Nowadays, whether we like it or not, ecology is omnipresent in our lives. Therefore, it is always interesting to develop small gestures that we can implement on a daily basis. If those small gestures are well imputed, they can have a considerable impact.
Don’t fall in the stereotype of saying: « my small action will never be important enough to make a real change ». Every gesture has an impact, no matter how small !
In this article, in order to help you the best, you will find tips that can help you to decrease your ecological impact. You’ll see that some of them can have another impact than only ecological one (a financial impact for example).
Things you can do home :
1. Decrease your water consumption:
We don’t always realise how much water we use in our daily lives, yet we are lucky to have omnipresent access to it. There is nothing easier than limiting your water consumption, you just need to turn off water when brushing your teeth or washing hands, use a dishwasher rather than hand dishwashing (which consumes a much larger amount of water), take a shower rather than a bath and reduce the length of your shower (for example, take a shower during a song that lasts about 3 minutes and turn off the water when you soap or shampoo yourself).
2. Turn off devices when not in use/avoid the "standby" mode.
You don’t always think about it, but when you have several devices that are not totally turned off, they still use electricity, which means they are consuming energy. Checking whether all your devices are unplugged when not using them, allows you to do something for the planet and to save money on your electricity bill. All you have to do is to unplug the wires, turn off the small red button on the extension cord and turn off your device instead of putting it on standby when it is not necessary. All these are small actions, which can lead to considerable result.
3. Sort and manage your personal data (cloud, mail, ...)
Currently, everyone uses at least a computer, a tablet or a mobile phone. These devices are now part of our daily lives. What we don’t always know is that, the more device we have, the more data is needed that data has to be stored somewhere. The thing is that this kind of storage is extremely polluting. Sorting or deleting your files, even once a month, instead of keeping documents that are no longer useful can have a huge impact. Stop subscribing to newsletters that you don’t even read.
Little tip : avoid opening too many tabs at once, it slows down your PC and consumes more energy.
4. Use washable products
Many daily products can be replaced by washable products,
reusable products as well, for example:
- The paper handkerchief can be replaced by a tissue;
- The « sopalin » can be replaced by a towel;
- The coffee filter can be replaced by a washable filter;
- Classical cottons can be replaced by washable cottons;
- And many other examples.
5. Make your own products
More than just using washable products, it is also possible for you to make your own cleaning products. There was a time when people were using « grandmother’s recipes » based on few products to make their own household products. It is still possible to make these products, you just have to take time to do it. You will quickly see that in addition to reducing your ecological impact, those tips will make a huge difference on your bank account.
By the way some of the tips below, can be used at home as well as at work !
By the way, here are a few more tips that you can implement in your workspace.
1. Avoid having a trash can in every desk.
Place a trash can (sorted trash of course) in a place where all employees pass by. This will allow employees to sort their waste and raise their awareness instead of simply throwing their garbage away without thinking twice. A way to end with the single bin where you throw away everything you use and waste what can be recycled.
2. Think about your office equipment
Use recycled stuff. The first example that comes to mind is paper. There are a lot of actions that are already done with that, but don’t forget: small gestures, big actions.
3. Prepare your lunch in advance as well as something to carry it if you are going to pick it up at a store near work.
Using leftovers for your meal, means you don’t have to throw them away. As you know what you usually eat, you know what amount of food you need. It’s also a good idea to use seasonal and local products. If you still want to buy your salad, sandwich or a dish from a next door store, consider getting a jar or container to put your meal instead of using a plastic back.
Timeless advice...
- A gourd instead of using a different plastic bottle every day;
- Led bulbs instead of the « normal » ones;
- The toast box instead of aluminium foil;
- The sweater instead of always using the heater;
- Close the doors when putting the heater on;
- Turn off the lights when you are not in a room.
Conclusion :
As you can see, reducing your
ecological impact is not very complicated.
Stop thinking « if I don’t do it, someone else will do it for me » or opposite «if I do it but others don’t, it won’t have any impact». It’s not true, all actions are to be valued.
The change is now and everyone has to participate in it, including you !
You can put a lot of small gestures in place, all you have to do, is to try and see which ones suits you the best !
