Making Your Office More Sustainable

There are many ways an office can reduce its environmental impact. Here are some of the general categories to focus on, and some tips to use based on your office type. Please note that these only extend to the office itself - not overall business practices.

Before we get started, we want to emphasize the most important part of any sustainability strategy: The pollution prevention hierarchy. As you start to think about the ways your office can be more sustainable, start from the top- ways you can eliminate pollution/waste before it even starts. This is the most efficient and effective way to reduce your environmental impact.

Getting Your Team On Board

  • Whether you are an owner, manager, or entry-level, getting the rest of your company on board is the key to success.

  • For lower-level employees, it may be best to create a “Green Team” of like-minded coworkers to propose office-wide changes to higher-level decision makers.

  • For upper management or ownership, once the decision to “go green” is made, there should be a communication plan to establish the new office direction toward reducing overall environmental impact. This can be done through informational meetings, establishing new office policies and requiring staff to confirm that they have read them, providing clear signage and reminders, etc.

  • We personally feel that making it fun and empowering is also important to encouraging participation! You could have office competitions to see which department is the greenest, quiz people on eco-friendly topics and give out prizes to winners, and more. Additionally, letting every staff member know that they have the power to make a difference in the fight against climate change is a positive and inspiring message.

Energy and Fossil Fuel Use

Electricity and Utilities

  • Use energy-efficient light bulbs and reduce electricity usage wherever possible. Use motion sensors for lights as well.

  • Consider installing solar panels on your building. If this isn’t possible, consider sourcing your electricity from a renewable source, such as a community solar farm.

  • If your company owns its office space, consider replacing any defunct heater/air conditioner with a heat pump. They replace both appliances and are significantly better for the environment.

  • Allow employees to dress more casually in the summer so you don’t have to run the air conditioning as much.

  • After you reduce your energy usage in as many ways as possible, consider offsetting any carbon footprint that is left over. There are several Chicago-based companies that do this, such as Tradewater.


Travel

  • Minimize flight travel as much as possible, as it has an extremely high carbon footprint. Make it company policy to purchase carbon offsets for flights that are necessary.

  • Conduct video calls for frequent meetings instead of having people travel to meet in person.

  • Encourage staff to use public transit, and consider providing a transit benefit if possible.

  • Encourage bike riding by offering secure bike parking or allowing any health/wellness stipend to be applied to bike purchases and repairs.

  • If employees need to use company vehicles or vehicle rentals for travel, make it company policy to choose a hybrid or electric vehicle whenever possible.

Waste Reduction


General Waste Practices

  • Recycle, and provide recycling bins around the office so they are convenient for people.

  • Provide clear signage so people know what can and cannot go in recycling bins. Many of us haven’t received good recycling education in our lives, so people may have good intentions but be generally unaware of the recycling requirements for the area they live in. A great source for accurate information and recycling signage is RecycleByCity.

  • Make sure the building your office is in actually recycles what you are sending them. Having a private recycling service is required for all commercial buildings in Chicago. If they are not actually using one, tell them they’re in violation of the ordinance and propose some reputable haulers they could hire.

  • If your building is currently using a recycling hauler you don’t trust is actually recycling your waste, advocate to change recycling haulers.

  • Contract with a composting service. It’s an easy way to reduce your office’s greenhouse gas emissions, while also turning your food waste into rich natural fertilizer!

  • When things like fluorescent/CFL light bulbs, electronics, and batteries are no longer functional, dispose of them properly instead of putting them in the trash. More info on this within the “By Item” section of our Recycle page.

Coffee and Tea

  • Ditch disposable cups. Ask all employees to bring their own mug or thermos and place it in the dishwasher for cleaning at the end of the day. Any disposables can be kept in a back room for special events or office guests who don’t have mugs.

  • Ditch K-cups or any other plastic-based single serve coffee pods. They create an immense amount of plastic waste, and are rarely recyclable.

  • Do not purchase plastic straws or stir sticks for staff. Buy wooden sticks if needed, but encourage everyone to use a metal spoon.

  • Instead of buying single-serve creamers, purchase full cartons or bottles. They create far less plastic waste, and are more recyclable than their tiny counterparts.

  • Compost all coffee grounds, filters, and tea bags through a composting service.


Office Kitchen + Daily Meals

  • If your office doesn’t have a dishwasher, advocate for management to add one. It will save them a lot of money in the long run and make reusable items possible, vastly reducing your office’s waste.

  • If you have a dishwasher, keep a set of reusable plates and cups in the office for staff to use with their lunch (or other meal) if needed. Keep a full set of metal utensils on hand for people to use as well. These items could be purchased at a thrift store for very little money, and cost a lot less than constantly buying disposables. Encourage staff to add their items to the dishwasher at the end of the day, and assign a person to start it so it’s ready the next morning.

  • Provide composting for all food scraps. and other organic waste.


Events and Catering

  • Offer vegetarian meal options, and avoid purchasing beef, as it has the highest carbon footprint of any meat.

  • Keep leftover food and announce that it’s available for employees to take home with them or eat the next day. Put any leftover items in a Love Fridge or give them to someone else who needs them so they don’t go to waste.

  • Use 100% compostable plates and cups and provide compost bins at the event that can be collected by your composting service. Compost all food scraps as well.

  • Instead of disposables, choose metal utensils and wash them in the dishwasher afterward. If you have to choose disposables, choose ones that can be composted by your composting service.


Printing and Paper Products

  • Go paperless as much as possible. For documents that have to be printed, use 100% recycled paper. Encourage staff to use scratch paper as much as possible.

  • For any single-use paper products that must be purchased, choose ones made from 100% recycled paper. (Paper towels, tissues, toilet paper, etc).

Volunteering and More!

  • Get involved in environmental causes in your city. In Chicago there are too many to include them all on this page, but possibilities include taking care of the river through Friends of the Chicago River, sponsoring a litter cleanup for employees through Cleanup Club Chicago, adopting a beach through Alliance for the Great Lakes, and much much more.

  • If you have the option, consider starting a community garden that employees can participate in. Many Chicagoans do not have yards, and may enjoy growing their own food.

  • Join a CSA share or allow a health and wellness stipend to go towards purchasing CSA boxes.