Earth, Wind & Power Blogazine

Witty Ways to Greenify Your Work

By Liz Kaadou

 

Prim, proper and paperless? Sounds like the perfect combination for an efficient, effective and eco-friendly work environment. Did you know that as much as 93% of all office waste is actually paper, and most of it is recyclable. The problem is, most employees quickly crumble up used paper and target it directly for the trash. Instead, here are some extremely easy ways to take your work routine from wasteful to wonderful.  

 

1) Set-up recycling bins around the office for paper and plastics. People like convenience and if the bin is directly in front of their trash cans, chances are they will think twice before trashing recyclable materials and documents.

 

2) Contact companies that dispose of old software and electronics in an eco-conscious way.  This will put your out-dated technology to good and gratifying use! 

 

3) Add a signature to all emails that reads “Only print if extremely important.”  This will remind those printer-happy employees that not everything received in an email needs to be documented on piles of precious paper.

 

4) On a more humorous note, place a sign in the lavatories that states, “This is our last roll of toilet paper, so please use it wisely. After that, we are going paperless.” This is an ingenious method to add a bit of comedy into the work place while simultaneously reminding employees of the perils of extreme paper use!

Check out RTM's Earth Tones section for more ways to go green!

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Want a Green Job? You Could Already Have One!

Though the green job search may not scream your current title, those kinds of jobs are the ones that so desperately need, well, greening. The creation of green jobs will boost our economy as well as help reduce American oil dependence and carbon emissions, but the underlying factor for green change to happen is by changing daily habits - and this means changing normal jobs.

Choose green supplies whenever you can

Start an online carpooling network using your work's email program or social networking sites 

Store information digitally on your computer rather than in paper files, don't print receipts if possible

Start recycling, or lobby for recycling bins

Start biking to work as often as you can    

Bring a lunch or eat at a restaurant rather than using styrofoam take-out containers; lobby for a no-styrofoam policy

Get a petition for an environmental cause signed during break-time

Ask your boss about offsetting company carbon emissions

Don't take out the garbage until it's full to avoid wasting plastic bags

Make any project you're assigned environmentally sustainable

These are universally applicable tips for anyone, in an position, in the workforce. If there's anything you've thought of that's bad ecological practice, specific to your job, change it! Do whatever you can to cut down your consumption, promote eco-friendliness in the peers and patrons you work with, and give people the opportunity to go green themselves. Most companies are starting to get the hint about environmentally-friendly practices, but don't know where to start, or just need an extra push.

 

For more green career tips, visit RTM's Earth Tones section.

 

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The 5 Most Eco-Friendly U.S. Colleges: Big & Small

It's like the environmental Freshman 15 - people go away to school and may find themselves confronted with culture-shock induced temptations to be live life less green. Well, that's not gonna happen at these colleges.

1. Unity College Unity, MA - America’s Environmental College only offers environmental courses, with all progressive, nature-friendly majors and minors. Majors like Adventure Therapy, Environmental Analysis, and Sustainability Design are the norm.

2. Evergreen State College Olympia, WA – This state college owes its high class of sustainability mostly to its students. With the large organic farm, the dorms’ massive composting facility, and 100% clean power, students support sustainable systems and have even approved fee increases.  

3. EARTH University Costa Rica - Dedicated to promoting sustainable development in the tropics, students go through a four-year program to earn an agronomy degree as they learn to balance ecological preservation and agriculture. The university's Rational Use of Resources program aims to instill an eco-ethic in everyone on campus.

4. College of the Atlantic Bar Harbor, MA - This small school has just one major: Human Ecology, which is the study of our relationship with the environment. It was also the first college in the U.S. to pledge carbon neutrality.

5. Harvard University has made major investments in energy conservation, making their campus buildings the most eco-friendly according to the U.S. Green Building Council. Plus, 20 green new-construction and renovation projects have been certified since 2002, and home-cooked biodiesel is used in university buses.

For more green living tips, visit RTM's Planet Driven Section.

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How to Green Your Existing Degree or Get a New One

Wish your job title could be as green as you try to be at home? The problem with green career programs is that - while there are a lot of students out there considering them, most people already have degrees. But by going green at work, employees can find more job security. Based on the concept of intrapreneurship (making changes from within the company), employees can become more valuable by coming up with some idea or project that is good for the environment and also drives sales or saves the company money. For example, when Vanessa Farquharson of Toronto's National Post began a column and blog (which eventually became a published book: Sleeping Naked Is Green: How an Eco-Cynic Unplugged Her Fridge, Sold Her Car, and Found Love in 366 Days) about making green changes in her life, she not only did an environmental good deed - or 366 - but increased her job's value as her story's popularity increased. 

For those that are currently in school or wish to go back, the selection of green degrees is getting a little broader - there are now tons of green MBAs and masters of green project management programs, which put those who earn them in control of how green our businesses will become. Making new businesses environmentally-friendly is an important step in greening the planet, but revamping old ones is of equal or higher importance - consider businesses such as oil, plastic, and even most restaurants.

Unity College in Maine offers all environmental degrees, like Environmental Humanities, Environmental Writing, Adventure Therapy, Conservation Law Enforcement; and Agriculture, Food, and Sustainability. You can even be certified as a Leave No Trace Instructor to inform people best practices when using the wilderness for adventure and recreation.

For more green news, visit RTM's Earth Tones Section.

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Stepping Stones to a Green Career: Getting Started

So, you want your career to have green makeover. Where do you even start? If you're not in the market for one of those new green degrees or certifications, you can still be professionally "green". First of all, if you're fine with not having the actual degree on paper, there are plenty of free online college classes to take in the environmental field. Here are 100 of them that'll give you hardcore environmental prowess.

Also, consider taking on a green project at your current job - if it is something that can benefit the company financially, it may even pave the pathway to a new job title. Be the one to relentlessly take recyclables to a recycle bin when they're on the way to the dumpster, to set a good example and show that you really do care.

Find more environmental advice from RTM in our Earth Tones Section.