How To Get Your Office Going Green

Want to get your office “Going Green”, but not sure how to get others on board? Establishing a green, eco-friendly office environment does more than just save the environment; it helps develop a unique company culture, promotes a team building atmosphere, and encourages people to live a healthier lifestyle. I recently helped Buford-based call center, VoiceNation develop a Going Green Initiative for the office and wanted to share some of the successful practices from my experience.

Form a “Green Team”. Are there other staff members who have expressed interest in going green? If so, ask them to be a leader for your initiative. Adding other individuals to your team will help creative ideas come to life. And you never know, they may come up with something you have never thought of. Ask questions, get opinions, conduct surveys, and see what improvements can be made around your office.

Design a plan. What are your goals and what do you want to see accomplished? Your goals should be realistic. You need a time line, supplies, and most importantly, approval from the higher-ups. 

Educate your co-workers. People tend to want to make a change when they realize there's a problem. Do your research. Partner with other companies who will support your green initiatives, like Recyclebank. Provide your team with useful information, statistics, and interactive, catchy graphics to get their attention.

Give them tips. If the issue seems overwhelming, you are less likely to get people involved. Keep things simple and to the point. Don't overload them with problematic information, but instead, provide tips on how to solve the problem. Make it personal and tell them what they can do to help.

Make it happen. Don't let your ideas be just talk, do something. You've already set goals for your organization, now you need to take the necessary steps to get your office thinking a littler greener. If you want to encourage recycling, you need recycle bins, and enough to meet the demand. VoiceNation recently set up a friendly workplace recycling competition to see how fast they could fill the recycle bin. You could do the same, or even divide employees up into teams and see which team can collect the greater amount of recycled material by the end of the week!

You matter what eco-friendly changes you want to make to your office environment, it's important to keep it simple and fun. And encourage your co-workers along the way! For more tips on how to create a green culture in your office, visit http://www.qualityansweringservice.com/careers/going-green.