Being green is a hugely hot topic of the 21st century and many of us are now looking for new ways to cut carbon emissions in the home.

Whether switching to energy efficient lightbulbs, recycling those empty wine bottles or making sure the TV isn’t left on standby; we are becoming an increasingly eco-aware nation with numerous people making the switch to a greener lifestyle.

But what about the workplace? Countless employees are eco-angels in the home, but instantly forget their planet-friendly promises as soon as they step foot inside their place of work.

This is often due to a feeling of little or no control over how much energy is used in the building, with workers unsure as to how their actions can contribute to cutting greenhouse gases. But there really is a point in making even the smallest of changes. For example, if 20 employees turned off their PC during a lunch hour, your company would save over 3700 watts of electricity in just 60 minutes; that’s enough power to keep an energy efficient lightbulb burning for over eight and a half solid days! Making small changes to your daily routine will cut the amount of carbon your company is responsible for and, because you’ll be using less energy, will also save on the associated costs in the workplace.

Green your workplace in five easy steps Transform your workplace into a greener environment with these top tips. Click on each tip to find out more about it. [1] Make sure your PC and monitor are off when you leave work [2]Reuse or recycle your waste paper [3] Switch unneccessary lights off and use the natural daylight more [4] Encourage your workplace to buy more recycled products [5] Take part in an energy examination click here for more great tips for greening your workplace >>

So, if you could cut the 3700 watts mentioned above, you’re workplace would be saving 37p per day. Although this may not seem like much on first inspection, it actually means that you could save an astonishing £130 per year; all from making one tiny change.

Wherever you work and whatever you do, it’s very likely that you’ll be able to make carbon-cutting changes in your workplace. Here are some simple ideas to get you started:

Reuse and recycle as much as you can.
For every tonne of household waste we produce, commercial, industrial and construction businesses produce another six tonnes. This means that keeping your waste to a minimum while at work is absolutely essential, and installing recycling bins is a great way to start cutting the amount of rubbish you send to the landfill. Also try to reuse as many resources as possible; using scrap paper to make notes, buying a proper mug or glass for drinks and making sure any old equipment is donated to charity or properly disposed of.

Cut down on travelling to meetings.
If you were to make just one monthly 400 mile round trip to a meeting you’d contribute 1.38 tonnes of carbon to the atmosphere every year. To put this into context, you would have to plant 35 hardwood saplings to suck these emissions out of the air. That’s a lot of digging for a few meetings! If you really need to make the journey, think about car sharing or taking the train instead. You could cut your emissions to a much more eco-friendly 300kg of carbon per year by choosing the train and leaving your car at home.

Replace your workplace lighting with low-energy equivalents.
Talk to the manager or buildings officer about installing low-energy lightbulbs. These bulbs last up to 10 times longer than the traditional variety so they more than pay for themselves over their lifetime. In addition, each bulb can save as much as £100 on your electricity bill!

Take part in an energy examination.
There are a number of organisations who will offer you a free energy examination in your workplace. Not only will they help you to be more efficient, but can also save around 10 – 20% on overall energy costs.

The benefits of going green in your workplace are huge, earning your business a great reputation and saving loads of money into the bargain. The most important thing to remember is that small changes can make a big difference, and introducing a few simple measures will really help you to save energy.

Visit our workplace section for more great tips on saving energy. Or why not introduce your colleges, friends and managers to the Big Green Switch? They’ll be able to create their own switch list, start a blog and share their eco-tips with other users via our forums.

Get switching today to make your workplace a greener place to be!

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