My company is not environmentally friendly. How can I change this?

Question

I'm appalled at the lack of recycling and conservation at the large corporation I work for. Virtually none of the printers have duplexers (allow for paper to be printed on both sides), and the ones that do are not marked - nor are employees encouraged to print on both sides.

There are no *obviously* designated bins for recycling paper. We do have small blue bins that proclaim "We Recycle" for that purpose, but people just throw their regular trash in there, so the cleaning people don't separate them.

Worst of all, no one cares! Every day I see cans and bottles in people's wastebins, even though there's a large marked container in the kitchen for this purpose.

I wish there was an outside party that could come in and give my company a "grade" for its environmental efforts - because I think that's the only way they'll take notice! I think they'd score around a "D." ;-)

I'm a lowly office worker, and barely get attention from my own boss, let alone the higher-ups in the corp.

Answer 1

You have to turn it into a business case.  How would it benefit the company?  There are environmental certifications that companies can get that are pretty prestigious.

Paper recycling isn't exactly a huge deal.  I know it might seem odd to say that but now that logging in the US has become sustainable recycling something that is biodegradable is not a huge priority compared to plastic bottles and cans.

People generally like to be a part of something like this, access is the key.  At my work place every desk gets a little bin for paper that we can recycle.  Every printer has a bin for recycling paper that has a slit in it so really only paper can go into the bin.

Remember that if you can get the company to recycle they will actually get paid for paper, aluminum, and plastic if they recycle in large enough quantities.

It doesn't matter if you are a secretary or a VP, all that matters is that you try.  Taking the initiative is half the battle.

Answer 2

Go to human resources and let them know that you would like to see participation in recycling.  Stress the good points of being a company that cares for the earth.  Even if you do it anonymously.  Some people are lazy and just don't get it. But every little bit helps.  Keep up the good effort, you'll change some minds!

Answer 3

My company is the same.  Good thing is I'm in a position to try and influence change.  We do use large shred bins (need to for security puposes).  These bins clearly indicate the paper will be recycled.  So I put nonsensitive paper, including junk mail, in the bin and have encouraged others to do the same.  Things I cannot put in the shred bin (non-paper) I bring home and include with my weekly recycle pickup at home.  My wife has started bringing items home also. We also started using refilled printer cartridges  (from Cartridge World) instead of buying new (also saves money).  These are small things, but starting small is working.  As awareness has increased, buy-in and acceptance also increased.  Lead by example. Coworkers have seen what I have been doing, asked me about it, and now several are doing the same.

Answer 4

Acquire some environmentally friendly weapons from your local environmental group, who will have ties to the new, improved "green" Red China, and stage a military takeover of your company.  Then you can stage a military takeover of your company's customers to force them to pay for less effective products at higher cost which will result from "going green". (reference: the five-fllush low water usage toilets which require five times flushing, but only use half the amount of water.  You do the math)   Then you can stage a military takeover of THEIR customers to force THEM to....etc,etc.

Answer 5

I think there are bigger environmental problems than printing duplex Its the way of THINKING that have to change. I spent 4 weeks in latin america 1993, Costa Rice was then way ahead of US and Europe on collecting recycle. I could see separate public bins for ALU, PAPER, METAL, and GLASS.

The market in US is not ready yet to be environmently friendly. There is not a lot of domestic "demand power" for environment friendly businesses. California and some other states, have started with it, for example, they demand at least 40% recycle paper in any phonebooks delivered  to CA. There is also the CASH REFUND, used in some states, for recycled glass, plastic and metal. That really motivate consumers to recycle their waste. The consumers are the ones that can do it the best, because they are the main source for the waste.  

Consumer power is another important tool. In some European countries, consumers start having power enough to impact on manufacturers. For example there were a trend to leave excessive boxing and packaging at the stores, like leaving the paper box for tooth paste in the store. (The barcode is still on the tube for the cashier). Now you can buy tubes without the box. Most  European corporations have worked hard to be environmently certified. Its like a code to be able to make business.

We need to set up that "environment code certification" like ISO14001:2004, with some good laws and maybe some tax breakes. If the big corporations get started, the smaller ones will have to follow to make business.

Sweden is the world leading country in this certification process with almost 550 (ISO14001:2004) certified companies per million in population. Twice as many as Spain, the 2nd on the list. Japan 7th, Singapore 9th and ESTONIA!!! 10th. US have about 8000 companies registrated, which put us on about 27 companies per million in population. China have 18000 companies or about 15 per million in population. But china is probobly growing fastest of them all just now. OUR FAVOURITE BUSINESS PARTNER!!!

Answer 6

Maybe you could talk to your boss or some at least one other like minded person and propose a program to get people to recycle.  If you propose something to your boss about how much money the company would save by doing certain things one would think he/she would jump on the saving aspect.  Bosses are usually all about the bottom line.  If you put together something that shows the savings it would encourage them.  Good Luck!  If nothing works at least you have good intentions.

Answer 7

LEAD BY EXAMPLE.

Part of the process is asking in the presence of others what should go in what containers. Invariably someone will volunteer the right answer, and you can go about the task of getting stuff moved around.

Now your boss is not going to consider that as part of your duties unless your boss has explicitly said yes, you should lead by example. In effect you will be leaving some other task undone while you are doing this. So be sure to ask your direct boss whether you may lead by example, and give a bit of an outline of what you plan to do.

If you are not able to keep up with your tasks already, expect your boss to suggest you would have to do it on your own time. He may not have a budget to cover this. I say this not to discourage you, but to prepare you for reality.

Do not become too upset if you get resistance from your boss. Your boss may be getting negative feedback from above.

If you are stonewalled, it can be useful to alert local environmental groups to do an office recycling audit, not just in your office, but broadly, and to publish results each year.

Answer 8

Get a different job. You won't change your company.