Greening Your Office
At GVSU, one of our core values is sustainability. It is the responsibility of our campus community members to uphold this value to the best of their ability, and one way to do this is by taking steps to make your office more sustainable.
If you would like to meet with one of our staff to explore ways your office can go green, please reach out to [email protected].
Here are some tips and tricks to help you take action and help your office to go green!
Unplug After Hours
Turn electronics and lights off every evening. Ensure that any unnecessary use of energy is mitigated when nobody is in the office.
Go Paperless
Only use paper when necessary. Try to take notes virtually and make any necessary paperwork accessible via computer.
Green Commuting
Encourage staff to use environmentally friendly options when commuting to and from the office, such as public transportation (GVSU has a great bus system), carpooling with coworkers, or even riding a bike.
Green Challenges
Encourage office staff to participate in monthly green challenges. An example of this could be a competition to see who produces to least amount of landfill waste during the month, or who volunteers the most time towards sustainable organizations during the month.
Waste Sorting
Be sure to have properly labeled bins for your offices compostable waste, recyclables and landfill waste, and educate staff on how to use these bins.
Printing
make more environmentally friendly decisions when printing is necessary:
- Use recycled paper.
- Use refillable ink cartridges.
- Print double sided.
Reusable Dishes
Encourage staff to use reusable mugs for their coffee, reusable water bottles, and keep reusable dishes and silverware handy in the break room for staff to use. Encourage staff to bring their lunch in reusable containers.
Keurig Pods
If your office has a Keurig machine, make use of refillable Keurig pods! Not only are they refillable, but you are able to fill them with the coffee of your choice.
Natural Light
Make use of what natural light you do have available to you in your office space. Keep blinds open during the day and have work stations centered around sources of natural light if possible.