Let's do it
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FRINGE OFFERS |
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FOOD ON FRIDAY |
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LIVE SPORT |
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DOWNLOAD OF THE WEEK |
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| | WHAT'S ON | | | | |
| | GOING GREEN | | |
| | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR | | | | |
| | COMMENT AND ANALYSIS | | | | | |
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April: Turn your office green
Retailers are leading the way with ethical policies in Brighton and Hove - and business is booming because of it. For the Let's Do It' campaign this month, Sarah Lewis puts on a shirt and tie and finds out how to make your office a greener place to be.
Far from the usual doom-saying
of environmental
news, a study by the
Federation of Small
Business earlier this
year found 92 per cent of small
businesses are "socially and environmentally
responsible".
But despite this, Government
advisory body Envirowise says even
though people may be environmentally
conscious at home, a third of us do
nothing to be green in the office.
Our work lives churn out astonishing
amounts of rubbish.
The average office worker prints off
1,584 sheets of paper a month. Every
year, three billion polystyrene cups
are dispensed by vending machines
and 900 million "plastic beverage
stirring sticks" wend their way to landfill
after a short life in your coffee cup.
Computers left on overnight waste
200,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide every
year, costing businesses £100 million
in additional electricity.
Eleanor Mooney from the Brighton
and Hove Business Forum says: "There
is a double benefit for a business in
going green.
"Measures such as saving electricity
and water save the company money,
which affects their bottom line, and we
know from research that consumers
are increasingly looking for green
credentials in companies they use."
According to a study by The Climate
Group, more people are interested
in what companies are doing to tackle
climate change than not.
However, 69 per cent of respondents
to the survey could not name a single
leading environmentally-friendly
brand and, at present, the market is
wide open.
One of the reasons for this, according
to Kim Stoddart, managing director of
Green Rocket, is the message is not
being delivered effectively. Green
Rocket was set up to help ethical small-to-
medium businesses communicate
their values to the public.
Kim says: "Businesses are making
changes but the key is to do it
authentically. There is a lot of
greenwashing going on, with plenty
of companies branding themselves
greener than they are.
"You need to make sure you do not
brag about what you are doing. Be
honest and modest. If you make big
claims you can't live up to, you will get
found out.
"Innocent drinks, for example,
describes what it is doing very well and
says we can't do everything yet but we
are doing what we can'."
Even with these communication
difficulties, 56 per cent of people in
the Climate Group survey said they
were admiring of companies making
efforts to be more environmentally
friendly.
Eleanor says: "I can't see any way
a business could lose out. It just makes
sense. Even if they don't believe in
the environmental benefits, it is
saving them money. Some of the steps
involve an initial outlay but if you
talk to an environmental consultant,
such as Ecosys, they say there is always
a payback".
Brighton and Hove is, as ever, a
hotbed of environmental activity.
A new report from the Brighton
Business Improvement District
(BID) claims: "Brighton retailers are
green and want to be greener". About
92 per cent of shops in the BID use
recycled and recyclable carrier bags,
two-thirds recycle almost all their
waste and 65 per cent have a policy of
working with ethical suppliers.
Eleanor says there has been a big
change in attitudes in the three years
she has been with the Business Forum.
She says: "For the first two years
it wasn't even on the radar. It was the
lead-up to the Stern Report on the
economics of climate change when it
really began to kick off and we started
looking at pointing businesses in the
right direction. It was a massive swing.
"It was easier to sell because the
Stern Report talked about the economic
benefits of taking action: if you do
something now you can save money, if
you wait until it's Armageddon - it's
going to be double the price."
Ten tips for greening your workplace
Set up an environment
committee
Kim Stoddart says: "It's
important to make sure your
workforce are really engaged with
the process. Often people have
a fear of the unknown. If you can
make it accessible to people to make
changes, they can really commit".
Replace all personal bins with
recycling bins
Envirowise programme director
Martin Gibson, says: "Much of
what we discard can be reduced
or recycled, but the convenience
of a bin right by your desk makes
for a big temptation to throw
away valuable resources."
Run a Big Switch Off campaign
Why pay for lights and computers
to be on for 24 hours when they are
only needed for eight? Make posters
and leave notes on people's desks
reminding them to turn off their
computer and monitor. Last one out
turns off the lights.
Join your local council's travel
planning scheme
Get help, support and advice on
how to minimise polluting journeys
to and from your office. There is
even software available to help you
set up a car sharing scheme.
Ditch screensavers and standby
Screensavers use needless
energy and can stop your computer
going into hibernation. If you have
to use one, find one that will use
your spare computer cycles to help
calculate the effects of climate
change. Also, "standby" can use up
to two-thirds the energy of "on".
Use less paper
Do not print off emails, carry the
bit of paper to the other side of the
office and show it to a colleague.
Simply press the "forward" button.
You can still go and talk to them
about it, so saving a tree and
retaining that important person-to-person
interaction.
Work from home
Allowing employees to work from
home will not only save on eco-costly
commutes but is proven to
improve productivity and worker
satisfaction. You don't have to do it
every day, just now and then.
Lose the plastic cups
Use mugs. Contact your vending
machine supplier to ask for one that
takes mugs as well as dispensing
plastic cups. If Health and Safety
say you cannot move hot drinks
around the office without a lid,
buy mugs with lids.
Packed lunch
Relive those glorious school days
by getting up ten minutes earlier to
make cheese and pickle sandwiches
for lunch. Enthusiasts can put
together salad boxes - or even
frittatas. You'll save on all that
processed-food packaging and it's
healthier and cheaper, too.
Green work days
This year the National Trust gave
all their staff a paid "leap day" to
do something to reduce their carbon
footprint. Staff at New Scientist
get two paid "charity days" a year.
Green Rocket's Kim Stoddart
is planning on letting her staff
tend to a company allotment
for half a day a month.
4:23pm Tuesday 8th April 2008
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