Sustainability is the buzzword in business just now for many reasons. Not only is it good for the planet and the wider community, but reducing waste and saving energy makes sense when it comes to profit margins too.
Here are a few ways that you can make your workplace more sustainable -- and some of them might surprise you…
- Use a hand rolled towel systems rather than paper towels
The great debate over air driers and paper systems for drying hands has raged on for years, with most studies concluding that if recycled paper is used, the environmental impact is about the same -- interestingly many studies show that paper drying is more hygienic and more effective at drying hands, with only the very latest hand driers competing in that arena. One way to make paper drying even more eco-friendly, however is to switch to a rolled towel system. Rolled towel systems offer several benefits over single sheet paper towel systems. Not only do they substantially reduce costs in use and waste over other paper hand drying systems, but the electronic ‘no touch’ versions are more hygienic too, reducing cross contamination between users and therefore reducing sickness in the workplace too.
To give you an idea of how this reduces use of paper, a metered hand towel roll system gives 33cm of paper per use, compared to 89cm (or 3 single paper towels) used on single sheet paper drying systems -- put simply it reduces paper use by more than half.
2. Use eco-friendly cleaning products
We offer eco-friendly cleaning products such as Citrol Foaming Detergent, online
Choosing eco-friendly cleaning products means that not only will the products come with minimal amounts of packaging, to reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfill sites, it also helps the environment in the following ways. You will be using detergents which break down into harmless substances once they enter the environment and which do minimal harm to aquatic life or local wildlife when they enter the local watercourses.
Good eco-friendly cleaning products and equipment can help staff to clean in a more sustainable way and you can supplement this by offering advice to any staff who perform cleaning duties on how to minimise the use of water and cleaning products used, while still making sure the task is done effectively. There are good resources at the UK Cleaning Products Industry Association (UKCPI) www.professionalcleaning.org and you can find accredited training courses at the British Institute of Cleaning Science.
The following eco-friendly cleaning products are available at CISafety.com and you can see details and pricing in our downloadable Hygiene Brochure
- CL01006 AX Sanitiser (p.4)
- CL020041L Citrol, Concentrated Lemon Foaming Detergent (p.5)
- CL020165L Spirit, Surface Safe Daily Cleaner (p.5)
- CL010005L Fabio Heavy Duty Degreaser Concentrate (p.4)
Do call us if you’d like to talk through the products and options 01726 742642 or email: sales@cisafety.com
3. Do an energy audit
The average energy bill for business in the UK is £2,528 per year, and with recent price increases from British Gas, it seems many businesses could face rising costs. The good news is there are lots of free resources to help businesses cut energy use. It may involve initial investment in upgrading some equipment, switching to energy efficient lighting such as LED system for example, but a study of 1,000 energy efficiency projects the Carbon Trust has been involved with and found that companies can expect to see an internal rate of return of 48% on average and payback within three years. There are also grants available to support you if you switch to LED lighting. Click here for details of LED funding and grants.
The first step is to do an energy audit of your business, and you can download a free walkthrough guide on how to do this at The Carbon Trust website. Click here for their free Energy Audit Guide
4. Consider flexible working options
A very simple way to improve sustainability in your workplace is to give more staff the option, where appropriate to work from home. This not only reduces the costs to power computers and light and heat areas of the workplace, it also helps in terms of reduced transport as well as reducing the need for cleaning and general maintenance around an office. If staff are given clearly agreed and workable objectives or targets and can communicate via phone or video calls, this can be a simple and effective option.
5. Bring back the tea round
It’s a very simple, but actually hugely effective way to make an office more sustainable. Encouraging tea rounds means that a kettle is filled and boiled on fewer occasions than if individuals make their own refreshments at different times, and this very simple trick is heralded by Friends of the Earth to be a really easy way to increase the eco-friendliness of the office, as well as helping to build a bit of team spirit and encouraging staff to take regular breaks. You can of course also offer recycling points, which can be handily placed en route to the kettle, and you can find these on page 15 of our downloadable brochure.
More resources:
You can access more information and free guides at the following websites
If you’d like more advice or to discuss any products that might suit your business please call us 01726 742642 or email: sales@cisafety.com and our team can offer their experience and advice to help you decide what is right for your business.
