We hear it again and again. For years now, people keep telling us to “Go Green.” Save the environment, pitch in, join the green efforts. But what does green really mean? And if this is such a big concern than why is it still so hard to get people to participate?  A great way to get your coworkers or employees environmentally aware is to break it down into small, simple tasks that they can incorporate into their daily life. Pick one thing to focus on and give them a reminder. For example, put a poster about recycling above the trashcan or hand out logo pens with your company’s logo and a small phrase like “go paperless” to remind them to write and print less and type and email more. The same idea could be used with water bottles and mugs to encourage employees to reuse their drinking containers instead of continually getting disposable ones.

As a child it was drilled into our heads with stories and songs that we are supposed to “reduce, reuse, recycle.” We learn to plant trees, turn off lights and water when we’re not using them, and separate the cans and bottles from the regular trash. As we get older, however, many of us think about convenience, time or money. We buy large cases of water bottles so we can conveniently grab one on our way out the door. We throw all our trash in together so we don’t have to walk outside to the recycling bin and we only cut down on electricity when we’ve seen our bill go up higher than we’d like.

Even if you practice good environmental habits regularly, there is a good chance that saving money is your main motivator, which is why you will turn off all your lights before leaving your house. But do you ever go around and turn off all the lights before leaving your office? You don’t because you may not be the last one there and if you’re unsure, does it really matter anyway if the lights are off? It’s not your money you’re wasting, it’s the company’s.

Well, besides the fact that the company having less money means there is less money to put into your paycheck or employee wellbeing, you should be concerned about the environment regardless of how much or how little it is effecting your or anyone else’s wallet.

“Going Green” is overused and we have begun to tune it out without realizing why it is important. To put it simply, we need our natural resources for ourselves and for generations to come so we can’t be selfish and suck them all up right now. Even though you don’t personally pay for the resources in your office, you spend a good portion of your time there. This makes the office an effective and rewarding place to start your environmental efforts. Whether you have authority in the company or not, you can be the driving force that employees need to save resources in your office, not to mention to learn good habits that they can take with them when they go home.
There are many small things you can encourage at your company that overall, will positively contribute to environmental efforts. Every little bit helps and taking on a project you’re passionate about can be very rewarding. So go talk to someone at your company about what you can do to turn your office “green” and at the very least, always remember to “reduce, reuse, recycle.”