6 Must Have Green Products For The Everyday Office
In a world where polar ice caps are melting, sea levels are rising and carbon footprints are getting bigger and bigger, even offices are becoming more eco-friendly and employing green strategies to do their bit for our planet. Some are now full of recyclable office furniture and others incorporate signs that remind employees to turn off all switches when they aren’t in use; all in a bid to reduce their carbon footprint.
However, there are a whole host of other, really fun ways you can make your office greener too…
1) The Seven Year Pen
Image credit: 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires
Seltzer goods have developed a clever little gadget in the form of The Seven Year Pen.
Inspired by the shocking fact that 100 million pens are discarded every day, this eco-friendly alternative incorporates simple Swiss ingenuity in the form of a jumbo ink cartridge that holds more ink, without actually adding bulk to the pen itself. They even come in a range of colours and designs to suit the personality of every office environment and employee.
2) Manual paper shredder
Image credit: 9 Channel
A manual paper shredder might not be at the forefront of modern technology, but there’s no denying their benefit to an office that’s trying to go greener. It’s quite simple really – they cut down on the amount of electricity you’re using.
In a busy office a plug-in paper shredder can sap a surprising amount of electricity as people go back and forth, popping in every spare bit of paper they have. You could also argue that a manual shredder has the added benefit of working your muscles! But if you aren’t feeling quite up to working up a sweat while you dispose of your waste paper, why not think about the just as environmentally friendly alternatives:
Think before you shred… could you use the reverse side of that waste paper for writing down notes or to-do lists?
Designate a paper recycling bin or sack where staff can just place their old documents without having to resort to any kind of paper shredder.
3) Water-powered clock
Image credit: Bedol
If you’re not using a digital clock (and therefore electricity), chances are you’re using a battery
powered one. But how are you disposing of the batteries once they’re spent?
Every year billions of batteries are thrown away to eventually end up on landfill sites, where the
harmful chemicals contained inside can leak out and pollute not just the landfill but the air we
breathe. This is where Bedol’s water powered clock comes in.
Once inside the water corrodes the clocks electrodes, which in turn releases electrons to power
the LCD screen. There isn’t an alarm or any other sophisticated features, but if you’re looking for
a greener desk clock that you can simply look to near lunch or home time then it’s perfect. It can
go weeks without a refill too, saving you water as well as electricity.
4) Eco Kettle
Image credit: EnviroGadget
Sometimes it can be hard to gauge just how much water you’ll need to make a brew, often leading to office staff overfilling their kettle and wasting energy on water they don’t need.
Luckily the Eco Kettle helps you save energy by boiling only the water you need in a special chamber. All you need to do is fill up the kettle like normal, then press a button to release just the right amount of water into the boiling chamber and save the rest for later. It even comes with a measuring guide to ensure you get the amount exactly right.
5) EcoButton
Image credit: KMJ Energy Solutions
EcoButton is a small but significant USB plug-in for your computer. When pressed, it puts your computer into the most energy efficient mode possible while at the same time totting up how much power and money you’ve saved in doing so, creating a strong incentive to continue using it.
You might not think that your computer will use up too much energy while you run to the toilet, but when you take into consideration how many times you leave your desk during the working day and how often you forget to completely power off your computer when you leave for the day, that’s a whole lot of wasted energy.
6) Bamboo Dry-Erase Memo Board
Image credit: Indigo
Paper waste is one of the biggest problems in an office environment, especially when reports, to-do lists and more are rife. Although you might not be able to get rid of important paper documents completely, you can eliminate paper to-do lists by investing in a dry erase board. I’m not talking about the plastic variety though; I’m talking about the infinitely more sustainable Bamboo Dry-Erase Memo Board from Indigo.
As well as the obvious environmental benefits of not using paper to make your lists, the wood the board is made from is sustainably harvested in New Zealand and wipes just as clean as any plastic variety.
You see, creating a more environmentally friendly office can be fun. It only takes replacing more harmful products and processes with gadgets like these to do your bit and start making a helpful impact. But don’t forget the importance of smaller office elements too. Using recycled pens, paper and rulers, turning off switches that aren’t in use and recycling office waste all play just as important a part in saving energy and reducing the rubbish on landfill sites.
Victoria Crawcour lives and breathes all things design related and has a passion for being green. She can be found making best use of her design skills as an interior designer at Desk Centre – an eco-friendly office refit and refurbishment company.
Is your office trying to go greener? Let us know how below!
