We all know we need to do more to help the environment, but at work we often forget and act in more wasteful ways than we would do at home. However, being green and encouraging your employees to do the same can save resources and money.

Take our quiz to find out if you are a green god/goddess or a polluting Paul/Paula!

 
Office based businesses are responsible for emitting 6.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. Although we might associate large businesses with being polluting, did you know that small and medium-sized enterprises (those with fewer than 250 employees) cause about 43% of serious industrial pollution incidents and generate about 60% of commercial waste in England and Wales?
 

Take the quiz to find out how much you already know about green office practices.

1. Leaving a photocopier on overnight uses enough energy to print how many A4 copies?

A) 30
B) 500
C) 5000

2. If you reduce the temperature in your office by 1 degree celsius, you could reduce your heating bills by how much?

A) 1%
B) 25%
C) 10%

3. Sending your waste to landfill will cost you money. If businesses reduce, reuse and recycle their waste they can reduce costs as well as reducing their impact on the environment. How much is the current cost of landfill tax ?

A) £15 per tonne 
B) £48 per tonne 
C) £72 per tonne

4. Every time you recycle two glass bottles, you save enough energy to boil water for how many cups of tea?

A) 2
B) 4
C) 5

5. Hazardous waste (or special waste as it is known in Scotland) is any waste that is harmful to human health or the environment. There are special controls for moving, transporting or disposing of hazardous/special waste, which means that it can’t go in with your general waste and is subject to different rules from most things you recycle. You must dispose of hazardous waste appropriately, in line with the legislation, at sites that are authorised to accept it. Which office item is actually classed as hazardous waste?

A) Lever files
B) Staple gun
C) Fluorescent light tubes

How did you do?

The answers to all the above questions is C – how many did you get right?

1-2 Must do better – see the Netregs office checklist to find out if your company is complying with environmental legislation.
2-3 Good try but you could go for more – why not encourage your employees to help out (see tips below).
4-5 Wow, you know your stuff – but does your organisation? Help them get better at being green with help from Netregs.

HR – the planet needs you! Top tips on going green

• Working in HR puts you in a unique position to influence staff behaviour, so why not use green initiatives to motivate and incentivise your staff?
• Lead by example: make sure you are doing the right thing and your actions will influence the rest of the workforce to do the same.
• Ask senior management to support and endorse your new initiatives to boost efficiency and cut down on waste.
• You could ask colleagues to become environmental champions and help them to conduct walkabouts to identify and discuss the environmental issues affecting your company.
• Another great idea which works well in many companies is to set up an internal environmental group that meets regularly to discuss and tackle your company’s green issues.
• Next time you prepare an induction for a new starter or rewrite that staff handbook, consider highlighting any environmental company policies around energy, waste or recycling.

To help you find out whether your office is complying with environmental legislation download the offices checklist from NetRegs.gov.uk

NetRegs.gov.uk is a plain language environmental guidance website for businesses. For further information visit NetRegs.