Turn off the lights, save water, do without plastic: environmental protection can be built into everyday life in many ways. What can you pay attention to in the workplace? Five tips for a greener desk.
There are many reasons to consciously save electricity and resources. Energy prices are rising, pollution and climate change are taking a toll on our planet. Everyone can incorporate some things into their everyday life – for example at work. Did you know that an e-mail is as harmful to the climate as a plastic bag? With these tips you can make your own desk a little more environmentally friendly.
Avoid stand-by
A hidden power guzzler is the stand-by mode: Even devices that appear to be switched off consume energy. Be sure to turn off idle devices like screens. To avoid having to pull dozens of plugs at the end of the working day, power strips with an on/off button are recommended.
Use less paper
Unsurprisingly, if you want to save electricity and paper, you should only print when it is really necessary. One kilo of printer paper uses around 50 liters of water and five kilowatt hours of electricity. If you cannot avoid printing, you should at least use recycled paper and print paper on both sides.
Delete and sort emails regularly
The internet eats up a lot of energy. If it were a country, it would rank about third in the ranking of electricity consumers – behind China and the USA. How can you personally counteract this? The keyword is: delete e-mails! Statista assumes that around 333 billion emails will be sent and received every day in 2022. According to “The Guardian”, a comprehensive e-mail with an attachment consumes up to 50 grams of CO2 equivalents, the consumer service in Bavaria says that the climate balance of a normal e-mail without an attachment corresponds to that of a plastic bag.
The first step is to regularly delete your e-mails – especially spam, newsletters and large e-mails. You should also empty the trash regularly. Data exchange platforms such as Dropbox or Google Drive can be used to send photos and other files. Spam filters and unsubscribing from newsletters and advertising can help reduce additional mail traffic.
use daylight
Good light in the office is of course a must. If the workplace is next to a window and the sun does not dazzle the screen too much, it is better to use natural daylight and switch off the artificial lighting, at least during the day. This not only saves electricity, but is also healthier for eyes that spend hours looking at the screen.
Decorate with plants
Plants in the workplace are not only pleasing to the eye, they also improve the indoor climate. They break down carbon dioxide, produce oxygen and naturally increase humidity. Some plants can even filter pollutants and reduce the noise level in open-plan offices. Ideal plants for the office are the yucca palm, the rubber tree, the ficus or the cactus.
