World Environment Day: Top tips for making your workplace more eco-friendly

Posted 6 months ago

World Environment Day has taken place on the 5 June every year since 1973. It’s an awareness campaign that aims to highlight environmental issues and what both businesses and individuals can do to support the environment.

It’s estimated that around five million tonnes of plastic are used annually in the UK, and only about a quarter of this is recycled. And there are many other shocking statistics that prove we all need to make a conscious effort to be more environmentally friendly…

UK homes chuck out 100 billion bits of plastic packaging a year – an average of 66 items per household per week.
While the expected rate of species extinction is usually around 5 species a year, we’re currently losing up to 10,000 times the normal rate – this means that dozens of species go extinct every single day.
Our planet is warmer now than it has been in 800,000 years.

Evidently, there’s still lots of room for improvement when it comes to becoming greener. And this awareness campaign provides a fantastic opportunity to inspire positive change and foster a sense of responsibility towards our natural surroundings.

Ultimately, it’s everybody’s responsibility to protect the environment. However, it also makes sense for good business…

What is ESG and why is it important?

A hot acronym in the business world is ESG. It’s short for Environmental, Social, and Governance. It’s a collective term for a business’ impact on society, the environment, and how transparent and accountable they are.

Did you know that one in three consumers claimed to have stopped purchasing certain brands or products because they had ethical or sustainability concerns?

With that being said, businesses with an ESG focus are increasingly the deciding factor in who people choose to work with and for.

Adopting ESG measures is now more important than ever, not only for society and the environment, but it makes good business sense. From reducing risk and lowering costs to improving your reputation and attracting new customers, ESG is essential for business growth.

How to make your workplace more environmentally friendly

With the benefits of having a green thumb in mind, you might be wondering what you can do to make your business more environmentally friendly. Here’s our top tips…

Reduce disposable plastics

Plastic can often be useful, but overusing them can be harmful for the environment. Whilst it might not be practical to remove all disposable plastics from your workplace, you can certainly reduce the amount you use. Maybe you could even switch to other sustainable alternatives!

Get ISO 14001 certified

ISO 14001 can be achieved by any organisation, irrespective of the size and type. It requires continual improvement of an organisation’s approach and management system to the environmental standard. Our partners over at Citation ISO are a leading ISO certification body and can help you reach certification in just 30 days!

Print less

The average UK office worker prints 6,000 sheets of paper a year, of which around 62% is wasted or unnecessary. In the modern business world, there’s many digital alternatives to printing, which you should encourage your staff to make the most of. Also, when a printer is needed, consider other measures like setting the default on printers to printing black and white and double-sided.

Set reduction targets

There are always opportunities to reduce our carbon footprint, and businesses should always be looking at what they’re doing well and where they can improve. You should aim to set ambitious but achievable targets and share these publicly, showing your commitment to the environment, responsibility for your impacts, and that you’re willing to be held accountable.

Environmental Awareness Training

A huge part of being an environmentally aware business is making sure that everyone is on the same page. You should look to equip your staff with the knowledge they need to make your business more environmentally friendly.

Here at iHasco, we offer an online Environmental Awareness Training course that can be completed in just 45 minutes and provides a printable certificate upon completion to demonstrate compliance.

Interested in learning more about this course? Claim your free, no-obligation trial today and check it out for yourself! Alternatively, you can request a bespoke quote and we’ll be in touch to discuss your training requirements.