Eco-gesture n° 1: reduce the waste of your devices
According to ADEME, 13 million French people spend 200 days a year, on average, in an office. If they were adopted by everyone, Small eco-responsible actions would make it possible to achieve significant savings for the company, while preserving the planet.
Some decisions depend on the policy pursued by the company. The employee therefore does not have the hand to act.
- The use refurbished computer tools consists in “recycling” devices that are in perfect working condition. Generally cheaper than their new counterparts, they represent an interesting source of savings.
- Limiting the frequency of device replacement is also interesting. By replacing a device after 4 years instead of 2, you improve its eco-responsible impact by 50%.
Computer equipment represents 21% of electricity consumption of a company. Certain actions of use make it possible to reduce their environmental impact:
- Put your computer to sleep after a few minutes of inactivity or better, use a system that automatically cuts off the power supply. In the end, it's more than 11% electricity saved.
- Ban screen savers animated ones that prevent the device from going to sleep and do not save electricity.
- Switch off the devices in the evening and before the weekend: computers, printers or routers consume energy even when they are on standby. No need to let them run.
Eco-gesture n° 2: limit the use of paper and recycle it
Although digital technology has prevailed everywhere, The use of paper remains preferred in business. Its annual consumption per employee is between 70 and 85 kg and represents 75% of waste produced in the office. Paradoxically, paper is less well recycled in the workplace: only 20% compared to 41% at home.
However, all papers can be sorted and recycled. Consider:
- Install a dedicated trash can next to each workstation and printer.
- Recycle your boxes in the sorting bins provided for this purpose.
- Respect the sorting instructions in force in the company.
As a reminder, Paper can be recycled 7 times and cardboard up to 10 times. If paper sorting were systematic, the savings would be substantial: 390,000 tons of CO2 less, equivalent to the annual emissions of 20,000 cars.
Eco-gesture n° 3: regulate your comfort elements
If you benefit from a personal or shared office with several colleagues, certain concrete actions make it possible to improve your eco-responsible impact.
Optimizing lighting Workstations make it possible to save 70% energy by adopting small actions:
- Switch off the lights offices and meeting rooms when you leave them or when there is sufficient natural light.
- Optimize the orientation of your office to make the most of daylight.
In terms of heating, waste is frequent. However, they can be significantly reduced:
- Switch off the radiator before opening the window to ventilate.
- Close shutters, blinds, or curtains during the night and when you leave at the weekend. This makes it possible to avoid 60% of heat loss.
- Declutter radiators from all furniture which can obstruct the diffusion of heat.
- Close your office door. In addition to cutting you off from the surrounding noise, it preserves the heat.
Finally, to limit the use of air conditioners that emit a lot of greenhouse gases, here are the actions to adopt:
- Ventilate in the morning and create air currents.
- Close blinds, shutters, or windows as soon as the outside temperature exceeds that in the office.
- Prefer the use of fans, which consumes less energy.
Eco-gesture n° 4: green your coffee break and lunch break
The sacred coffee break is a convivial moment that is inseparable from office life.
However, it generates Lots of waste such as plastic cups and stirrers, coffee capsules, and sugar pods.
Simple changes can make your coffee break greener:
- Use a washable mug and spoons.
- Buy coffee, sugar, and cookies without overwraps.
For lunch, the ideal is to Prepare your lunch box yourself, which avoids the numerous packaging of foodstuffs purchased to take away. For employees who have a company restaurant, they generate, on average, a waste of 130 grams per meal.
To avoid overeating, you can:
- Adjust your portions To your appetite. Do not take more than you are going to consume.
- Take away or share with your colleagues what is not consumed.
- Sort the packages organic waste at the end of the meal.
- Opt for the vegetarian options.
Ecogesture n° 5: rethink your business trips
The Covid-19 pandemic was an opportunity for many businesses to discover teleworking and videoconference meetings. This new way of organization makes it possible to make significant savings, by avoiding the use of transport to go to the office or to appointments. If you have a choice, don't hesitate!
When the business trips are necessary, some actions can have a small effect:
- Choose the train over the plane, for all trips lasting less than 3 hours.
- Use electric vehicles in carsharing.
- Group meetings together.
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Today, the Climate question is widely relayed in the media. Everyone at their level, in the office and at home, can improve its eco-responsible impact. Often perceived as restrictive, these eco-gestures require only a few sacrifices. Are we getting started?
