4 Best Practices for Creating an Eco-Responsible Office Environment at Lemon Interactive

When it comes to the environment, every gesture counts, and if most of us know the actions to apply in our daily lives to reduce our CO2 emissions, businesses can also act every day. Then discover the 4 best practices for being eco-responsible in the office that we apply at Lemon Interactive.

Eco-responsible company: definition

An eco-responsible company is quite simply a company that actively seeks to limit environmental impact of its activity. The decisions and actions of this company are then oriented towards multiple elements, such as the choice of partners, the selection of office equipment, as well as the small gestures and habits of employees.

These approaches are firmly anchored in a strong desire to respect and protect the environment and nature. These are all concerns that fall fully within the framework of the Corporate Social Responsibility (RSE).

What is the CSR approach?

CSR, or corporate social responsibility, is a voluntary approach by entrepreneurs. It aims to put into practice eco-responsible solutions taking into account social, environmental and economic concerns. By practicing CSR, companies seek to:

• To respect the environment ;
• Have a positive impact on society;
• Remain economically viable.

Today, the CSR approach places more emphasis on the environmental issue, and if small and medium-sized companies have no obligation in this sense, a CSR strategy is mandatory for all large companies with more than 500 employees, or those which are listed on the stock exchange.

What is the benefit of becoming an eco-responsible company?

Of course, the CSR approach is a strong ecological commitment from a business manager. Eco-design of a website can be part of this, as much as the establishment of a global carbon footprint for the company. All measures must be part of a real strategy in many respects, as these few figures demonstrate:

• 51% of French people say they refuse to work for a company without a strong environmental or social commitment;
• 76% of young people from Generation Y consider that the CSR approach is a more important job search criterion than salary;
• 97% of French people are ready to boycott a brand with destructive environmental and social practices.

Looking at these figures, we understand thatintegrate the principles of sustainable development within a company is an opportunity rather than a burden.

Strong commitment thus makes it possible to improve the company’s brand image, by transmitting strong values ​​and a corporate culture to employees and consumers. This can then be considered as a profitable strategy to stand out from the competition, because more and more people are aware of sustainable development, and prefer to favor committed partners.

Becoming an eco-responsible company: 4 best practices

There are many habits to adopt on a daily basis that help reduce the environmental impact at work. As a responsible web agency, we implement these measures which we have classified into 4 categories.

A more responsible office

In terms of office automation within an eco-responsible company, the fundamental idea is to limit waste by trying to make office equipment such as telephones, computers and printers last as long as possible.

To understand the crucial importance of these actions, it is essential to remember that the manufacturing of this equipment requires the extraction of raw materials, and that the entire life cycle impacts the ecosystem, whether during production , transport, distribution, use or even the end of life of these products.

The primary goal of any eco-responsible company is then to enhance this channelwhether by starting it again as infrequently as possible or by promoting sustainable development for each of the stages, with the aim of reducing its environmental impact and its consumption of resources, while actively involving its employees in this approach to environmental responsibility.

Several simple actions count on a daily basis

• Recondition and recycle equipment at the end of its life, to reduce consumption;
• In the event of a breakdown, always try to repair before throwing away ;
• Set the “sleep” mode, or the “energy saving” mode, so that the screens are autonomous;
• Limit the number of open tabs;
• Disable unnecessary features (GPS, Bluetooth, etc.);
• Choose equipment that carries a environmental label (EPEAT, TCO…) ;
• Turn on devices only when necessary (printer, scanner, photocopier, etc.);
• When printing, use ink-efficient fonts, favor black and white, and remove unnecessary images, photos and advertising;
• Save paper by unsubscribing from certain magazines, optimizing layouts for printing, reusing draft and double-sided paper, and choosing paper with an eco-label (FSC, PEFC, etc.). ;
• Sort and recycle paper and cardboard. Remember that today, paper represents 75% of a company’s waste, and only 38% is recycled…

Use the Internet wisely

It is more difficult to realize thecarbon impact of our Internet browsing, because it remains very intangible. However, digital technology accounts for a significant part of our greenhouse gas emissions. We can then act on several levels.

Email management

First of all, know that sending 30 emails represents the equivalent of a light bulb burning for an entire day! Knowing this, we understand the importance of manage your mailbox well and sending emails. Indeed, storing and sending emails takes up a lot of bandwidth. You should therefore not hesitate to:

• Classify emails as soon as they arrive;
• Delete spam;
• Do not multiply the recipients (because so many recipients mean so many emails sent over the bandwidth);
• Limit attachments;
• Favor links for PCs that are too heavy;
• Lighten the signatures as much as possible.

Searches and web browsing

When we approach the search and navigation On the web within a company, the best approach is to go directly to the desired site using the URL or to perform a specific search, while remembering to always close unnecessary tabs.

When it comes to data storage, it is common for businesses to use cloud services. However, this should not be used as an excuse to accumulate data en masse. It is essential to only stock what is really necessary. This approach, in addition to being ecological, also has the advantage of promoting better organization.

The primary objective therefore lies in the stockage local, in order to minimize trips to data centers, which are very energy-intensive. Regarding cloud storage, it is recommended to only place the bare minimum necessary, with the aim of minimizing data transfers and thus contributing to a more responsible approach to the environment and development. sustainable within the company.

But web browsing also concerns a whole part of business communication. It is then possible toorganize eco-responsible events (seminar, workshop, etc.) and establish more responsible marketing rules. You can also choose to work on a eco-designed websitewho predict :

• To resize images;
• To facilitate reading;
• To provide a printable version;
• To promote accessibility;
• To avoid videos;
• To have a green host;
• To use open-source technology.

Finally, on the teleworking part, it is absolutely necessary to use wifi rather than 4G, and limit online meetings. In fact, video exchanges use much more bandwidth than audio exchanges.

Office occupancy

Beyond equipment and professional practices, there are also a lot of simple actions that can be applied at work, but also in private life.

• L’lighting : turn off the lights, install small lights at workstations to avoid lighting up an entire room, do not clutter the windows to let natural light enter the room, recycle light bulbs, etc.;
• The heating : turn off the radiators before ventilation, close the shutters to keep in the heat, clear the radiators so that the heat circulates, turn off everything at night and on weekends, avoid overheating and put on warm sweaters instead…;
• The air conditioner : not everyone is yet equipped, but given the damage caused by global warming, it won’t be long before it happens. You must then cool down in the morning, close everything, use the fans, and as a last resort the air conditioning. It is not recommended to set the temperature below 26 degrees, and to turn it off when leaving the premises;
• L’eau : there are many types of water savers, you must then monitor the appearance of leaks;
• L’housekeeping : there are companies specializing in organic cleaning, which only use ecological products;
• Breaks: have a reusable mug rather than disposable, use a well-maintained and defrosted fridge, do not waste (especially in company restaurants), eat as much as you want and no more, do not take too much bread, offer the doggy bag, sorting waste when leaving the canteen, etc.;

At Lemon Interactive, in continuation of our sustainable development approachwe will soon install barter bins, where everyone can deposit or collect objects of all kinds that are no longer used (children’s toys, books, jewelry, etc.).

Business travel

Commuting is one of the main sources of CO2 emissions for any eco-responsible company. The ideal is then to favor walking, cycling, public transport, and if none of this is possible, we can then consider the car, while preferring car sharing, carpooling and the use of electric car.

For longer trips, if you have to decide between plane and train, always choose the train, longer, but much less polluting.

Finally, if your company regularly uses carriers, consider a green choice, with couriers by bike or on foot, when possible, to reduce the environmental impact of your actions.

At Lemon Interactive, we contribute every day to reducing the carbon impact of each of our actions, and we apply this state of mind in all our projects. Then entrust the creation of your eco-designed site to our teams so that you, in turn, can consume more responsibly.