Your Workplace

There are some interests that are best enjoyed in the privacy of your own home if you want to keep your job. However, if your interests lie closer to saving the world than vats full of chocolate pudding, that's not something you want to keep to yourself. The world is everybody's home and we should all do our part to save it, both at home and at work. After all, if you don't use environmental practices at work and it causes the polar ice caps to melt and bury your office under 30ft of water, where are you supposed to work?

This series of articles will deal with the many ways businesses and workplaces can - and do - become involved in the environmental movement. They're recommended reading for everyone, regardless of what type of workplace they're currently employed in. A roofing company has just as much stake in preserving the environment as a huge multinational logging firm, because we all live on this planet and we can't do that anymore if it's gone. We'll cover subjects like paper, water, and power conservation as well as proper disposal procedures for harmful substances like paint and pesticides.

Many companies are jumping on the environmentalism bandwagon these days, not just because it's what all the cool kids are doing, but also because they can get a fair amount of tax credits and good press from taking an interest in our future as a species. The level of their involvement in the process varies because there are currently very few regulations or guidelines with regard to the environment, but the involvement can be as simple as a faux painting technique school boycotting brands of paint that are made with lead that might get into the ground water.

If your company doesn't actively endorse environmental practices or have a set plan detailing what each employee should do to help, that doesn't mean you can't still promote green living in your workplace. You can do your part individually, whether it's by setting a good example for others or by rallying your friends and coworkers into rounding up signatures to petition your company for change. A company uses thousands of sheets of paper per day. Even one person recycling his or her own scraps will make a difference to the environment, but think of how much bigger the difference would be if everyone followed your lead.

Office politics can be tricky, and some workplaces treat environmentalism as a political or religious leaning, meaning that they can't discriminate for or against someone because of it. Our articles will help you find the right words to use to bring up the subject with your boss at your Mississauga real estate listing company, who orders bleached instead of recycled paper for the office, or your co-workers at the metal shop, who don't recycle their empty pop cans in the lunch room. The goal here is maximum benefit to the environment, and sometimes that means not pissing people off with preachy sermons or over zealousness.