You may have come across plenty of tips to help office employees, retail workers, and even hospitality staff go greener at work, but, what do you do when your home is your office? Whilst working from home is the perfect arrangement for many people who prefer to be in full control over their own working day, it can also lead to a lot of unnecessary energy use. Thankfully, there are several things that home-based workers can do right now to make their home working environment kinder to the planet. Let’s take a look at some of the best ways to go green when you work from home.
#1. Everyday Activities:
When you work from home, many of your everyday activities are going to be incorporated into your work life. If like many home-based workers you tend to divide your day between doing work tasks and everyday tasks such as grocery shopping, then there’s no reason why you shouldn’t consider everything that you do on a daily basis when it comes to going green. For example, you could invest in some reusable bags, an energy-saving thermostat, or even double glazing for your windows to make your home office a greener place to be.
#2. Encourage Others:
Many people who work from home also have the spare time and resources to make some extra money on the side, for example, by buying and selling products on eBay or other online selling platforms. Or, perhaps you are considering setting up your own e-commerce store. You can use this to your advantage by encouraging others to make greener choices in life – for example, you can buy wine totes in bulk which can then be sold on to encourage more people to stop using plastic bags and go for more sustainable, reusable options instead.
#3. Cut Your Energy Use:
When you work from home, it’s understandable that you’ll be using more energy than people who go out to work during the day, particularly in the winter when your home is going to need to be kept warm for you all day long. However, even high energy users can take steps to ensure that there is no energy wasted. For example, you may want to invest in a smart thermostat that you can control remotely, or use to receive notifications when it’s time to turn your heating system on or off. A home energy audit is also a great idea to help you determine any areas of your home that are causing energy to be lost.
#4. Travel Green:
Lastly, one advantage that home based workers have over others is that there’s less of a need to travel on a daily basis. However, if you’re using your extra job autonomy to take advantage of travel opportunities, then making greener choices is an excellent idea. For example, taking public transport wherever possible, taking direct instead of connecting flights, and cycling or walking wherever possible will help you to reduce your travel carbon footprint.
If you found these ideas helpful, we’d love to hear more from you in the comments.
