7 steps to working from home sustainably
Working from home has clear environmental benefits such as fewer emissions from commuting and improved air quality.
Based on findings from Breathe London, working from home could cut 11 billion car miles per year, cutting greenhouse gas emissions by an astounding 3.3 million tons in London alone.
Not to mention the reduction in single-plastic usage, paper consumption and more. The more we collectively act sustainably at home, the bigger impact we can have on our planet.
1. Be energy efficient
Using your energy more efficiently will help you reduce your carbon footprint as well as your energy bills.
Remote working allows you more freedom to be in control. You can lower your thermostat temperature, unplug devices and light your workspace correctly to save unnecessary energy consumption.
You could also consider changing to a greener supplier that provides renewable energy tariffs.
2. Encourage green habits
Encourage your friends, family and colleagues to adopt green practices by getting involved with environmental challenges like Plastic Free July.
You could do this by avoiding using cleaning products in single-use plastic, bringing a reusable coffee cup and water bottle out with you, finding plastic free alternatives when buying fruits and vegetables or avoid the plastic trays used for meat and fish.
3. Redirect your time
We very often feel like we do not have enough time to do everything we want to do. However, working from home can save significant commuting time.
Think about how you could use some of this extra time to benefit your community. Perhaps you could spend the hour you would have used commuting to and from work to do a litter pick, start growing your own vegetables and share the produce with neighbours or get involved in local volunteering projects.
4. Eat, drink and be greener
Working from home can help reduce the amount of single-use plastic you use as you avoid plastic from making lunch at home and also use our own cups, glasses, cutlery and plates. However, there are still other things you can do to be more sustainable. You could cook in bulk and use your leftovers to avoid unnecessary food waste. If you’re using appliances at home like boiling the kettle, only use the water you need or for dishwashers, make sure it’s at full capacity and on the eco setting.
5. Reduce your waste
If every person focused on minimising their waste at home, collectively it would have a big impact on the planet. Ditching the printer and using digital documents and e-signatures is a good way to reduce the amount of paper and ink we use as well as energy for powering the printer.
Go further still and eliminate paper altogether. Lose the notepad and the plastic biros and use your laptop for making notes.
6. Use technology sustainably
For most of us, using our laptop, computer or tablet is a significant source of power when it comes to working from home.
When choosing a device, going for a refurbished one will use less resources than purchasing a new one and is usually less expensive.
Whilst using the device, keep your brightness lower to use less power and when you’re not using it, make sure to either put it in standby mode or hibernate to reduce energy consumption.
You can also reduce your digital carbon footprint by closing unnecessary tabs, deleting emails, downloading rather than streaming content and sending direct emails rather than to all if possible.
7. Educate yourself
Sustainability can seem complex and although many of us are aware of the changing climate, we can feel unsure of how we can actually make a difference.
By choosing to learn more about sustainability you can make more sustainable decisions. Signing up for sustainability newsletters and blogs and following sustainability social media accounts will help keep you informed about current sustainability trends and tips to become more sustainable and connect you with like-minded people.
Zellar
This article was written by Zellar, a community of people who are passionate about supporting UK businesses become more sustainable.