9 Must-Have Products to Go Green at Work

You don’t need solar panels or wind turbines in order to promote an eco-friendly workplace. While these additions would certainly help improve the environment, there are smaller alternatives that may be more practical.

According to statistics, consumers are more likely to buy from a company that is greener than others. Essentially, you could improve your target market by promoting an eco-friendly atmosphere in the business.

Here are nine products to help you go green at work.

1. Eco-Friendly Office Furniture

True eco-friendly office furniture is made with recycled components or those that do not degrade the environment. You can find everything from desks to chairs to fill your office space.

From metal to wood, many manufacturers offer a wide selection of green alternatives to some of the most utilized components in the business. Some owners will go so far as to buy strictly used furniture in order to reduce trash impact on the environment.

Used equipment is easy to come by both online and off. In fact, a lot of home-based businesses start from furniture and equipment picked up from garage sales.

2. Solar Laptop Bags

If your organization has employees who work from their laptops, a solar bag could keep the unit charged without plugging it into the wall. Whether your staff is in their offices or out in the field, these bags easily prove their worth.

Thanks to various manufacturers, these can be found in a wide range of sizes and colors. Many brands and designs are also made using recycled materials.

3. Recycled Paper

A lot of companies that require heavy printing have moved to purchasing recycled paper as opposed to new reams. You can find these at nearly any office supply store and it works just as well as a new sheet.

You can also find sticky note pads made with the same materials. In many instances, these reams of recycled paper are cheaper than the newer alternatives.

4. Stapler without the Staples

It can be quite a pain to run out of staples at the most inopportune time. Instead of attaching your papers together with traditional metal staples, you could eliminate the need for this office expense.

Some staple-free staplers can punch up to seven pieces of paper together by creating a small hole and fold within the stack. This device eliminates that waste of time as well as metal bands.

5. Tankless Water Heaters

If your business has a water heater, a tankless system may be more ideal. In a traditional water heater, gas and/or electricity are used constantly to make sure the temperature of the water is maintained.

Whether staff uses it or not, the water heater uses resources to maintain its temperature. A tankless system provides heated water on demand.

This has potential to cut costs exponentially in the workplace when it comes to gas or electric bills.

6. Thermal Barrier Paint Additives

Mixing thermal barrier additives into the paint of your office space can enhance the ambient temperature of virtually any room.

Many of these products, such as Insuladd, have been scientifically proven to keep areas cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. This helps your business by reducing the amount of time air conditioners and heaters are used throughout the day.

7. Motion Sensing Light Switches

Do you know how long the lights are on in the restroom or break rooms without people actually in them? It is pointless to leave these lights on for extended periods of time.

Motion sensing switches will turn on the light when someone is present and then turn them off automatically. Your business could drastically cut how much energy is lost in these rooms with a unit that costs less than $30 at any hardware store.

8. Reusable Whiteboard Markers

Whiteboards have long since replaced chalkboards and are often used in the office for a variety of purposes. Instead of buying disposable dry erase markers, you can fill your office with refillable alternatives.

Instead of stressing when a marker has finally dried out, you simply refill the unit with the dry erase ink and you’re ready to go.

9. Cloud-based Apps

A paperless system can save on a long list of expenses that could be draining your bank account. Paper, ink, replacements and repairs are only several of these costs.

In reality, a paperless system also promotes a more efficient workplace while reducing the time that is lost looking for documents. Moving as many of your procedures as you can to the Cloud will save man-hours while promoting a mobile-office experience.

Ways to Market Your Green Initiative

Did you know that about 64% of millennials would spend more on eco-friendly products if access was easier? This goes to show just how much of an impact environmental consciousness has in the business dynamic.

While a green initiative shouldn’t evolve purely around boosting your business, that fact that people will spend more with the company is a nice byproduct.

What can you do to market your move to go green at work?

Website Graphic

There is nothing wrong with shameless advertising. If you are implementing things in your business that can help the environment, a small graphic on your site could help.

This can show online consumers your commitment to helping the environment.

Social Media

Social media is one of the best ways to reach a wide audience in a short amount of time. Every time you implement a new green tactic, make sure those on sites like Facebook and Twitter know about it.

Online consumers are not the only ones who see the posts as even your local customers are using these social sites.

Window Signs

If you make significant changes to your business to go green, window signs may be just as valuable to local consumers as a banner is to those visiting your site.

You don’t need a huge image, but something that can get everyone’s attention could be ideal.

It’s Efficient to Go Green

To go green at work, it doesn’t have to be purely centered around saving the environment. These products can also help you save in energy costs and boost efficiency in the workplace.

An eco-friendly environment may improve how your business builds a budget. Look around your establishment and consider what you could replace that will help the organization in both costs and income.