Five Ways to Green Your Workplace Kitchen

Going green isn’t just for the home front. It’s true, businesses everywhere are implementing changes that keep costs down and carbon footprints low. The kitchen, big or small, is at the heart of any great organization. Here’s how to get yours as green as possible.

1. Choose energy efficient appliances. Office kitchen appliances get a harder workout than those at home, so make sure yours are up to the challenge. Select those with an Energy Star rating and place them in an area with as much ventilation as possible. Space and airflow around appliances will allow heat to escape, reducing energy costs and likely extending the life of the appliance. And think about whether or not you need bells and whistles; a refrigerator without an automatic icemaker saves 15% to 20% in energy costs.
2. Stock with green goods. If you offer fresh foods and drinks to your employees, make sure you practice what you preach. Select offerings that are locally produced and organic, not those that have traveled a long way to wind up in your kitchen. If you don’t supply refreshments, consider a Green Lunch incentive for those employees who make the choice to act and eat with eco-friendliness in mind.
3. Compost. (Yes, at work!) Implementing a three-stream waste system at work means, you provide receptacles for garbage, recycling and compost. Use the compost created to fertilize green space or plants around the office. If your office doesn’t have those areas, give the compost to employees to use in green spaces at home. Encourage employees to compost items like coffee grounds, tea bags, vegetable waste and eggshells into a sealed bin, which can be as simple as a marked 13-gallon (or less) garbage can with a liner. Select a composter that works for your business and learn the ins and outs of office composting in books like “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Greening Your Business” and “Greening Your Office:  From Cupboard to Corporation: An A-Z Guide”.
4. Clean green. Encourage team members to keep the office kitchen clean and green by providing eco-friendly cleaning supplies like those in the Ecospirit line of products. Better yet, consider the ongoing care of a green cleaning service like GreenHouse Eco-Cleaning to keep your kitchen in top shape.
5. Name a Green Team. If you’re interested in ways to green your office kitchen, it’s likely that you’ve already implemented recycling and energy efficiency programs. Take your eco-friendliness to the next level by electing a Green Team to keep your green organization running as efficiently as possible. Giving this responsibility to just a few employees helps keep you abreast of the latest eco-friendly ideas and ensures all team members are onboard and informed about green policies and procedures at work.

Talk to us:  Is your organization implementing eco-friendly processes and procedures? If so, please share your latest and greatest workplace eco-successes!