One big benefit of working remotely from home is that you are empowered to make sustainable choices and support a green lifestyle. You are the office manager, assistant, and administrator who gets to decide what products are purchased to stock your office. You might also decide to participate in carbon offsets or other exchanges for large energy expenses. Whichever options you choose, research will become your best friend to find products that support your green mission.

What is Green?

A green lifestyle will be different for each person and the areas they want to focus on in their consumption. Some individuals will focus on clean food which is ethically and sustainably sourced while others might focus on their carbon footprint. Lean into the areas of your life that are important to you and you feel are manageable. For instance, if you’re a gardener, check the Xerces Society website for suggestions on how to keep your yard chemical free and ecologically balanced.

Five Ways to Go Green

Review Your Energy Consumption

Look at light bulbs, your heating and cooling system, computers, and other electronic devices to see if they are energy efficient. If not, make a long term plan of how to upgrade to energy efficient items once the current ones are outdated or broken. Many appliances and devices like computers cannot be created without a large environmental impact: mining for metals like chromium and copper. Consider scaling back on the number of devices you own. Also, consider a carbon offset for your electronic devices and donate to a reforestation organization. Remember, every bit of digital storage has an energy cost, including all those unread emails. Keep your data use up-to-date and delete digital documents, files, and communications you no longer need.

Plant Plants

Add more green, literally, to your indoor and outdoor spaces. If your backyard is treeless, plant a few. If your indoor work area is beige, add some houseplants. See our post, “Greening Your Remote Workspace,” for plant suggestions.

Stock Recycled Products

When stocking up on paper or plastic products, look for items that are made with a high post consumer waste content. This supports the recycling industry and in the long run can reduce deforestation.

Recycle, Reuse, and Rethink

Recycling is great, but many plastics are not recyclable. Do you really need to buy the item in the non-recyclable plastic? Ask yourself if there is another option. Ditch the single use water bottles. If you’re concerned about water quality in your area, have the tap water tested. If needed, buy a filter. Rethink your use of paper products, too. Look into how much post-consumer waste is included in recycled paper towels, copier paper, cups, napkins, and toilet paper. Items with the most post-consumer recycled waste are the best options to support recycling and avoid products that source from boreal and virgin forests. Check the NRDC website for up-to-date ratings, including their popular toilet paper ratings. For paper towels or napkins consider switching to fabric towels that can be used a few times before laundering.

Food

In your home office, you are in charge of catering, so why not consider going organic? Organic and/or locally sourced products have less of an energy footprint and are better for the environment. Organic products protect our drinking water and soil from pesticide contamination while locally sourced meats and produce do not have to be shipped across state or country lines thus saving on transportation energy costs. When buying foods look at the packaging: is it recyclable? Number five plastics are notoriously difficult to recycle and most towns will not accept them. Try to buy items that are packaged in recyclable material and steer clear of individually wrapped snacks. In the kitchen, composting waste is a great way to reduce the amount of garbage put out from your home office. Be careful, though, if vermicomposting: a system that relies on worms. The worms most used are not native to the US and when released destroy forests. To avoid this, start small with just a fruit and veggie bin. Put your peels outside into a brown leaf bag or other container. Add layers of autumn leaves and after a few seasons, you will have rich, homemade compost.

There are many ways to adopt a green lifestyle. The green priorities you have might differ from friends and family, but everyone contributes through their choices. Together, by making more thoughtful choices, we have an opportunity to cut back our consumption, reduce waste, and conserve energy.