent aromatic tea and start your work with calmness, peace, and joy! And guess what? Such a peaceful state in the office is contagious from employees’ environment and employees to all the colleagues. Such a mild form of the environment creates an enigmatic vibe of positivity, connections, and cooperation. It’s called Green living or Greenism in the office space.

A green office is a place of loving environment where productivity is at its peak. The green office gives the pathway to the mysterious connection between the human and the natural world. In such an office, both humans and the environment do their works holding hand in hand with harmony.

A green office is an opportunity where everyone does their work without any kind of harm and hostility. The little office plant, for say, collects sunlight from the window and continues their process of photosynthesis, where they contain carbon dioxide from office employees. With the exchange of very little care and watering, they gift us ample oxygen. It’s scientifically proven – with ample of oxygenated environment, sustain high productivity in office! Isn’t that enigmatic and magical!

So, what is Meaning Of Greening offices? 

So already, you can understand how positively greening reflects an office. Greening an office transforms the office environment into a sustainable one where you can do your job peacefully without harming the environment. You can change your office space and brand image into a more environmentally friendly one in this process. That’s what is called nature’s office. Isn’t it?

You can digitalize & cut off the extra cost in an eco-friendly office by producing less paper-plastic waste with less carbon footprint. And the bonus plus point – the green office is interestingly more productive proven by recent studies. Nature’s office is the smartest one.

Tips for greening offices: Here 12 Actionable green tips for the office:

1. Feel free to create a sustainability team for your office.
2. Go for a paperless office.
3. Treat the office with indoor plants.
4. Go for Biophilic office design.
5. Don’t forget about 3RS(recycle) rules to achieve realistic Zero waste goals.
6. Embracing Renewable energy to reduce carbon footprint.
7. Save energy for a sustainable office. It would also save money.
8. Lay off the thermostat for the greening office.
9. Embracing Green sustainable buildings with Green décor & equipment.
10. Introduce eco-friendly office appliances and products.
11. Emphasize natural lighting.
12. Inspire to use green commute, carpool, car-sharing, and hybrid/electric cars to save the planet from a large carbon footprint.

The eco-friendly office is more efficient than the traditional lean office. You can quickly transform the old cost-cutting & customer-oriented lean office into a greener form.

You can check out the following step by step elaborative tips:

#1. Feel Free To Create a Sustainability Team For Your Office:

“Employees engaging one another is more effective than memos from the top. This group can conduct monthly ‘inspections’ looking at the power/gas meters, amount of office supplies ordered, etc., and keep a record to gauge positive or negative movement.” – said Andrew McCrea, account executive and green team community events chair at Weber Shandwick. (Rayome, 2017)

If you’re a concerned green leader, you can talk with your management to make a sustainable team. The team can educate other employees during the lunch session. Effective communication on green information can enable –

1.    Less paper waste
2.    Less plastic waste
3.    A good recycling program
4.    Focus on energy-efficient appliances
5.    Inspired to use green furnishing and cleaning supplies
6.    Encourage to use carpool or shared transportation for less carbon imprint.

You can also create monthly green & fun challenges to go green. On a monthly basis for say, you can make a fun competition to go plastic-free during lunchtime. Or you can also ask to bring beautiful indoor plants in the office. And get small cute gifts like a coffee cup to the winner. Isn’t that interesting and innovative?

#Tips 2 for Greening Office: Digitalize to go paperless

Today digital technologies are acting as the global superpower. Those made our world more comfortable and smaller. In this era of Digitalization, we don’t need to be a paper pusher. Digitize will make the office-look more clean and smart. It would limit the piles of documentation and filing cabinets. We can use several digital and other ways to print & photocopy less.

Tips to follow-

• We can easily use e-mail to send any documents anywhere.
• Google drive or cloud based service could be used to save all the documents.
• We can photocopy on both sides.
• If it’s a must to print, we can automatically print on both sides by installing software like GreenPrint or EcoPrint2. (UrbanMiester, 2020)
• You can even choose eco-friendly fonts for printing: Courier or Century Gothic to consume less ink. You are thus making printing faster. This results in less electricity consumed. (UrbanMiester, 2020)
• You can use a whiteboard for office circulars and notices.
• You can arrange a face-to-face online video conference using Skype, Facebook Messenger, Viber, and many apps. It would also lead to less carbon emission via transportation. It also will save time and unnecessary costs.
• Sustainable printing materials could be used. Like recycled paper, printing techniques like embossing, UV Varnish, and cutting lamination. (UrbanMiester, 2020)
• E-statements, invoices, and automated online payments would further reduce paper works.

Keynote to consider – 

According to the 2014 study conducted by PaperKarma and Catalog Spree, 

“If the US alone cuts its office paper use by just 10% by moving to digital, it would reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 1.45 million metric tons – the equivalent to taking 280,000 cars off the road for an entire year”, said Vince Digneo, sustainability strategist at Adobe. (Rayome, 2017)

Sounds astonishing, right? We all need to rethink!

#Greening Office tips 3: Treat the office with indoor plants:

Today’s global air quality has almost hit as the worst in the whole human history. Whether you’re working in an office, don’t think the indoor air is fresh. But if there’s a problem, there are always alternatives or solutions. You can simply bring desk plants or wall hydroponics in the office.

From the beginning of human history, it is found that – Humans are Biophilic. That means, according to Edward O. Wilson’s Biophilia hypothesis (1984) – Humans are healthier when they’re connected to nature and other forms of life (Terramai, 2020). So you can now guess, bringing indoor plants with any green design or style will add some extra benefits to all the employees. But it doesn’t mean you’re going to make a jungle in the office.

But a clean air study of NASA (1989) showed that – all plants are not suitable for an office environment. The study was led by Dr. B. C. Wolverton identified; there are 29 best air purifying plants. Those plants can effectively clean VOCs, formaldehyde, trichloroethane, benzene, and other pollutants. Magically they replace them with breathable fresh oxygen. (Mashrita, 2019)

Let’s find out what benefits Plants gift us in exchange of only C02 & a little bit of care:

1. Improves our visual effects.
2. Reduce stress levels.
3. Make us more productive.
4. Improves our task orientation, crisis response & strategy formation.
5. Make us happier in the long run.
6. Improves creativity.
7. Prevent us from sickness syndrome.
8. Absorbs noises.

Okay! So watch out the data findings & evidence of having plants in office space.

*They remove up to 87% of VOCs and other toxins every 24 hours. (UrbanMiester, 2020)

*About 13% more ideas in a room with two potted plants and a bouquet of flowers vs. a room with sculptures. (UrbanMiester, 2020)

*Approximately 70% greater attentiveness of students when taught in rooms with plants. (UrbanMiester, 2020)

*The Agricultural University of Norway has found indoor plants decreases the incidence of colds, sore throats, and dry coughs, reducing the sickness rate by more than 60%. (UrbanMiester, 2020)

*New UTS research found –

• Tension/Anxiety – 37% reduction
• Depression/Dejection – 58% reduction
• Anger/Hostility – 44% reduction
• Fatigue – 38% reduction. (Mashrita, 2019)

*UK based Researcher Dr. Chris Knight and his fellow psychologists, who actually studied for ten years, decided that employees were 15% more productive when workplaces were filled with just a number of plants. (Mashrita, 2019)

*Scientists from the University of Exeter found – 

Increase creativity by 45% 

Boost productivity by 38% (Mashrita, 2019)

*Plants placed in spaces with hard surfaces, wood floors, concrete, glass, and marble walls, etc. effectively reduce noise and lessen distraction. (Mashrita, 2019)

*From Cardiff University’s School of Psychology, the Lead researcher Marlon Nieuwenhuis said: “Our research suggests that investing in landscaping the office with plants will pay off through an increase in office workers’ quality of life and productivity.” (University of Exeter, 2014)

It sounds intimidating, right? Let’s check out some of those detoxifying plants NASA recommended. You might find some of them suitable for greening your office.

*Aloe Vera

Aloe Vera is a succulent plant species of the genus aloe categorized under the plants family Asphodelaceae, it is one of the most astonishing plants which are beneficial for a multitude of complications, and it’s been used for the medicinal cause from ancient times. It is resilient to adverse weather conditions and able to grow in bright light and deserts. It is effective in cleaning benzene and formaldehyde. Below are it’s growing habits and overview as a houseplant: Location – Indoors

Light – Shade, bright light

Watering – Less frequent

Temperature – 15 to 45 degree Celsius

Common names – Aloe, aloe vera, ghritkumari

Botanical name – Aloe barbadensis mill. (Mashrita, 2019)

*Chrysanthemum

Chrysanthemum is one of the most common flowering plants categorized under the genus Chrysanthemum in the family Asteraceae. It was originate to be one of the most actual plants which remove benzene, ammonia, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, toluene, xylene, and several other known pollutants from the air. Below are its growing habits and overview as a houseplant:

Location – Outdoors

Light – Full sun

Watering – Less frequent

Temperature – 5 to 45-degree Celsius

Common names – Daisy, mums, chrysanths, guldawdi, shevanti

Botanical name – Chrysanthemum Indicum. (Mashrita, 2019)

*Spider Plant

Chlorophytum comosum falls in Asparagaceae plants’ family, native to southern Africa. It is easy-care, elegant, fast-growing, and fashionable houseplant, university’s Cooperative Extension Service cited in a report published tnhat spider plant as one of the top varieties for removing VOCs. Spider plants found to clean formaldehyde, xylene, and toluene. Below are its growing habits and overview as a houseplant:

Location – Indoors

Light – Shade, artificial light

Watering – Less frequent, water it thoroughly when top one inch is dried

Temperature – 15 to 30-degree celsius

Common names – Spider plant

Botanical name – Chlorophytum Comosum. (Mashrita, 2019)

*Chinese evergreen

Aglaonema is a popular indoor plant that comes from arum plants family Araceae, which is orginated to tropical and subtropical regions of South Asia. There are more than 100 popular varieties, which are very appealing and easy to care for. It is very effective in cleaning benzene and formaldehyde. Below are its growing habits and overview as a houseplant:

Location – Indoors

Light – Shade, artificial light

Watering – Less frequent, water it thoroughly when top one inch is dried

Temperature – 15 to 30-degree celsius.

Common names – Chinese evergreen

Botanical name – Aglaonema Modestum. (Mashrita, 2019)

*Peace Lily

The peace lily is one of the accessible indoor plants categorized under Araceae plant’s family. It was one of the most useful plants which remove benzene, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, ammonia, xylene, toluene, and several other known pollutants. Below are its growing habits and overview as a houseplant:

Location – Indoors

Light – Shade, artificial light

Watering – Less frequent

Temperature – 16 to 32-degree celsius

Common names – Spath, closet plants

Botanical name – Spathiphyllum. (Mashrita, 2019)

*Bamboo Palm

The Bamboo palm is one of the 107 species from the genus Chamaedorea categorized under plants’ family Arecaceae, the plant likes to grow under a shade and humid conditions under a tree in rain forests. It is useful in cleaning benzene, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, xylene, and toluene from the air. Below are its growing habits and overview as a houseplant:

Location – Indoors

Light – Shade, artificial light

Watering – Frequent

Temperature – 10 to 35-degree celsius

Common names – Bamboo palm

Botanical name – Chamaedorea seifrizii. (Mashrita, 2019)

*Weeping Fig

Weeping fig is native to Asia that is one of the common multipurpose landscape plants. In natural outdoor conditions it can grow up to 30 feet in height when grown, its capacity of hardiness and adaptability makes it one of the popular potted shade plants. It is found to be effective in cleaning formaldehyde and benzene. Below are its growing habits and overview as a houseplant:

Location – Outdoors

Light – Full sun, bright light

Watering – Less frequent, water it thoroughly when top one inch is dried

Temperature – 15 to 30-degree celsius

Common names – Ficus, weeping fig, benjamin fig, ficus tree

Botanical name – Ficus Benjamina. (Mashrita, 2019)

#Tips 4 for green office : Go for Biophilic Office Design:

Earlier I’ve already mentioned the instinctual human’s innate nature to be Biophilic – to connect with the natural world. You can wisely choose and renovate a few office corners to give you an enigmatic Biophilic treat.

You can create a green rooftop and green wall facilities with hydroponic and vertical gardening. Such gardening requires professionals’ services that take a one-time total cost at the initial level. It requires less space, saves water, uses less energy, and fewer maintenance hassles. So it’s a plus!

If money is not a problem and your office urge to renovate, on that point, you can ask your management team to collaborate with some Green Architecture. It would make sure some creative vibes for green experience at the heart of the office.

Biophilic designs are firmly embedded in the overarching theme of sustainability. Such design includes features such as sustainably sourced materials like stone and wood. It also encompasses living plants and vertical gardens. However, it also includes exciting innovations like biodynamic, natural lighting, and nature-inspired flooring.(Sterkenberg, 2019)

Check out some images of Biophilic designs to triggers multidisciplinary ideas in your mind & soul –

#Greening Offices Tips 5 : Don’t forget to utilize 3RS rules, Feel free to reduce, reuse & recycle :

You have to understand deeply two pillars of living a peaceful life –

“Less is more”

&

“Simplicity is the best policy”

We have to keep in mind that your office is your second family. Greening is the smartest form of creating a quick, simple, and sustainable office. To make your office-life less complicated and to avoid unnecessary costs, you need to feel free to follow the 3Rs process of waste management.

Rethink about Reduce or Refusing products you don’t need

You need to refresh your mind thinking to avoid waste at the source. Simply, what you can do is to –

• Cut off using disposable and single-use plastic items like one-time-use cutlery.
• Avoid the paper/ plastic cup dispenser of the water filter.
• Remove paper towel and instead use hand-dryer.
• Limit unnecessary printing
• Limit disposable packaging if possible

Highly Recommended: 

Limit the use of polluting stationery and office supplies. Like whiteners, markers, highlighters, air fresher contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs). VOCs accelerate indoor pollution as it evaporates at room temperature. Also causes health issues like –

*Eye, nose, and throat irritation

*Frequent headaches & nausea

*If exposure is more prolonged, it can also cause damage the liver, kidney, and central nervous system.

(UrbanMiester, 2020)

Prioritize Re-use, Re- use & Re-use 

Encourage your team to reuse their office and personal supplies. Using again, those reusable items are a sustainable office practice. This is the smart way to move away from plastics, disposable items, and accelerating piles of wastes. It will also reduce overall office costs. Tips in that regard –

• Bring your water bottle, cups, and lunch-boxes at the office.
• Use office cutlery made of green materials like bamboo or metal.
• Using stationery items that have refills – is a good idea.

Not kidding! “US alone discards 4 million disposable pens each year”, according to American Express Open Forum!” 

(UrbanMiester, 2020)

• Go for green packaging like corrugated boxes, newspaper wraps, and jute packaging, etc.
• You can also reuse boxes and bags.
• Use cute reusable bags made of fabric, jute, and biodegradable plastic bag made from jute.
• Discourage your office to unnecessary double and triple packaging methods.

Do you know?

“Plastic bags invented to save the planet”, according to the son of Swedish engineer Sten Gustaf Thulin who created them in 1959. The reusable plastic bags developed as an alternative to paper bags. Paper bags considered bad for the environment. Because they were causing massive forests chopped down on that timeline. (Weston, 2019)

• You can undertake a monthly fun game challenge like compost challenge for all kitchen food waste. 
• You can go for creative separated waste bins to encourage your colleagues to reuse, recycle, and compost.

Inspire to Re-cycle

The last R: Re-cycle denotes transforming a few waste-items into a completely new product. Or, make sure to use the products which are recyclable later.

Did you know? 

About 9 out of 10 items we throw away in the office can actually be recycled? 

(UrbanMiester, 2020)

• Recycling papers is a good idea for greening office. You can simply put a recycling bin next to printers and photocopy machines to keep reminding.
• Used ink & toner cartridges could be recycled. Right?
• Encourage office management to collaborate with e-recycling companies to sell the discarded computers, printers & copiers. 
• Inspire to make partnership with local furniture operators to sell or simply donate the old furniture.
• “Giving selflessly is the ultimate karma”. You can encourage the office cafeteria to donate leftovers to the unprivileged humans and animals. In this way, you are giving selflessly and also reducing food wastes. What a pure way!

#Tips 6 For Green Office: Workout On Embracing Renewable Energy :

For a safer indoor & outdoor environment, Renewable energy is a must. Any type or size of the organization can easily adapt to clean renewable sources—available green power sources like solar or wind energy.

Solar is easily the most accessible and financially feasible option. Solar could be installed on the rooftop without any hassle. Your office can generate at least 40- 50% of electricity by solar. In this way, the electricity demand from traditional sources powered by coal or natural gas will be drastically reduced. You can consult with your management and assess the cost-benefit analysis before solar installation.

#7. Save energy for sustainable office :

The holly option is not wasting anything, even if it’s the energy. The office is one of the primary energy consumers. They just eat up energy easily with different equipment, printers, copiers, computers, lights, ACs or heaters, etc. So make sure to –

Turn off everything when not required. Especially when you leaving the office in the evening, just turn off. This could be a strict rule in the office. If anyone forgets, they would compensate for some money in the ‘energy-saving jar’.

Computers and machines can be set up by energy-saving or standby mode. It will consume less energy.

#Tips 8 For Toward Greening Offices : Lay Off The Thermostat For Greening The Office :

Workplaces usually exaggerated with the use of air-conditioners in the summertime. But for the sake of saving electricity, you can easily regulate your office AC temperature. Simple common sense is – the harder your AC works, the higher it needs to put effort. Thus more electricity will be consumed with more electricity bills. And vice versa.

An Australian energy planner organization named ‘Canstar Blue’ looks at the standard heating and cooling temperatures (O’Neil, 2019). Their estimated range of ideal temperatures could save electricity as well as save money in home & office.

*A standard air conditioner’s temperatures should be used on 25 to 27 degrees for cooling in summer, and for heating in winter it should be around 18 to 20 degrees. This is to confirm the maximum energy efficiency from your unit. (O’Neil, 2019)

*‘Ergon Energy’ estimates that every 1 degree cooler in summer adds around 10% to the amount of electricity that the air conditioner uses. You can use the ‘Ergon air-con cost calculator’ to estimate the power bill for certain temperature settings. (O’Neil, 2019)

Advanced and Bonus tips for Greening office :

Green décor & equipment :

• Skip carpeting could be a good option as it would reduce the chance of exposer to VOCs.
• Use LED light. It’s a wise and green option. It’s cost-effective as well.
• Use multipurpose machines like a machine that has fax, print, and copier options, the all-in-one. It would merely save energy with fewer power bills.

Embrace green office products :

• Buy products like sugar, coffee, soap, etc, in bulk to reduce plastic usage.
• Buy green cleaning products for office cleaning. Make sure those don’t contain unhealthy and carcinogenic chemicals.

Emphasize on natural lighting :

When the sun is the source of all life forms, so what are you waiting for? Sun has mysterious energy to make you productive and more focused. 

• You need more windows for energetic light and more ventilation for air circulation. 
• You need to use also LED light to reduce energy consumption and unnecessary bills.

Did you know?

*The World Green Building Council reports that those employees are working near sunlit windows having a 15% higher production rate. 

* Jennifer Walton, principal of H. Hendy Associates said “Natural light sets the body’s circadian rhythms, which control awakening, falling asleep, synthesizing vitamin D and digestion.”

(Rayome, 2017)

Inspired to embrace GREEN COMMUTE :

The green commute is the best way to reduce your company’s carbon footprint. Tips on that regards are –

• Provide incentives to buy a company’s car for carpooling/car-sharing facilities.
• Encourage employees to use bikes, bicycles, walking and to ride local buses or train.
• Invest in buying a hybrid or electric vehicles. Recently Tesla and ford are making innovative and cost-effective hybrid/electric cars.
• Embrace online home office options. Enables face-to-face home conferences a few times a month. You can use face timing, Viber, WhatsApp, Facebook, Skype, and many more apps for this purpose. It’s excellent at saving the company’s budget and skip carbon emissions. What a great idea! Go for 

Go for Coworking Space For Urging Sustainable Greening Office :

Coworking is not basically about sharing infrastructure and cost; it is about attachment with a greater community, better accessibility, and sustainability.

Coworking is a fantastic way of working and sharing spaces. The spaces of Coworking are designed to provide a really productive and collaborative environmental setup for their dynamic inhabitants and created without corporate obstacles on what is perceived as an “office” environment offering flexible memberships to suit most needs.

 Coworking is about creating a better place for a comfortable working environment, and that allows a better way to work. The spaces of Coworking is more than an office space. They are places for community centers, wide, friendly gathering places, productive think tanks. Renting a desk or an office, you gain coworkers to generate ideas and support for your project professionally in such a way that you can’t find working from home either or in the corporate setup.Coworking is generally connected to a global network of professional peers.

How co-working space works to brings green sustainability-

• It helps to minimize the carbon imprint.
• It can help to reduce construction pollution.
• Less utilize uses.
• Need Minimal office accessories.
• It can be helps to reduce excessive office disposal.

Final verdict about greening offices

Now you can rethink creating your own Green office. A green office is a multidimensional office as has many brunches of benefits. It mysteriously showers blessings to all the employees. Greening awakens them with good health, a productive outlook, and a conscious mind. Such a Biophilic design limits the carbon footprint. It also reduces office budgets and raises brand image. 

To create such a vibrant office space, the first and significant secret is – Team Work. Collaborating with small single steps makes

Office in Green Enigma

“Think a green office

Be an Eco rescuer

Be an Eco savior

Serve the Universe

Think differently

Think smartly on which is sustainable 

And which is not

Form your eco team

Uphold your brand image

Bless your team with productivity & good health

Treat the soul inside you

Work hand in hand for the green

Work hand in hand for nature & humanity

Work hand in hand

On the way to the whispering enigma of green allover”

So can you think of something different, artistic, and innovative? Can you think about a magical sustainable greening office of your own?