Environment not on our Office Agendas
3 out of 4 of us think that we are leaving our green efforts at home DESPITE 79% of UK office workers believing that being environmentally responsible at work has a big impact on the environment.
A YouGov poll has revealed the startling fact that most Britons feel their offices are betraying their environmental efforts at home despite workers wanting to make a difference. The independent survey, conducted on behalf of office products experts Avery, found that 75% of office workers thought that they were less environmentally friendly in the office than at home, despite 79% believing that being ecologically responsible at work has a significant and positive impact on the environment. Frustratingly, a lack of empowerment, facilities, education, communication and company apathy were all cited as major reasons for the surprising findings.
Leading Eco-expert, Nicky Amos, urged all offices to start prioritising the environment: “We spend a third of our lives at work, and businesses are responsible for 40% of the UK’s carbon emission, compared with 27% from the home – so it’s vital that we take action. Employees in the workplace hold the key to meaningful change by simply adapting their behaviour at work and they must be allowed to do so.”
Tools of the Trade
48% of us don’t have the right office equipment to be environmentally friendly AND 45% say we lack the power to do anything about it.
Interestingly, almost half of office workers surveyed stated that there were not sufficient facilities and equipment in place to enable them to help the environment, irrespective of their intentions to do so. Psychologist Donna Dawson explains that this can be the green office’s undoing, no matter how positive its environmental targets. “A company may have an environmental policy in place, but if there isn’t the equipment or facilities to implement the policy, then it is as bad as not having a policy at all and will hamper workers efforts.”
Questions as to why office workers lack the right facilities to help the environment indicate that workers simply don’t have the authority to make a difference despite most wanting to, as 45% stated that they are held back by their bosses not empowering them with the ability to be environmentally-friendly. Often, this adds to the threat of a long-term rebound effect which could mean that the apathy experienced at work could transfer to apathy in the home, with office workers giving into a sense of helplessness.
Avery is well aware of the importance of providing products that help both the environment and business. Marc Pinner of Avery said: “When considering that 80% of the world’s original old growth forests have been logged or severely degraded, you can see why companies such as ourselves are taking our responsibilities seriously, working with established third parties to ensure that what remains of our natural heritage is protected. The priority for Avery has been to provide office workers with eco-friendly products that don’t compromise on quality so that choosing them is good for business and good for the environment.”
Green with Envy?
Interestingly, the survey revealed that office workers in Scotland are 48% more likely to feel their company does enough towards the environment than their Southern counterparts, meaning that for every two people in the South that are happy with their company’s green credentials, there is one more eco-happy office worker in Scotland! However, this is not to say that Southerners take their environmental responsibility any less seriously or that the grass is necessarily greener on the other side! Instead, this may simply reflect the expectations and standards that Southerner’s place on their companies to be green. In fact, the survey demonstrates that workers in the South feel it is more important that their companies act green than in any other region.
Disappointingly, Londoners place the least importance on having a green office, with the lowest percentage of workers thinking that being green in the office has a big impact on the environment. However, in light of the survey, the real cause of such apathy might actually be rooted in their respective lack of power - when it comes to ensuring their office is environmentally-friendly, Londoners are 52% more likely to feel disempowered by their bosses. Perhaps it’s no coincidence then that in the Midlands and Wales, where office workers feel more empowered, they consider themselves, to be more environmentally friendly at work than at home.
In terms of facilities and equipment, it’s the South that’s lagging behind. Workers in Scotland are 46% more likely than those in the South to feel that they have the facilities and equipment needed to be environmentally-friendly. Irrespective of where we work, the overriding theme for all of us is that we must be encouraged and allowed to do more, with Dawson arguing: “People are confused about just exactly what they should be doing to be greener, especially in the face of an uncommitted company.”
The Green League
My company does enough to help the environment:
1. Scotland
2.Midlands and Wales
3.London
4.North
5.South
My boss empowers me to be green at work:
1.Midlands and Wales
2.Scotland
3.South
4.North
5.London
It’s important that UK companies are green:
1.South
2.Midlands and Wales
3.North
4.Scotland
5.London
I have the facilities and equipment to be green at work:
1.Scotland
2.London
3.Midlands and Wales
3. North
5.South
Label Yourself a Green Officer with Avery!
On March 2nd 2009, Avery will be launching the first ever Green Office Week to encourage UK offices to take definitive action. Rather than just talking about the need to be green, the week will focus on simple and practical ways to help offices play their part in protecting the environment. In the meantime, here’s 5 quick tips to help you begin greening your workplace and to get you on your way to becoming a Green Officer!
- Put plants in the office to literally green your workplace! Not only do they look good, but plants can reduce air pollution in enclosed spaces.
- Choose recyclable products and paper and wood products that are FSC-certified, to guarantee that they come from sustainable sources.
- Set up a green ideas scheme to encourage and reward colleagues who come up with energy saving and other green ideas.
- Use labels to stick over existing labels on envelopes then re-use them.
- Avoid disposable products such as paper towels, paper plates and paper cups.
Turned On by the Environment?
To increase awareness of this issue and to empower the UK’s office workers to make a difference, Avery is launching the first ever Green Office Week, March 2nd – 6th 2009. To join forces with offices across the country and to find out more about how you can make a difference, log on to www.greenofficeweek.eu
Green Office Week is an initiative launched to empower UK office workers to make a difference and to help their office environment work for the natural environment in practical ways. Research has shown that office workers are not apathetic towards green issues but instead feel disempowered by formalities and procedures. Held on March 2nd – March 6th 2009, the week aims to unite offices around the country in an effort to change this, helping office workers better both their working environment and the natural environment. For more information, log onto www.greenofficeweek.eu.
Avery Dennison Office Products markets products under the well-known Avery brand name and is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of self-adhesive labels and paper products for laser and inkjet printers, labelling software, index dividers and a wide range of other products for both consumer and industrial markets. Avery Dennison Office Products Europe, a business unit of Avery Dennison Corporation, has manufacturing operations in UK, Germany and Italy and sales and marketing offices in more than ten countries across Europe. For more information about Avery products, consumers can visit the Avery Dennison Office Products Europe site at www.europe.avery.com
In addition some more findings:
When working, only 26% of us think that the environment is solely our company’s responsibility with 57% convinced it should be a joint effort.
70% of office waste is recyclable BUT only 8% is actually recycled
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