Take action
Green Issues
Ways to Green Your Workplace
If we are to tackle climate change we have to negotiate changes to the way we work. Over two thirds of UK carbon dioxide emissions are work related:
- Find out what’s already happening in your workplace
- Have regular meetings with management – work with managers to establish environmental updates
- Conduct an environmental audit of your workplace and do walkabout surveys – make environmental risk assessments
- Use this opportunity to encourage work colleagues to get active in UNISON
- Speak to your branch and ask what they are already doing – prepare a list of what the branch is hoping to achieve
- Let members (and non members) know what the branch is going – and keep them involved
- Get trained
- Look for early successes
Cambridge Folk Festival
‘Counting your carbon use?
Cambridge Carbon Footprint ‘Carbon abacus’
Each little block represents 100Kgms of carbon use on different things eg by driving etc.
Each block relates to a point on a questionnaire CCF do with people , turning each one round with each saving. When they have turned all over and have no black sides of blocks showing, they have saved the equivalent of one person’s carbon emissions for one year .
Ie The whole abacus represents the average person’s annual carbon output. By interviewing lots of people, they managed to help festival attendees find ways of saving 3 ‘carbon-person-years’ of emissions.
See more about the Cambridge Folk Festival here
Also see more at Cambridge Carbon Footprint - Working Together on Climate Change
10 simple things you can do at work:
- Switch all computer equipment, appliances, motors & machinery off when not in use, e.g. at lunchtime
- Take the stairs not the lift
- If you workplace is hot enough to wear summer clothes in winter, turn the heating down.
- If it is too cold, ensure radiators and heaters aren't obstructed
- Check if lighting is on unnecessarily in the middle of the day, particularly near windows - 80% of the UK's lighting energy is used at work - much of it wasted
- If you are the last to leave work, make sure you turn everything off
- Consider setting up a green travel plan
- Recycling is greater, but reducing waste and re-using is even better, e.g. print on both sides, re-use envelopes
- Think about how water is used at work - can it be reduced
- If there are barriers, talk to your workmates and your union about working out solutions. Over 1/2 the UK's energy is directly used in the workplace
For further information on Green Issues click on this link to the national website
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