Humans have been living on this planet for almost two hundred thousand years. We have been slowly destroying the planet. The constant rise of environmental-related issues continues to shake the world. Issues such as greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution, water pollution, and climate change are still unsolved.
Although humans only live on Earth for a short period, the waste and damage they leave behind will stay for a hundred more years. Our planet is what gave us life; we must give it back. One of the best choices for that is to go eco-friendly.
The Importance of Eco-friendly Choices
Making eco-friendly choices in any aspect of your life is a huge help for our planet. The planet is already polluted with toxic materials that take hundreds of years to decompose. Our best choice in this situation is to use eco-friendly materials and make eco-friendly choices. An example of an eco-friendly choice is bringing your own shopping bag.
Plastic shopping bags are one of the main pollutants on our planet. Every year, approximately 100 billion shopping bags are used by a quarter of the world’s people. This report is extremely alarming if you know that plastic bags take thousands of years to decompose.
Bringing your own shopping bag whenever you go shopping rewards you with two things. First, it saves you from the trouble of bringing along plastic bags. Second, it helps preserve the planet, which means you’re helping to save the planet one step at a time.
Eco-friendly Choices at Your Workplace
To most people who are not aware of any eco-friendly choices, hearing that you can have eco-friendly choices at your workplace is a bizarre thing. After all, workplaces are places where you hustle and have no time to consider anything other than your work. But most offices these days are going eco-friendly due to the changes in our environment.
In fact, eco-friendly offices are gaining benefits because of this choice. One of its benefits is that it can improve staff productivity. A study from Harvard’s Center for Health about the impact of green building on cognitive function shows that a well-ventilated office improves job productivity.
When a workplace has proper ventilation, it helps circulate air in the building that removes pollutants and allergens. This increases the productivity and health of the people in the workplace. Because of this, a lot of offices are now designing their workplace to be eco-friendly. Here are some tips to start with:
1. Install Energy Efficient Appliances
Installing energy-efficient appliances not only prevent greenhouse emissions and conserve water, but it also helps you save on electricity bills. Installing LED light bulbs is one way to conserve energy. LED light bulbs are more energy-efficient and can last twenty-five times longer than incandescent light bulbs.
2. Reduce Energy Consumption
Machines and technologies in your office consume a large amount of energy. One of them can be your air-conditioning system. The air-conditioning system works in many ways, so predicting how much you’ll have to pay for its energy consumption is almost impossible.
These factors vary from the condition, age, weather, and the space of your workplace. Your air-conditioning system can cause your electricity bill to increase if it needs repair. Air conditioners with even mild complications will work harder, and the harder your air conditioner works, the more energy it consumes. You can avoid this matter by calling services for AC repair.
3. Environmentally Friendly Products
This can be one of the most clever choices in any facility. Investing in environmentally friendly products is an obvious approach to an eco-friendly environment. This happens when building cafeterias no longer use plastic straws or plastic containers.
Some offices also promote a paperless office by sending all the files and report via e-mail. They even pay their utility bills through electronic devices to reduce the use of paper. These offices reduce their impact on the environment by preventing trees from being cut down.
4. Invest in Indoor Plants
Most offices are using air fresheners without knowing the harm that it brings. Air fresheners can be harmful to employees because of their adverse effects. Even organic air fresheners can emit harmful air pollutants that cause migraines and breathing difficulties.
Indoor plants can act as a substitute for air fresheners. Plants such as scented geraniums can emit a fragrant scent that cleans the air. Indoor plants are also used to lessen the smell, and some of these plants absorb excess moisture and dust in the air.
By creating a great atmosphere and promoting eco-friendly choices in your workplace, not only are you working productively, but you are also helping the planet to function efficiently.
