With a growing number of people now working from home, the onus lies increasingly with freelancers as much as giant corporations to cut their carbon footprint in the workplace. Whether you’re looking to set up a new home office or want to green up your existing home workspace, we have some smart and simple tips to help you create a more eco-friendly working area.
Smarter supplies
Buying all of your home office furniture, equipment and stationery from a one-stop office shop provides further benefits than simply cutting your delivery costs. Reducing the number of shipments to your home cuts carbon emissions and can reduce the amount of packaging needed too. Shop wisely and look for environmentally responsible suppliers like Ryman, who have recently teamed up with The Carbon Trust in the UK to make use of lower emission vehicles, eco-friendly fuels and routes with the lowest possible fuel consumption for their home office furniture deliveries.
Location, location, location
You can create a greener home office simply by choosing the right location within your home. Choose an area where there’s plenty of natural light and you’ll cut down on your need for electrical lighting. Choose an area that’s well ventilated and you’ll have less need for that energy-hungry desk fan in the summer.
Do you really need a whole room in which to get your work done productively? If you’re simply looking to create a dedicated area for catching up on emails and correspondence, then think about setting up a smaller office area within a room that already sees a lot of use. This will save you using extra power to both heat and light a whole other room in your home.
Shop green
Look for eco-friendly home office furniture and equipment that has been certified by energy watch groups such as The Energy Saving Trust in the UK and The Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturer’s Association in the US. Their recommended products use less energy and have consumed less energy during the production process. Another option is to buy second hand home office furniture and equipment. You’ll not only save items from taking up space in landfill, you’ll cut down on the carbon emissions used to produce brand new office goods and get your hands on some truly unique office items too!
Home office innovation
Impossibly clever designers the world over are constantly striving to create better, and greener, office items that’ll give your office a cutting edge look while cutting out carbon emissions too. Keep up to date with the latest innovations at green design sites and check out this list of the coolest eco-friendly gadgets around for some fresh, green ideas.
